Wheatley business owners cautiously optimistic about purchase of properties

The municipality of Chatham-Kent's plan to purchase property in the town of Wheatley has gained cautious support from some local business owners.

"It's a good first step," said Mike Untsch, owner and pharmacist of Adamson Guardian Pharmacy, the only pharmacy in Wheatley. "I would like other properties that were affected by the explosion to be purchased as well."

Chatham-Kent has reached out to 11 property owners whose property is at the corner of Erie St. North and Talbot Road East. The buildings located there are part of the evacuation zone in Wheatley and are fenced off, along with other nearby properties that have not reopened, nearly a year and a half after an explosion rocked the downtown.

David Taylor, Chatham-Kent's director of legal services, previously told CBC News that the discussions are currently to determine whether or not the 11 owners are willing to sell or not.

Untsch's pharmacy was affected by the 2021 blast and has since relocated away from downtown Wheatley. He said the repair costs to the original building, which is also fenced off but not part of the 11 buildings potentially for sale, were too much.

"We're going to have to demolish the building and it's going to happen sometime mid-March of this year," he said.

Despite the municipality exploring whether or not to purchase the 11 properties, another business owner is also excited about a potential purchase, but remains concerned.

"If you take away that commercial property, where are other people supposed to relocate for businesses?" said Tracey Declerck, owner of the Briar Patch Studio, which is located directly beside the evacuation zone. "There's very limited commercial property available in town."

Declerck said she has not been told about what will happen to the properties, and is concerned about the impact it will have on her business if the buildings in the evacuation zone are demolished.

"If there's nothing there, nothing is a draw for people to come to Wheatley," Declerck said.

CBC News reached out to the municipality of Chatham-Kent on Sunday to ask if the buildings will be demolished assuming a purchase is made. No response has been received yet, but Taylor previously told CBC News that taking these next steps could also be a way for "community members to contribute to what the future vision of the site should be."

Regardless of whether Chatham-Kent purchases the property, Declerck said the impact has already been felt.

"We have no restaurants in town, so our business in the evenings is non-existent because nobody's coming," she said.

While other residents did not know much about Chatham-Kent's plan to purchase the 11 properties in the evacuation zone, one did say what he would do if he was offered to sell.

"I'd definitely take the money if I could," said Kaleb Dyck. "If they're not going to build there again, definitely take the money and support your family."

Another resident just wants their town back.

"It's important that those businesses and the residents are relocated," she said. "We had a little town that was doing very well. We had restaurants, we had a Legion, we've got the car barn, we've got the church.

"We need to get back what we lost."

Declerck said there is potential for downtown Wheatley to be rebuilt, but that it will take a long time.

"People are not willing to invest right now because nobody knows what the future holds," she said. "Because it's taken so long, it's a huge risk for anybody coming in."

Untsch also sees the potential for downtown Wheatley, but is uncertain about its long-term future.

"I hope that it recovers, but I'm not sure if it will at its [current] location," he said. "It would require a lot of money and I'm not sure where that money would come from."