Leslieville / Studio District

[insertrealname]

Too early to call for a scandal before the final verdict comes down from the OMB isn't it? If you're searching for blatant corruption at City Hall look no further than the Golden Arches on Bloor. That deals smacks of multiple payoffs.

Quite right, I was jumping to conclusions. More land has been set aside for this economic sector. Still, I think it's remarkable that overall film studio capacity seems to have been temporarily reduced and concentrated in a fewer number of locations and companies.

The "What's Wrong with Toronto" blog seems extremely biased.

 

[userfriendly]

I suspect that is what "economic development" agencies do.

Pity TEDCO has expressed no "economic development" opinion on the rezoning of 629 Eastern Avenue from skilled film jobs to unskilled retail jobs.

Are "blog" and "bias" not synonymous? Whatswrongtoronto.com raises many issues, few of which have been publicly refuted. It's bias is toward the truth if anything.

 

[Alley Kat]

Bad timing over Smart!Centres kiboshes Leslieville BIA plans

By Duncan McAllister

Attendance was sparse at an initial meeting organized by Mary Ann Grainger to discuss forming a new business improvement area for Leslieville. One local resident comments that “out of the many, many stores, only a few showed up for a BIA introduction meeting a few weeks ago. I counted six. Most I talked to for the past year do not want nor care or will even consider a BIA.†The owner of Tango commented that “Everyone is waiting to see the outcome of [the Smart!Centres issue]."

A study is being conducted by the Riverdale Community Development Institute located at the Ralph Thornton Centre, with Ryerson students canvassing area stores. Preliminary results show that as many as 40% of the stores think they will have to close. Storeowners from Gadabout, Ring Audio, East End Garden Centre, and Brayham Contemporary Art have expressed concerns for their future existence. Kelly Carmichael of Smart!Centres opposition group East Toronto Community Coalition knows many store owners are expecting to close. She predicts, “There would be quite a few. When you walk a long Queen St. lots of stores have the No Big Box posters.â€

The Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas (TABIA) requested permission to withdraw from the OMB case opposing the Smart!Centres development on Feb. 20. TABIA is an advocacy group for BIA’s. The TABIA request is posted at www.thefoundrydistrict.ca.

2008-04-06 17:04:23

http://www.thebulletin.ca/cbulletin...8117570821401348521&ctid=1000072&cnid=1001647

 

[insertrealname]

Pity TEDCO has expressed no "economic development" opinion on the rezoning of 629 Eastern Avenue from skilled film jobs to unskilled retail jobs.

I raised this question with the TEDCO rep. at one of the public meetings a few months ago, I did not get a real straight answer--probably my fault, since I put it in terms of participation in the OMB process, which has all kinds of complications for an official agency like TEDCO already committed to FilmPort and its commercial partner TFS, who is the appelant in the SmartCentres matter.

Are "blog" and "bias" not synonymous? Whatswrongtoronto.com raises many issues, few of which have been publicly refuted. It's bias is toward the truth if anything.

No, they are not synonyms. At least, I think that blog is absolutely hell-bent on finding some kind of misconduct by TEDCO ("I know you're guilty, so tell me the truth!!") while raising good questions which TEDCO needs to answer, illustrating how deals done by a public agency without sufficient transparency almost invariably destroy public confidence in the agency's work.

 

[Film Worker]

Corrupt TEDCO is definitely bash-worthy

Sounds like its time for some to bash TEDCO again. There was a peice on filmport on the CBC last night. Seems TEDCO has caused Toronto to have Canada's largest and newest film studio -- which will open in May -- and has reserved 40 acres of land for the film industry on the waterfront instead of just condos. I suspect that is what "economic development" agencies do.

Anyone who has read even a bit of the "what's wrong toronto" site knows that TEDCO deserves every bit of bashing possible.

The leaked FilmPort documents show that TEDCO stuck with Rose Corp's bid for FilmPort even though they knew that Rose didn't have the money, and would have to rezone and liquidate the old studios at 629 Eastern Avenue. This is what triggered the whole rezoning / SmartCentres mess in the first place.

TEDCO even made the "joint offer" to bring in Pinewood (including a preposterous offer to sell all of Rose Corp's film interests, but keep them in the bid anyway), and the joint offer was rife with development incentives that have very little to do with the film industry, but actually had lots to do with condo air rights and other non-film related development.

