Efforts to clear the 16-acre former Holmes Foundry site are expected to resume within the next few weeks.
The Village of Point Edward said an environmental consultant has developed plans for them to enforce a Property Standards Order, issued in November 2019, that is acceptable to both the Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change.
Chief Administrative Officer Jim Burns said contingencies were included in estimates to clear and level the property.
"The estimate was anywhere from $450,000 to $1.1 million depending on what contingencies had to be used and now we've got a fixed cost of about $840,000," said Burns. "So, it's a big investment in the community but we're hoping that cleaning the property up will lead to getting the property in a condition to be developed at some point in the future."
He said the village is hoping the investment pays off in the long run. They have been working with the owners, Point Edward Gateway Inc., to see the area cleaned, environmentally assessed, and eventually sold.
Fencing is expected to go up this week and demolition equipment will be brought in next week after the Civic holiday.
Cleanup is expected to take six to eight weeks. Burns said the village has been in touch with the property owner to find out what their plans are to get the environmental assessment work done.
"That will allow us to provide a package to a potential purchaser of what could be done with the property and what kind of additional work might be needed," he said.
Meantime, Burns said trespassers shouldn't be as much of a concern once the area is cleared. Concerns were raised earlier this year after recent fires were reported at the site.
"Those buildings are not safe for human habitation," he said. "I'm not going to say that people won't be able to get on to the property but there should be a lot less there that's attracting them to come on to the property."
-With files from Melanie Irwin and Josh Boyce