Two hours east of Canada's largest city is a former airbase that once went by the name Camp Picton. Located in Prince Edward County, these grounds are now known as Loch-Slow and are now up for sale to anyone who can pay the C$15 million price tag (just under $12 million). Let's take a look at the property in question and its history.
Camp Picton- also known as No. 31 Bombing and Gunnery School
One of 151 British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) schools established across Canada between 1940-1945, Camp Picton is located in southern Ontario, two hours from Toronto and one hour from Kingston.
The county's tourism site notes that BCATP trainees started with basic training of about eight weeks, including at least 50 hours of flying. Indeed, as a BCATP site, Camp Picton- or No. 31 Bombing and Gunnery School- would have seen eager air force pilots train on aircraft such as the de Havilland Tiger Moth, Fleet Finch, and Fairchild Cornell.
While the camp's peak was during the Second World War, the base was in use until 1969, at which point it was decommissioned and sold to the former mayor of Picton- one H.J. McFarland.
Of Scottish descent, McFarland renamed it Loch-Sloy. 30 years after the purchase, Loch-Sloy was then sold again in 1999 to a WWII veteran who had trained at a similar site.
"It’s now almost 20 years into an odyssey to try to restore as much as possible and turn it into a mixed use business park. It’s the last remaining site of its kind in North America with as many original buildings still intact." -Prince Edward County
A "once in a lifetime opportunity"
Located specifically at 343 County Road 22 in Ontario's Prince Edward County, the Real Estate listing for the property describes it as a "once in a lifetime opportunity."
The listing says that a new owner would be able to create "multiple residential lifestyle communities" on the 688 acres of land. Also part of the deal is the functioning Picton Airport and its three runways, used for general aviation, including gliders. The listing notes that there is an "option to extend" these runways as well.
"The airstrip is still in use, although not nearly long enough for commercial services. There is a pilot school and a couple private planes that make use of the site." -Prince Edward County
There is also currently a business park and, of course, the heritage that comes with an old World War Two air force base. Which the Toronto Star notes does not actually have "heritage designation."
One of the last selling points listed is that it's a "Great Site For Special Events (Eg. Film Productions)."
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"Something really special"
John-Ross Parks, a sales representative with a local real estate firm, tells the Toronto Star that the lucky new owner will have "something really special on their hands." Parks adds, “We’re all hoping for someone who has a little bit of creativity and obviously the resources to put together such a large-scale redevelopment project.”
Hopefully, the current owners can find a buyer for this special property- someone willing to protect the site's heritage while being able to breathe more life into the community. The asking price at the moment is C$14.9 million - or US$11.85 million.
What would you like to see happen to this old base? If you had the financial resources, what might you do with the property and the buildings that are currently on it? Let us know in the comments.