Atleast two businesses have been told they have until May 31 to move equipment from the properties
Some business owners in Essex County have to vacate their property by the end of May.
That's after the County of Essex purchased five to six-acres of land in Tecumseh at Manning Road and County Rd. 22.
The land is home to at least four businesses one is Faiez Shamoon's Lakefront Marine Boat Sales and Service.
Shamoon along with other tenants who lease the land have been told they have until May 31 to move - but with more than 100 boats on site and Lakeview Marina at full capacity - he tells CTV Windsor it's simply not enough time.
"We should have 90 days minimum. With this you need time, you have to put all the boats in the water and you need to move and find a place in my busiest season. I'm crazy busy here right now while I'm trying to find a new spot at the same time, it's going to be really hard," he says.
The aggressive timeline is also overwhelming for Motor City Auto Auctions.
Owner Eric Loffelmann has been at the location for more than 11 years.
He tells CTV Windsor, aside from having 100's of cars to move, he has to find properly zoned land with buildings that suit their storage.
"We need a couple doors on adjacent sides to drive cars through. There's not enough time to find anything and to get all the paperwork in action to do it," he says.
Essex County Director of Infrastructure Jane Mustac says the plan is to widen the south side of Manning Road to four lanes with a bridge.
"The ultimate design includes a single point urban interchange that has a design feature of Manning Road going over County Rd 22," says Mustac.
County Warden Gary McNamara reached out to AM800 News to say the county doesn't want to cause any unnecessary stress for nearby businesses.
He says they county doesn't want to be landlords until work gets underway, but they will sit down with business owners to come up with a fair timeline for them to relocate.
CTV Windsor did reach out to the land owner, who says lawyers for both sides are working on a possible deadline extension. No one would comment on the purchase price, but the deal closes June 30.
The County hopes to break ground on the project in 2020.
— with files from CTV Windsor.