I work almost daily in the film industry, and the US guys that come up here to shoot movies are here to scrimp and save money, not to pay the same rates for studios as they do in LA. With 629 Eastern gone, the largest stock of cheap converted studios (but still good enough to film "Incredible Hulk" in last year) will be gone, and remember we lost the Marine Terminal Studios last year due to more TEDCO shenanigans (Project Symphony).

So TEDCO's corrupt land-swap studio deal, which combined with a non-competition clause and a 99-year lease on 40 hectares but the studio only has to operate for 10 years, is a COMPLETE DISASTER for the film industry, leaving us with a NET LOSS of studio space including the loss of 629 Eastern Avenue.

But on the bright side, at least I'll be first in line for falling prices on socks...

 

[Fair Comment]

The newbie Film Worker is probably the person behind the ridiculous web site that makes constant false allegations against Filmport. There is no mention in the media or elsewhere that any of the parties that bid on the film studio project are unhappy with the project. The new studio is very good for the Toronto Film industry and well supported.

What is true is that a new studio, complete with North America's largest and most modern stage, is opening in Toronto's Portlands area, just as TEDCO and the City advertised. I, for one, am glad to see that happen and it will also have the benefit of being a positive turning point for waterfront revitalization.

 

[Film Worker]

You've just outed yourself as a paid employee of TEDCO...

The newbie Film Worker is probably the person behind the ridiculous web site that makes constant false allegations against Filmport. There is no mention in the media or elsewhere that any of the parties that bid on the film studio project are unhappy with the project. The new studio is very good for the Toronto Film industry and well supported.

What is true is that a new studio, complete with North America's largest and most modern stage, is opening in Toronto's Portlands area, just as TEDCO and the City advertised. I, for one, am glad to see that happen and it will also have the benefit of being a positive turning point for waterfront revitalization.

One only needs to search your past comments to find out that you are a staunch defender of TEDCO, especially the corrupt "Project Symphony", where TEDCO sole-sourced an architect (David Miller's buddy) even though all waterfront redevelopment was supposed to go to architectural competition. Also, you take shots at Chris Hume, the only journalist with the balls to take on TEDCO's dirty dealings.

On the film industry issue, instead of really presenting facts, you've chosen to mislead people the way shady TEDCO does.

In 2005, a significant number of film producers, advocacy groups for the film industry and film stakeholders all stepped forward to warn David Miller about what you call the "allegations" about the corrupt film studio deal:

- that it was linked to the rezoning of 629 Eastern and would lead to the loss of these studios. FACT: This was true, and is happening now.

- that it had a 99-year lease with only a requirement to operate as a film studio for 10 years. FACT: This was true, and this lease is now in play.

- that it had a non-competition clause that would unnaturally restrict the growth of the industry. FACT: This was true, and certainly came into play with the non-relocation and loss of the Marine Terminal Studios.

So my "fair comment" friend, please don't classify as allegations things that actually turned out to be true. You may have been able to get away with that previously, but now time has gone by and reality speaks for itself.

ANOTHER FACT: City council DID NOT, IN FACT have a chance to review the corrupt studio lease before David Miller essentially tied their hands by signing the lease in public TWO WEEKS before it even came before Council.

YET ANOTHER FACT: The leaked documents showing the studio deal's corrupt beginnings really do exist, and the only reason the media doesn't report on them is because David Miller is a media darling, with his lovely golden locks, and is also a cry-baby that refuses interviews to any media outlet that dares offend him.

Anyone can simply search "Forcible Decline" in YouTube and see the lies and machinations behind the scenes by both the City and TEDCO that led to the massive reduction in infrastructure in Toronto's film industry.

What good is waterfront revitalization if it happens in a totally non-transparent manner AND robs City coffers with preferential lease terms AND happens to decimate the infrastructure of an entire industry AND happens to be linked to a rezoning that is highly problematic?

Are you, for one, REALLY telling us that this was a good development deal, and that my colleagues and I in the film industry that have a NET LOSS of space to work in should be happy about this development?

Time to call a spade a spade. This deal stinks from here to high heaven, and not even the spin-masters at TEDCO - yourself included - can change that.

How do 'ya like them facts?


p.s. what's wrong toronto is not my site, but I sure am glad someone's doing the media's job for them...it's about time to shine a light on the cockroaches in this City.

 

[urbandreamer]

^Just down the street in the Beach strip you can buy cheap socks at Ends.

I often walk the entire Queen St East to West strip and must say Wal-Mart prices vs. many shops along the strip's prices are really not that much different.

