Province to Sell Surplus Property in Sydney

TRANSPORTATION/PUBLIC WORKS--Province to Sell Surplus Property in Sydney

The government of Nova Scotia is trying to sell a piece of surplus property in Sydney. If it is sold, the proceeds will help pay down the provincial debt.

The site of the former Sydney City Hospital has been listed with Prudential Marquis Realty in Sydney. The asking price is $145,000 for the site, which is about 1.6 hectares (slightly larger than four acres). The price is based on current property assessments and local market conditions.

"We don't have any use for this property so we are going to put it up for sale and use the proceeds to help pay down the debt," said Ron Russell, Minister of Transportation and Public Works. "That's the fiscally smart thing to do."

A half-acre parking lot next to the hospital site will be sold for $1 to the United Church of Canada. One sale condition is that the property reverts to the province if the church wants to sell the land. The church has used the parking lot since the 1950s.

The hospital property became surplus last year and the Department offered to sell the land to Cape Breton Regional Municipality for $135,000. The property is zoned GI (government/institutional).