Mohawk College Replies to Questions re: Sale of 196 Wentworth North.

Further to our coverage of the sale of 196 Wentworth Street North from Mohawk College, to Mission Services, we asked Mohawk to answer a few questions. Special thanks to Jay Robb, Director of Communications for Mohawk College, for responding on behalf of Mohawk. (as an aside, we are also expecting a reply from Barry Coe of Mission Services, for questions we have put to him)

1. The sale of 196 Wentworth St. North to Mission Services has been the subject of controversy. Can you explain the nature of this transaction, why Mohawk elected it to sell it at this time, and how it came to be that Mission Services was the recipient of the sale.

Back in 2009, Mohawk moved the last of our continuing education programs out of the Wentworth Campus and the building was declared surplus. Mission Services then approached Mohawk with an unsolicited offer to buy the property. Following negotiations with Mission Services and a consultation with the City of Hamilton, an agreement of purchase and sale was finalized this past October on mutually acceptable terms. Mission Services now owns the property.

2: The Bristol Street Neighbourhood Residents, in a press release to The Hamiltonian and other media
sources, describe this sale as an "unconscionable decision which has led to much anxiety" and it was further described by them as “irresponsible corporate behavior". How do you respond to those assertions and do you understand their concerns and protests?

Mission Services is a long-standing and well-respected community partner, with standout employment and training programs that help people achieve and contribute to their fullest potential. Mohawk makes no apologies for selling the property to Mission Services. Our understanding is that Mission Services fully intends to comply in every respect with the zoning requirements that govern this property. Any concerns that the permitted land uses are somehow inappropriate should be directed to the City of Hamilton.

3: The Bristol Street Neighbourhood Residents are requesting/demanding that the remaining surplus property owned by Mohawk College on Bristol street - is "not to be disposed unilaterally by Mohawk College without full consultation with the residents and property owners of this neighbourhood".
Can you provide any information of what will become of this land being referred to?

Mohawk currently has no firm plans for the disposition of the college’s remaining property on Bristol Street.

4. It appears as though the community has had a very strong reaction to what they see as the adverse affects that the sale to Mission Services will have. While in that context it may not be possible to find a middle ground, is there something Mohawk can do to respond to the concerns of the community and offer up some sort of concession or, at the very least, a dialogue?

While changes within a neighbourhood can cause initial apprenhension, Mohawk is confident that the former Wentworth Campus under the ownership of Mission Services will contribute in a positive and substantive way to enhancing the quality life within the Bristol Street Neighbourhood and throughout all of Greater Hamilton. For our part, Mohawk will continue to focus on providing first-class post-secondary skills training and education to all Hamiltonians.

Thanks to Jay and Mohawk for engaging on The Hamiltonian.