Abbey Gardens plans for expansion

by Angelica Blenich

The future of Abbey Gardens could include an auditorium a hotel or lodge and a restaurant.
Owners of the property John and Thea Patterson want to rezone a portion said municipal planning director Pat Martin at a June 22 meeting of Dysart et al council.


Located on Highway 118 in West Guilford the Abbey Gardens property includes retail space a brewery and agriculture. “They’re moving into tourism now so they are looking at festivals and events” said Martin. “So they’re looking down the road. This is not something that’s going to happen right away.”


Some of the expansion could include a hotel and restaurant and a barn to host events. The rezoning application is for 50 acres of the property. The proposed area is zoned Extractive Industrial Rural Type 1 and Environmental Protection. The applicants are requesting the zoning be amended to Highway-Commercial 27 Rural Type 1 and Environmental Protection. The area was formerly a gravel pit and the owner is in the process of surrendering the active aggregate licence according to Martin’s report.