Reid’s Heritage Homes has begun work on its latest residential development in Guelph.
Grading and infrastructure work is underway at the company’s upscale Woodlands Preserve, just south of Stone Road East, along Victoria Road South.
According to the company’s website, 18 single-detached, energy-efficient homes will be built on the land, with prices starting at $1.1 million. The homes will be on 50-foot lots and with 2,717 to 3,385 square feet of space.
The land was purchased back in 2013 from the University of Guelph, and was part of The Arboretum. Although the land was deemed surplus by the university and was not forested, it does back onto the Torrence Creek Provincially Significant Wetland.
While the land purchased by Reid’s Heritage Homes was a total of 3.78 hectares, planning documents indicate that only 1.42 hectares can be developed.
The land, now cleared of the soil, grass and shrubbery that was on it, is bordered directly to the north by a section of untamed forest that is part of The Arboretum. At the time of the sale the university said the land was long considered to be separate from The Arboretum, and served no academic purpose.
Proceeds from the sale of U of G’s so-called heritage lands goes into an endowment to fund various initiatives, including student assistance, research, and faculty chairs. In recent years the fund exceeded $225-million.
The site plan of Woodlands Preserve includes a sound wall along the Victoria Road side of the development, and illustrates six houses backing the forest. There is a buffer zone between the development and the forest.
