Eighteen months from the $1.725 million purchase of 91.5 acres along County Road 21 in Haliburton – and Dysart et al mayor, Murray Fearrey, admits the township has “been slower than we should have been” in preparing the land for development.
Council authorized the purchase in July 2023, with Fearrey claiming the parcel represented the last chance to meaningfully expand Haliburton village. He said the property is ripe for residential, commercial and recreational use.
The mayor said much of last year was spent meeting with potential developers to get a sense of what can be done. While the township hasn’t yet identified how many new housing units could be created, Fearrey said it will likely be a mix of single-family homes and multi-unit apartment-style builds.
County-based developer Paul Wilson, who owned the property from 2018 to 2022, previously told The Highlander he believed the land could accommodate up to 200 new homes.
Fearrey hopes 2025 will be the year for real progress at the site, noting township staff are working to amend the official plan to facilitate future development.
“It’s [zoned] all rural right now… it will have to go through a comprehensive process to make sure we can do almost anything on the property. There will be more than two or three zones and they’ll be interchangeable depending on what we do with the layout,” Fearrey said, noting any change will also have to be ratified by the County of Haliburton.
Dysart CAO Tamara Wilbee said staff have identified what studies need to be completed before land can be rezoned and development can begin, with a report and estimated quote to be tabled at a special council meeting Jan. 10.
Extendicare visiting potential sites
Swimming pool
While housing remains the priority, Fearrey said council is also earmarking land for a new arena, curling rink, swimming pool and outdoor playing courts.
“Everybody wants these things – that’s what we’re hearing. It’d be a huge financial cost and it’s a number of years away if I’m being realistic, maybe 10 years, maybe more. But we feel it’s important we dedicate space and allow for the opportunity,” Fearrey said. “A new arena is probably $20 million today – and then you add in all the rest. I’m not saying it’s going to happen, there would need to be a lot of help, but we don’t want to limit the potential of that site.”
Fearrey noted discussions with Extendicare over housing a new long-term care facility on the site is at an impasse. In 2022, the company announced it would be adding 68 new and 60 upgraded beds to a new building in the County, with the Ontario government committing $41 million to the project.
At the time, Extendicare president and CAO, Michael Guerriere, estimated the project would be complete within three years.
In an email to The Highlander Jan. 7, Extendicare spokesperson Owen Saull said, “our development team has visited a number of potential parcels of land and we continue to work closely with municipal officials as we identify a suitable site. We also continue to work with our partners at the Ministry of Long-Term Care, whose support is required to ensure the project is feasible given the unique challenges and costs related to building new homes in rural and remote communities.”
Fearrey believes the CR 21 site to be the best fit. “We’re pressing them.”
Sewage expansion
Dysart council will also discuss plans for the expansion of the township’s sewage treatment facility on Friday (Jan. 10). Fearrey said he expects they will decide how best to proceed with engineering and design.
“Ultimately, we would like to double the size, but if we don’t get the [provincial and federal] funding we’re looking for, then we’ll have to scale it down. It all depends on what’s available,” Fearrey said.
Council has spent more than a year investigating its options – a proposed public/private partnership to help fund a $17 million expansion was considered, though Fearrey said “that hasn’t worked out as well as we thought.”
He said any upgrade is likely at least three years away – though he believes there’s enough capacity remaining to accommodate most, if not all, of what’s built on the CR 21 property.
Public works director, Rob Camelon, said the plant has close to 20 per cent capacity remaining, which is enough for approximately 300 dwellings.
After saying in December 2023 that he’d like to see ground broken at the CR 21 site within two years, Fearrey said he thinks that timeline is still achievable. He reiterated it’s council’s intent to sell the land for development once the prework is complete.
“I do think things will come together fairly quickly. There are some outstanding items we have to figure out, but a lot of the heavy lifting is done. The road is already in, we’ve got people working – a surveyor is laying out portions of the property for residential, commercial and recreational, so we’re making progress,” Fearrey said.
“Interest hasn’t gone away – we still have parties we’re meeting with. It’s a very developable property and is probably going to be pretty reasonable [price wise] to service. Nobody is going to have to go in and blast rock everywhere, so there will be no shortage of takers, I’m sure,” he added.
