The Sarnia-Lambton Real Estate Board is frustrated after the city listed the former Sarnia General Hospital property with a Toronto-area realtor.
The Mitton St. property is on the Multiple Listing Service with Times Realty Group Inc., based in Vaughan, Ontario.
Board President Steve Park says he doesn't understand why the city didn't approach them first about the SGH site specifically.
He says a city employee did have a conversation with his executive officer about surplus properties, in general, months ago.
"The Sarnia-Lambton Real Estate Board has always offered to sell any surplus lands at 0% listing commission and the only thing the city would pay is the selling broker's commission, so I'm puzzled as to why we weren't contacted," says Park.
He says the 235 local real estate agents who would have been working to help sell the property, are left feeling "a little slighted."
City Solicitor Scott McEachran says the local board was contacted in January.
"We're not pointing fingers, the two parties that actually spoke to each other have not been part of the conversation but somehow there was a miscommunication or misunderstanding as to how this could have been done," says McEachran. "Life goes on."
He says the city paid a $650 flat fee to post an ad.
The city issued a requests for proposals for interested buyers on February 10, with a closing date of May 31.
Depending on the submissions received, rezoning of the property may be necessary.
The development process could take a few years to complete, and demolition is not a condition of the sale.
Asbestos removal and demolition is expected to cost as much as $9-million with provincial funding no longer on the table.
The site has been sitting vacant for over five years now and, as is, has no appraised value. If cleared, the land could be priced in the $1.7-million range.
A second public meeting to discuss the future of the property is set for Tuesday, February 28 at the Lambton College Events Centre.