A bridge too far leaves CityPlace owners in limbo
http://www.thestar.com/article/288615
Dec 29, 2007 04:30 Am
SARAH BARMAK
SPECIAL TO THE STAR
Delays in building a bridge across the railway lands have made 2,200 condo buyers at CityPlace reluctant renters and raised the hackles of developers and city officials.
The bridge's completion is a requirement imposed by the city of Toronto for CityPlace to register its N1, N2, West One and Gallery condo towers, which sit in a block west of Spadina Ave. and south of Fort York Blvd. "We've got people moved in on one of our blocks, and they want to financially close and become owners and not tenants," says Alan Vihant, a vice-president at developer Concord Adex, which has agreed to finance the bridge.
The mess has infuriated local city councillor Adam Vaughan (Ward 20, Trinity-Spadina), who says GO Transit – which must approve the bridge design – has rejected every proposed version of the bridge's support system.
"They're doing everything in their power to be obstructionist," Vaughan says. "Yes, their responsibility is to deliver transit services, but they have a role to play in helping us build the city. It's not fair. They don't care whether 2,200 people can live in their building."
The bridge at Portland St., east of Bathurst St., would link neighbourhoods north of Front St. to CityPlace and the waterfront, providing a path for pedestrians, joggers, cyclists, shoppers and tourists.
The bridge is one of the community improvements Concord Adex must make in order to develop the area south of the rail tracks. The developer must finance and build the bridge, with the city taking ownership on completion.
Vaughan says the bridge is an important project in his ward and will play an essential role in renewing the waterfront "in a way that's built on a pedestrian scale."
Dan Francey, GO Transit's manager of transportation planning and development, says that while talks are progressing, it is up to the city to either agree to a design that works for GO or scrap the bridge idea entirely. The existing plan, which calls for a supporting column near the rails, could interfere with the sightlines for train signals, Francey says.
"We haven't seen a version that works for our future plans or our flexibility," he says, adding that GO has proposed a clear-span (no supporting columns) design, an idea that doesn't seem to work for either Concord Adex or the city.
"That's ridiculous," Vaughan says. "They know the only way to build a clear-span bridge is to shut down service for three to four months. They won't let that happen."
While Vihant says the clear-span idea is "completely unacceptable," he doesn't think the city is doing enough to help his 2,200 residents who are caught in limbo. He wants the condos registered now and the bridge made a requirement for future development.
"The obligation to get approval to build that bridge is the city of Toronto's," Vihant says. "GO is saying, `we want more time.' We've offered up a solution that goes like this: Allow this existing block of developments to be closed and we will resolve matters on the next block."
Concord Adex can appeal to the OMB on the matter, a road that Vihant says it will take if it must.
The delay has been a pain for residents, many of whom moved in months ago and don't know how much longer they'll be paying interim occupancy fees.
For sisters Melissa and Carolyn Lawrence, 26 and 25, respectively, who moved into their N1 shared condo on the earliest date they could, Oct. 1, "it sucks ... we're paying a phantom mortgage."
They said they lost a plum 4.6 per cent interest rate on a mortgage in May when they failed to take ownership. They currently pay a combined $1,690 per month in fees.
"It's great that the city wants this beautiful thing," Melissa Lawrence says. "But if it wasn't for us, they wouldn't even be able to have a bridge."
