Diageo property in Amherstburg listed for sale

The soon-to-be former Crown Royal bottling plant in Amherstburg is listed for sale. CTV Windsor’s Sanjay Maru reports.

The Diageo property in Amherstburg has been listed for sale.

The property located at 110 St Arnaud Street was listed on Realtor.ca on Monday.

The listing says there’s a total of 446,970 square feet across eight buildings on 70.41 acres of land with a secured yard.

The annual property taxes are $310,548.

Deputy mayor Chris Gibb told AM800’s The Kyle Horner Show that is an interesting development.

“That tells us that Diageo is looking to divest itself of the plant and hopefully, maybe Santa will bring some good news for Amherstburg and the region for Christmas that another company might buy it and bring it back to life,” he said.

Gibb said he’s hopeful the property will be purchased and some type of operations continue there.

“We’re just looking forward to keeping that plant going and whatever happens. It’s a huge property. There’s lots of room for expansion and investment, so, we should all think of this as a good news story,” said Gibb.

He said he’s thinking of the current Diageo workers at the plant during what is a difficult time over the holidays.

“This could be a situation where something bigger and better comes in. I think listeners probably all remember when back when the Heinz plant closed in Leamington. It was a big blow to Leamington but now that Highbury Canco is in there, from what I understand it’s busier than its ever been,” he said.

The listing follows Diageo’s announcement over the summer that it plans to close the Crown Royal bottling plant at the end of February 2026.

The company said the closure was to improve its North American supply chain, with Crown Royal whisky destined for Canada and non-U.S. export markets now being bottled at Diageo’s Valleyfield, Quebec, facility, while whisky bottling for the U.S. market shifts elsewhere.

At the start of December, over 200 unionized employees represented by Unifor Local 200 voted 89 per cent in favour of a closure agreement.

Amherstburg mayor Michael Prue again this month confirmed that there was at least one unnamed beverage producer still interested in purchasing the property and previously said the province had been involved in ongoing discussions.

Diageo is expected to continue operations until February.