Summerside, PE

The CEO of APM Group says he paid the province approximately $630,000 for the former Holland College building in Summerside and is prepared to spend anywhere from $300,000 to $900,000 or more on remedial work.
"We don't take possession until all the T's are crossed and the I's dotted,'' Tim Banks stressed in a phone interview from Portland, Maine.
If a big chunk of the building is levelled the cost will rise toward the $900,000 threshold.
That's because of the extensive work needed to remove asbestos from the building's ceiling. If a large part of the building, including its roof can be salvaged, much smaller amounts of asbestos, such as the material around piping, will need to be removed, said Banks.
Many buildings on the Island - private, commercial and institutional - contain asbestos and aren't considered a health threat, he said.
Remedial work also includes removing an underground oil tank, said Banks.
But in the meantime nothing can be done until the transfer is completed.
The former Holland College building came up during Monday's monthly meeting of Summerside City Council, in which a number of councillors slammed the boarded-up, graffiti-covered building.
Banks agrees the building's appearance doesn't look very attractive, but it's not his fault, he said.
"They should go to the owner.''
The building, owned by the province, doesn't officially change hands until April 4.
Councillors wanted the property's new owner to take steps to re-develop the property, or at the very least to begin demolition of the structure.
There was uncertainty at the meeting whether Banks had taken possession.
Banks said APM was the driving force behind several major developments in the area, including Wal-Mart, the Granville Street Plaza, the Super Store, the new Canadian Tire and Northgate Apartments.
"We revitalized the Granville Street Plaza. We deliver, that's our track record. When we invest we do something with it.''
The 17.6-acre property has been subdivided for commercial and non-commercial use.
In an earlier interview Banks stated APM's plan for the property included a 60,000-square-foot building and another 5,500-square-foot structure in the adjacent parking lot.
The plan also included, at one time, 200 townhouses, since scaled back in the first phase.