Sarnia council has closed the sale of the Bayside Mall lands to Oakville-based Seasons Retirement Communities.
Mayor Mike Bradley said he signed the paperwork earlier this week.
"The City of Sarnia, city council and the CAO authorized a deal and I signed all the paperwork on Tuesday," said Bradley. "It means the land is now sold for one million dollars. It means the county can now move forward and complete their part of the deal, which will lead to the total renovation of the existing county shared services, it also will lead to a high-rise tower by Seasons Development Group and every indication from them is they want to move forward this summer."
A 7,000 square foot piece of property at the corner of Vidal Street and George Street has been transferred back to the city for a future transit terminal.
"We are very positive about this moving forward, people say it's a tough economy right now with what's going on with COVID, but what needs to be kept in mind is, when you're a developer, you're not developing for one or two years, you're developing for 20 or 30, and the lease with the county is for 20 years."
The long term lease for the county shared services facility is still being finalized.
Bayside Mall in Sarnia. May 7, 2019.