Town to pursue offer of purchase for Waterloo building

Huntsville’s General Committee met today in closed session to discuss the results of proposals received for the Waterloo Summit Centre for the Environment.

It had issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) which closed on September 28 and to which five bidders responded, three with offers of purchase and two with lease proposals. (See a summary here.) Town staff assessed those proposals based on criteria outlined in the RFP.

The lease proposals received scores for economic impact on the community (job creation) – 15 per cent; financial impact to the municipality – 35 per cent; alignment of the proposal with the Town’s Strategic Vision and Beyond 2017 – 20 per cent; related experience of the partners/business as it pertains to the proposal – 10 per cent; and business plan and project timelines – 20 per cent.

The purchase proposals received scores for proposed price – 70 per cent; alignment of the proposal with the Town’s Strategic Vision and Beyond 2017 – 20 per cent; and economic impact on the community (job creation) – 10 per cent.

Staff presented the top purchase and top lease proposals to committee in closed session today.

In a resolution following the closed session, committee directed staff to pursue the purchase proposal presented by De Novo Trust Fund, which was submitted by a representative of the McAteer Group of Companies from Markham.

As there are conditions that must first be met to the satisfaction of the Town, it cannot yet disclose details of the offer, said Town CAO Denise Corry. Should the Town decide to accept the offer from De Novo, Council must first declare the property surplus and then follow the procedures laid out in its Sale and Other Disposition of Land bylaw.

Should the conditions of the sale not be met, the matter will return to committee for further discussion.

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