'I have no words': Developer upset to see 200-year-old tree hauled away
Black walnut tree in Byron fell to condo project, developer wants it made into furniture
A London developer is worried a 200-year-old black walnut tree will be tossed be into the trash rather than repurposed as part of a condo development under construction in Byron.
The massive tree was located on city property: the boulevard along Byron Baseline Road near Grand View Avenue. It was cut down to make way for an 11-unit residential development by Millstone Homes.
Police were called to the project Thursday after Vasile Caniuca, the president of Millstone Homes, refused to move away from the fallen tree until he could be assured its wood would be saved rather than scrapped.
"I want it saved so we can make a dining room table, or a table. So who's going to buy these homes here behind us, they can have this furniture in their house and it's going to be a history, I guess, " Caniuca said Thursday.
Caniuca said he counted the rings at the tree's base and estimates it's at least 216-years-old. The developer also estimates the wood from the massive trunk is worth $20,000.
"It's an amazing tree, it's a very valuable tree," he said.
The problem is, Caniuca has no rights to the tree.
London-based Bre-Ex Construction has exclusive rights to the wood because it was contracted by the City of London to remove the tree from public property in order to make way for the development and widen Byron Baseline Road.
"They said 'I cannot keep it, it's not my tree,'" said Caniuca. "Now everybody is here, look, police, workers.
"I don't want to be known for this kind of stuff but I think it's worth it," he said. "This tree is going into garbage and that's very sad."
It's unclear whether the tree will be repurposed or whether it will be tossed out. Calls to Bre-X from CBC News were not returned Friday.
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With files from CBC's Andrew Lupton