For more than a century, the Goodyear plant in Clarington, Ont., served as a major employer in the region.

But in 2016, the company shut down operations. The good news – at least at first blush – was that a developer announced a new housing complex would be erected on the site. People in the community were happy to hear that news. And then they waited. And waited. And waited…

Alas, a decade later, what remains of the factory is still there. Nothing of consequence has happened on this site – other than acts of vandalism and arson. Indeed, the last fire that occurred at the plant earlier this year was so massive that the roof caved in. The fire department was moments away from evacuating nearby residents. (Of note: there are single family dwellings that are just a football field away from the old Goodyear plant.)

Needless to say, homeowners have run out of patience. They say not only is the old factory an eyesore but that it’s unsafe, too.

The Municipality of Clarington agrees, urging residents to stay off the property as the building is “structurally unstable and extremely dangerous.”

Indeed, the municipality has posted a stop work order on the gate leading into the plant. There’s also a notice from the Fire Marshall. Even so, residents say this doesn’t stop kids from sneaking onto the site. It’s an accident waiting to happen.

So, questions arise: when is the plant going to be demolished? When is the site going to be cleaned up? And when will construction begin on that proposed whiz-bang housing development?

Those are indeed the key queries, but alas, there are no tangible answers forthcoming.

The developer, Pickering, Ont.-based Lifelong Developments, has stated that it is planning a mixed-use development on the site dubbed “Goodyear Village”. Yet, to date, it’s been all talk and no action.

Seeking clarity, Rebel News reached out to Lifelong Developments. We spoke with the company’s president, Absar Beg. And what ensued was a conversation that was equal parts surreal and nonsensical.

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For starters, when asked about a timeline in terms of moving forward with the housing project, Beg stated: “It’s unfortunate it [the Goodyear plant] has been closed for 10 years because initially Trump said he wants the jobs to come back to the U.S. And overnight they moved the equipment out to Ohio. Those jobs initially went to Cleveland. It’s unfortunate the plant was closed and we’re in a trade war. And our job is to be productive and that’s what we’re doing.”

Fact-check time: Trump Derangement Syndrome does not work here. For starters, Beg was speaking as if he was a former executive of the Goodyear plant as opposed to the president of Lifelong Developments which intends to develop the abandoned plant. Weird...

Besides, the timeline does not make sense given that Donald Trump did not take office for his first term until January 2017. As for the trade war, that would come almost a decade later during Trump 2.0.

We also asked Beg why it is that nothing seems to be happening on-site in order to move the project forward. Beg stated: “We’ve been pretty active on the site. And we’ll continue to do things.”

But wait a minute: wouldn’t being “pretty active on the site” violate the municipality’s stop work order? Beg responded with silence.

Beg then made a veiled threat regarding legal action due to “slander” if Rebel News were to publish any misinformation. He also asked to review our report prior to publication (that’s a hard no.)

Finally, we passed along our email address to Beg and expected to receive a written statement from him. Five days later, it’s still radio silence.

Bottom line: there seems to be no end in sight regarding this eyesore that is fraught with danger. Too bad: the people who live near this mess deserve better. But good luck getting sincere answers from the people who say they plan to redevelop this place. Stay tuned.