Holdouts balk at DRIC's property offers
Spring Garden holdouts balk at DRIC's property offers
By Dave Battagello, The Windsor StarJune 5, 2009
An 80-year-old widow who lives on Spring Garden Road has grown weary fighting to get fair value for her home, which has to be bulldozed to make room for the planned $1.6-billion Windsor-Essex Parkway.
"Every day that goes by the price goes down," said Marcie Sawchuk who resides in the 2200 block. "They are playing hardball. I resent it greatly."
The home has remained in Sawchuk's family since it was built in 1929 by her father Dewey Mangin.
Sawchuk is one of four homeowners, among 25 on Spring Garden, who have yet to settle with real estate representatives hired by Ontario's Ministry of Transportation.
The widow has a list of prices for every home sold on her street that ranged between $180,000 and $200,000. Early sellers did well, but for those left it has been getting more difficult by the day, Sawchuk said.
Although they haven't been told, Sawchuk and her neighbours believe government appraisers have factored the declining local real estate market, Sawchuk said.
She recently hired Bower Appraisal Services, utilized by many Talbot Road home owners who sold out to the government, and was given an appraisal of $155,000. Sawchuk feels that does not account for the size or historical value of her home.
Other Spring Garden homes sold were nearly all 1,050 square feet, while hers is 1,200 square feet, she said. The government recently upped its price to $154,000, but that includes moving expenses and legal costs.
Sawchuk has lived in her two-storey vinyl-over-wood home since 1954. The three-bedroom home has a detached 1.5-car garage, mature trees, a $25,000 kitchen upgrade 20 years ago, plus each of the 22 windows replaced between 10 and 20 years ago. She also waterproofed the outside of the home around the basement 10 years ago.
"I have the biggest house. I'm really angry about this," she said. "I can't find a house like this for that price range. I'm being treated unfairly. I want more money. I won't find a house for that even close to mine."
Local transportation ministry officials overseeing property acquisition have hired independent appraisers and experts to arrive at fair market value and business valuations, said Garfield Dales, manager of project delivery office for the Windsor Border Initiatives Implementation Group.
But "it is not appropriate to discuss the details of any individual file," said Dales when asked about homes in the Spring Garden area.
The ministry has reached agreement with 200 property owners, including those in the Spring Garden area, he said. Ancillary costs, such as moving and legal expenses are included in any agreement.
A total of 900 properties will be required for construction of the parkway, leaving the ministry with a lot of negotiating left to be done.
The tally of expenditures on property to date for the parkway project is close to $70 million, Dales said.
A final budget for property acquisition will be established once all properties required are assessed.
An appraiser with the Bower firm did not want to comment on the homes being expropriated for the parkway, but said factors like house size, condition and building materials influence appraisals.
Location can also be a factor based on nearby amenities, privacy or whether the street has heavy traffic.
If Sawchuk or anyone else along the planned border highway fails to reach agreement on a property sale price, the government will move to expropriation and a Ontario Municipal Board hearing.
Sawchuk's neighbours Richard Thorburn and wife Renate are also struggling to get what they believe is fair value. They have been offered $135,000 for their Spring Garden home, which they say falls far short of what their neighbours received.
"It's a slap in the face," Thorburn said.
© Copyright [[c) The Windsor Star
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Monitor this situation if you or anyone you know is a Delray resident. That way you can learn from the situation across the river and get a step or two ahead of the same situation when it happens on the U.S. side.
