Land Sale Journey

by Robbin Botnick, November 1, 2017

As our land sale journey continues I would like to share some of the very interesting things that we have learned about the property that Solel sits on today.

Prior to 1828 the land was owned by the crown and was designated for agricultural use. Between 1828 and 1956 there were 18 different owners of the property, in some cases the property moved between various family members over the years. Between 1956 and 1977 the land ownership transitioned between Mullett Creek Development Ltd., Erin Mills Development Corp and Don Mills Development Corp and in 1977 Solel Congregation took possession of all of the lands at 2399 Folkway Drive.

The property remained undeveloped since prior to 1828 and up until construction began on our building. The usage of the property was mostly unknown although it is assumed that it was used for agricultural purposes and then remained a vacant lot until Solel took possession. The first construction on the land appears to be the Solel Synagogue building.

As you are aware, we received approval from our membership to sell two lots of our land, adjacent to our building, in the late spring. At this time we are working through the final details to complete the sale. During the course of our land sale journey, we have learned many things about our land, the complexities of a commercial real estate transaction and how many people it takes to complete a transaction of this nature. I would especially like to thank Les Rothschild for his dedication and commitment to this initiative. I am pleased to report that we are now wrapping up the final details, including the environment assessment and legal reviews and we are getting closer to closing the deal. We anticipate that the transaction will be completed by the end of the year allowing us to begin our next phase of planning as a community. I look forward to sharing more information about the sale in the near future.

For those of you who are history buffs, we will be happy to make the land history information available to you once the transaction is completed.

Regards,
Robbin

Filed under: President's Message

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