Timing bodes well for cash-strapped TVDSB looking to sell surplus land

TVDSB head office, Dundas Street East, London, Jan. 7, 2025 (Bryan Bicknell/CTV News London)

Some of the solutions to the Thames Valley District School Board’s (TVDSB) financial woes could be found right under its nose.

The board plans to sell off surplus land it owns across the district in a bid to slash its $16.5 million deficit -and the timing of the move bodes well for the cash-strapped school board, as industry experts say there’s high demand for land from both developers and municipalities to be used in future developments.

“Our industrial park is quickly becoming full, so we’re always looking for different industrial land,” commented Strathroy-Caradoc Mayor, Colin Grantham. “If there was land owned by anyone, that was adjacent to our industrial park, we would most certainly talk about it.”

He also indicated the municipality is actively seeking land for a new fire hall in Mount Brydges.

TVDSB interim education director Bill Tucker said the board has a surplus of vacant properties it plans to list for sale. By law, municipalities will get first right of refusal at market prices.

“We have a number of land acreage across the district that do not have buildings on them, they’re surplus properties. And so, one of the things we’re looking at, not only savings to reduce the deficit, but how do we gain some income as well,” explained Tucker.

TVDSB Interim Director of Education Bill Tucker speaks to CTV News, Jan. 7, 2025 (Bryan Bicknell/CTV News London)

According to a representative from the southwestern branch of Commercial Real Estate Services Canada (CBRE), serviced land is in high demand right now depending on where it’s located.

“If there is land within a residential development that the school board owns, then yes, that land is in quite high demand because the developer would buy it to develop it into more housing,” explained Vice President of Advisory and Transaction Services Phil Coley.

“If it’s kind of out in farmland, not as much, unless of course that planning said that it would allow industrial, commercial, then potentially, yeah,” Coley added.

Tucker would not divulge just how much surplus land the school board has, or where it’s located, but he did say that most of it is outside the city of London, and some properties are quite large. “So, it’s widely distributed across the district. We have a number of municipalities within our district in growth patterns that we can take advantage of, for sure,” he said.

The board will decide which properties will be listed for sale at a future closed-door meeting, said Tucker.

“Remember, we’re still increasing enrollment in the board across various municipalities, so we don’t want to bring forward property that we may need in the future,” he explained.