SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. — Development of a new eco-business park in Summerside is ahead of schedule.
The city recently acquired 14.5 acres of land off Greenwood Drive for the project. It only expected to be able to make the purchase and do some surveying work with the funds it had dedicated in the project in this year’s budget. Construction wasn’t scheduled to start until the spring and would have been paid for with funds from the 2020/2021 budget.
However, city staff have proposed taking what’s left of the project’s budget from this year and topping it up with $220,000 from the water and sewer utility reserve funds and moving ahead with construction this fall. The city is also tapping into $1.1 million in federal government funding it successfully acquired for the project.
Finding that extra money has meant the city can move ahead earlier than expected.
It has awarded a tender for the first phase of construction to Curran and Briggs Ltd. for $1,474,149, which would include building the roads and adding utilities to three industrial lots in the park.
With construction completed this fall/winter, the city will have industrial lots ready to market by the spring, in time for the busy construction season.
City staff informed council recently that they are only waiting on a few final approvals related to the federal government funding and construction could start as soon as yesterday, Oct. 7.
The eco-business park is a project that has been in the works for nearly 20 years.
The city’s current industrial park is full. The eco-park concept revolves around creating an industrial space with a reduced carbon footprint. For example, Summerside’s park will feature a shared parking lot for the tenants, freeing up space for green features like wooded areas or ponds.
