The Village of Point Edward wants the derelict former Holmes Foundry building demolished and the entire site cleaned-up.
CAO Jim Burns said they're issuing a property standards order to the owner of the 16-acre property.
"We have a report from four or five years ago that says the building needs to be demolished," said Burns. "So, we want them to proceed with that and proceed with clean up of the property in general. I've met with the property standards officer at the county to begin that process. We'll issue the order to the owners, and put together a plan of our own. If they don't comply, we want to know how to proceed and what the costs are going to be."
Real estate broker Lou Longo said the buyers have decided not to proceed.
"So right now we're trying to move forward, and we working with some other groups that are looking at possibly doing something," said Longo. "And we're working with the Village of Point Edward of course in that regard, but at this point, unfortunately, that original agreement is no longer in place."
A local ownership group called Point Edward Gateway Inc. took possession of the property late in 2017, after 17 years of costly legal wrangling, and listed the site for sale for $7 million.
The property, which has direct frontage on Highway 402, between Christina and Front Streets, is commercially zoned for a wide range of uses including retail and hotels and motels.