Waterloo Region has bought more land for its planned 770-acre industrial park in Wilmot Township, but prices have escalated.
When it started buying in 2024, it paid about $75,000 per acre.
Now it paid $21 million for an 190-acre farm where it recently demolished an old bank barn and home.
And it paid $18 million for another 160-acre farm.
It now has accumulated 620 of the 770 acres it has said it wants.
The costs now add up to more than $55 million.
There has been strong opposition to the project which is backed by the province which wants to have “shovel-ready” sites for companies it tries to interest in locating in Ontario.
One of the leading critics said he’s not giving up, but another vocal critic is now silent because his children have sold their farm and signed a non-disclosure agreement.
So far no company has said it is interested in locating at the site, but a publication has said it believes Toyota has expressed interest. It has assembly plants in Cambridge and Woodstock.
