Region buys $4.1-million of land near airport, “just in case”
Posted Nov 24, 2017 01:19:11 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A Regional councillor is defending the purchase of $4.1-million of land for future expansion of the Region of Waterloo International Airport, even though passenger volume numbers are not going up.
Tom Galloway is Chair of the Planning and Works Committee and tells 570NEWS that the purchase of the 144 acres does not violate the airport’s Master Plan.
Galloway says yes, the plan does stipulate passenger numbers need to be on the rise to build things like new runways, or a new terminal.
But there’s also a clause that allows for the purchase of land regardless of passenger volume, “if it’s available, and can be bought at a good price.”
Galloway says the Region picked up this land for $4.1-million dollars, after the vendor had originally asked for about $6-million.
He says the price came down after an appraisal.
Galloway stresses no infrastructure will be built until passenger volume goes up, adding, “we are not doing ‘build it and they will come’.”
And Galloway says even if it’s never needed, there’s also the option to sell the land again, and get the Region’s money back.
And the land can also generate a little bit of revenue for the Region, as a farmer will continue to work the land, and there should be some money coming in from renting out the farmhouse.
Galloway expects passenger volume at the Regional Airport will rise eventually, with Pearson International Airport in Toronto getting busier and busier, and low-cost commuter carriers coming to the Region.
