News/Local

Wednesday

Merritton Mills Redevelopment Corp News

Next week, the abandoned railway bridge over Oakdale Ave. near the former Hayes-Dana plant is scheduled to be demolished.

The adjoining earth berms from the CN main line to Abbott St. are also being knocked down. Remnants of the spur line are being eliminated to help make way for a proposed 125-unit housing tract on 10 acres of land between Oakdale Ave. and Hartzel Rd, behind where the new Merritton fire hall is going.

The residential development is on a site that was formerly occupied by outbuildings of the once-sprawling Domtar Paper Mill conglomerate. The property has been vacant for more than 25 years, though, and there was never much chance of it ever being developed for industrial purposes again.

Its existence as a repository for residential development dreams came when Domtar closed in the mid-2000s and the former steam-plant lands were purchased by Merritton Mills Redevelopment Corp.