Student programs will expand on Britannia Farm thanks to new development plan

An office development on a small portion of the Britannia Farm land in Mississauga will provide the Peel District School Board with the funding to expand student programs on the farm and the board's two field centres.

"The Peel board has made the decision to lease about 15 per cent of the 200- acre Britannia Farm site to a developer," commented Board Chair Janet McDougald, also chair of the Britannia Farm Task Force. "We are now in negotiations with a developer, Osmington Inc., which will provide the developer with a 99-year lease for the southwest corner of the farm. The remaining 85 per cent of the farm will be protected as green space."

The announcement was made at at public meeting held on the issue Thursday evening.

"The proceeds from the lease, which will be payable at the time the board signs the lease, will provide stable, sustainable, longterm funding for educational programming on the farm and field centres," McDougald added. "Because we are still in negotiations, we are not able to tell you the value of the lease, but we're committed to making that information public as soon as the lease is final, probably in early June 2008. It's essential to note that the board retains ownership of the farm. The heritage buildings and natural features of the farm will be preserved."

Osmington is a Canadian company managing assets worth more than $2.75 billion in office, retail, industrial and multiresidential areas. As a measure of their approach to building development, construction and management, Osmington recently received three Certificate of Excellence Awards from the Building Owners and Managers Association of Canada.