Cornwall sells $725K lot to RCMP for new district office
The former site of Crosby's Auto Sales will be the home to the district office for Queens
The town of Cornwall, P.E.I., has passed a resolution to sell a parcel of land to the RCMP for the Queens District office.
The lot is located across from the town hall, off of the newly constructed Mercedes Drive. Council agreed to sell the property to the RCMP for $725,000 at Wednesday's monthly meeting.
"It's been a project for a while, but last night with the resolution, I mean finally we can say that the RCMP are moving the barracks to the town of Cornwall," said Mayor Minerva McCourt.
"We look forward to having them here and knowing that their presence will be another sign of help to provide safety in our town."
Maypoint detachment imperfect for RCMP
The detachment has been located at 153 Maypoint Rd. for about 20 years.
It's within Charlottetown's borders, but since P.E.I. RCMP don't police within the city limits, Staff Sgt. Shane Hubley said it "isn't an ideal situation" when his team has to navigate city traffic when they go out on calls.
"We moved in here way back when with the understanding that eventually we would have a district office built elsewhere, so about a year ago, we actively started looking for a location to build that," he said.
"We believe that our base of operations, our district office, should be within the area that we actually police."
It adds to all that concept of community policing and being available and being seen within the town— Minerva McCourt, Cornwall mayor
The site of the future district office is the former Crosby's Auto Sales. Cornwall purchased the land in 2013.
"The thought at that time was that someday that property would become the property of the RCMP," McCourt said.
"That has been on the back burner for a while, but never forgotten, and always kind of being worked out."
McCourt said the addition to the town is welcome as part of Main Street's growth and the town's commitment to safety, particularly with the addition of more active transportation routes.
"It adds to all that concept of community policing and being available and being seen within the town."
Hubley said the RCMP does not have a timeline on the build, but hope to be operational in the the new space by Christmas 2022.
"RCMP as an organization and all the members here in Queens District are excited," he said.
"It's been a long time coming for us to have our new home, and we're very happy that it's going to be in Cornwall."
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