[thistleclub]

A year after initial offers closed…

Former Dundas Canadian Tire site can’t be used for a grocery store
(Dundas Star, Craig Campbell, Jan 28 2021)

A restrictive covenant placed on Canadian Tire’s property at 50 Cootes Dr. by Metro Ontario Inc. prevents it from ever being used for a grocery store.

Canadian Tire listed the vacant site for sale on January 25, 2021, with a price of $3.9 million, about 2.5 times the property’s assessed value. A previous sale agreement fell through last year. The property was first listed for sale with no asking price in November 2019.

Metro, which operates a grocery store at 15 Governors Rd., registered the restrictive covenant on the Canadian Tire property’s title on March 22, 2019.

The restrictive covenant states Canadian Tire Corporation “shall not lease, or sell, or use or occupy any part of the lands … in connection with the operation of a food supermarket, grocery store or wholesale or retail food store.”

The document lists a variety of specific fresh, frozen and prepackaged food that cannot be sold from any retail store on the property, other than “the incidental sale of food … provided that the area reserved for such sales does not exceed five per cent of the total retail selling area of such premises.”

The restrictive covenant “shall constitute a burden upon the lands for the benefit of the leased premises of Metro Ontario Real Estate Limited at 15 Governors Rd., Dundas.”

The timing of Metro’s restrictive covenant coincides with the company’s closure of its University Plaza store. Canadian Tire took over the lease and relocated from 50 Cootes Dr. to the former Metro location.

Metro spokesperson Stephanie Bonk said the company does not comment on “our various property agreements.”

The ban on grocery stores at 50 Cootes is in addition to a restrictive covenant Canadian Tire will place on the property, preventing any future owner from competing with any of its nearby stores or affiliates.

Future owners cannot use any portion of 50 Cootes Dr. for auto service, a gas station, hardware or home improvement, sporting goods, nursery or garden centre or products that could compete with Canadian Tire or clothing retailer Mark's.

Canadian Tire spokesperson Joscelyn Dosanjh declined to comment on the restrictive covenants or the new sale listing.

Read in full here.