Town waives right of refusal on mall property

Jeff Helsdon, Editor

Town council did not exercise its right of first refusal on the Tillsonburg Town Centre Mall property.

Development Commissioner Cephas Panschow explained that the town owns the ground lease on 19.5 acres of land under and around the Tillsonburg Town Centre, dating back to 1979.

“Clearly the purpose of the ground lease was for the town to maintain control of what was probably a very risky investment at that time when interest rates were high,” he said.

Saying the mall is a key part of Tillsonburg strong downtown, Panschow added, “The Town Centre Mall has withstood many challenges over the years and come out stronger for it.”

With the mall operator owning the building, and the town owning the ground underneath, the town has first right of refusal before a sale of the mall can take place. The current mall owner, SBLP Tillsonburg Town Centre Inc., has received a satisfactory offer to purchase, which brings the town’s right of refusal into play.

“This is part of ensuring the mall stays viable, and the town can step in should we desire at some point in the future,” Panschow said.

He recommended not exercising the right of refusal, which is the direction council followed.

After questioning and finding out the agreement is good until 2072, Mayor Deb Gilvesy commented, “The unfortunate part is it’s very restrictive for the town, and it’s not necessarily in the town’s favour. I fully support everything you said about the downtown core being healthy, but this does create some restrictions from the town’s perspective.”