WINGHAM, ONT. -- Construction on a massive subdivision in Wingham is expected to begin later this year.

Maitland Estates is a 450 home subdivision on 90 acres along the eastern edge of Wingham.

A developer had optioned the land over eight years ago, but nothing moved forward.

A new developer has stepped forward, Doug Cerson, to move the project ahead, and North Huron Reeve Bernie Bailey couldn’t be happier.

“We realize the acute labour shortage we have in the area simply because we have no home homes to put them in. So, if we’re going to keep the industry we have, we have to move on this, and we have. We could put in 100 homes tomorrow and be pretty well assured someone will buy them just to fill the labour shortage we have in the Wingham area,” says Bailey.

There are as many as 100 jobs available now at Wescast in Wingham. Britespan is hiring. Bruce Power is hiring. And most businesses in the Wingham-area are in need of employees.

There’s also value in the area, says Cerson, who is based in Waterloo. He believes now that there are jobs available, people from the Kitchener-Waterloo area, will move further west to live.

“The conundrum is if you go too far west, you hit the shoreline where home prices have really started to accelerate. So, that’s why Wingham is a real good choice for us,” says Cerson.

Cerson expect to begin “scraping” the land this fall, with construction on 42 homes to begin in early 2021. He hopes to have 176 homes built in the next five years, with room for as many as 450, down the road.