A group of doctors has made an offer for a piece of land at the centre of a contentious project in Sarnia.
The group has reportedly offered Indwell $219,000 for the parcel of land on George Street, which was donated to the organization by the County of Lambton in June for the development of a supportive housing project.
There were conditions placed on the land transfer, including should Indwell decide to sell the property, the County of Lambton has first right of refusal, and for Indwell to retain ownership of the property, it must be used for supportive housing (containing approximately 50 units) for 50 years and construction must commence within an 18-month timeframe.
Retired lawyer and spokesperson for the group of doctors Ed Gresham said the doctors were interested in the site before the county donated it, but at the time it was not zoned for commercial and residential use.
"They are newer doctors in town, they liked the particular site simply because it's near other doctors and it's a block away from Bluewater Health," said Gresham.
He said none of the doctors have a particular philosophical disagreement with the Indwell project, but they feel the site would be perfect for a medical facility and offices.
"And it's more so, just for convenience as it were, for the local community, for patients and for the particular doctors," said Gresham.
The offer to Indwell was made on September 1 and Gresham said the group is hopeful a deal can be made.
"They didn't approach me, I didn't go get a licensed real estate broker and go through the time and effort to submit a formal offer under the Ontario Real Estate Association if we didn't think it had some kind of a chance to it," he said.
Sarnia News Today has reached out to Indwell, however, we have not received any comment on the matter.
County of Lambton Assistant Solicitor and Deputy Clerk Ryan Beauchamp told Sarnia News Today at this time, a third-party offer has not been formally brought to the county's attention by Indwell.
Most recently the City of Sarnia held an information meeting allowing residents to have their say on the project.
Indwell is planning to build 51 supportive housing units at the site, however a timeline for construction has yet to be announced.