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Four other properties needed for the $39-million Wharncliffe project, which includes a rebuilding of the 95-year-old CN rail overpass, have already been bought by city hall after negotiations were started with owners in 2018.

Finlayson’s lot was one of seven properties for which council approved expropriation on Tuesday. The road widening is a key priority for city hall because of the bottleneck created by the rail bridge over Wharncliffe.

A dejected Finlayson said she may still consider the offer to move her home, if it can structurally withstand the shift across the street.

“I’ll consider anything at this point. I don’t want to be homeless,” she said.

247 Halls Mills Rd.

The owners of the site of an old red barn in Byron were no more impressed with council’s decisive 12-3 vote to designate their land a heritage property.

John and Ruth McLeod left city hall without pausing for reporters after their plans to build residential units on the property went up in smoke.

Mayor Ed Holder and councillors Paul Van Meerbergen and Steve Hillier voted against saving the barn. All others wanted a heritage designation to stop the demolition.

The barn is a former coach house and warehouse for a wool mill that operated on Halls Mill Road in the late 1880s.

The couple’s lawyer, Analee Baroudi, had urged council to delay its final decision to allow for discussions with city staff after politicians on council’s planning committee recommended protecting the old barn.