That being said, what is the big deal about a bigbox retail zone opening here? Bigbox retail is a mere short-term cash-in on the next few decades; the owner of the land can then flip the property for condo-ization in 2030 for a 5-bagger. Brilliant investment from my perspective. Queen East/Leslieville is a retail dead zone aways, unless you're a millionaire home owner eating at all the trendy restaurants! I'm certain many locals already drive to other big box locations, shop at malls and buy products from many other "evil" corporations. There's something about middleclass hypocrites that pisses me off.

So build the damn things--the market will sort itself out.

 

[urbandreamer]

^And pre-war Brantford bungalows. When that Toyota plant opens in Woodstock, there's going to be demand for them. Buy them cheap now.

 

[Alley Kat]

Does anyone moderate this forum?

It seems most times when there's a meaningful dialogue, in this case about the jeopardy of an entire industry, someone hijacks the thread. How did we get to speculating on real estate investments in Brantford, whilst discussing the potential destruction of Leslieville as a neighbourhood, and 20-30,000 film workers losing their livelihoods in the Film District?

 

[urbandreamer]

^Sorry. I'll shut up.

But seriously, there are 20-30,000 film workers in Toronto? Since I rarely watch movies, I'll admit I'm clueless about the biz.

 

[Film Worker]

The fix is in, and has been for a long time.

Most diversionary tactics, oversights and omissions related to this fiasco are intentional. Note that:

- nobody is talking about the TEDCO improprieties. You would think the OMB might be interested in damage control on a major, industry-crippling real estate scam that triggered the subject rezoning application.

- the film industry unions and groups are strangely silent, even at their peril if this goes through. There seems to be a fear that if they upset the scam, FilmPort will be weaker financially and could tank early if it remains vacant.

- the City team continues its fumbling and bumbling. Lawyers are being replaced mid-stream, and nobody is questioning the fact that SmartCentres dropped their residential component. You would think that would trigger a whole new application...

- the NDP are doing what they do best, which is make lots of noise but get the opposite done, away from public view. Remember that Miller, Fletcher and company could have prevented this mess when they had the chance. All of their efforts now are purely window dressing, because they've already proven that they will defer to Reisman (and now Goldhar).

DO NOT put it past the duplicitous David Miller to have called the Province after sending them his letter, explaining that he needed to keep the optics clean, but effectively neutralizing his own request for intervention.

 

[TOinTO]

- the City team continues its fumbling and bumbling. Lawyers are being replaced mid-stream, and nobody is questioning the fact that SmartCentres dropped their residential component. You would think that would trigger a whole new application...

It seems to me that fumbling is what the city does best. I avoid looking for conspiracies where common stupidity and incompetence will do.

I've only subjected myself to reading a couple of OMB rulings, but they were full of scorn for the foot dragging, incompetence and duplicity of the city officials.

Given that the city is opposing the rezoning based on loss of employment area, and given that they rejected an earlier proposal with more residential, it wouldn't do much good to make the residential component a barrier.

In fact, that is the very type of tactic that would get them in trouble at the OMB. The OMB seems, primarily, to be concerned with the consistent, fair and expedient application of municipal bylaws and official plans. If the city can be shown to have changed their mind on things, the OMB will consider it unfair treatment of the developer and over rule the city.

In this case, given that the city previously favoured a big box redevelopment of the site, Smart!Centres will probably win.

It's certainly sad. A car dependent mall is not what the area needs. We're carefully constructing a balanced urban area across the river in West Donlands, while letting an established and intensifying area fall victim to a suburban invasion.

 

[insertrealname]

This is very much a hallmark issue for Toronto and not a simple case of a few mom & pop stores closing down on some non-descript street in Woodstock.

However, if it can be shown that there is no net loss of these unique positions as a result of Wally's World then I think the City's argument will really lack any validity.

While the employment is a principal issue in the appeal of the zoning bylaw amendment, there are a host of other "hallmark" issues as well: is a large shopping centre an optimal use of the land consistent with some kind of urban "smart growth" strategy? What about public infrastructure and health costs in the long term: all that shopping traffic concentrated in on area does impose a burden on the roads and on the health of local residents (I live 1km. from Lakeshore and on summer days I can smell the build-up of exhaust fumes in the afternoon).

As has been mentioned before, while the owners of adjacent properties are taking no position on the appeal per se, they want whatever zoning treatment is accorded to TFS to be applied to their holdings as well. In the long term, this means a shopping precinct from a few blocks east of the Don right over to Leslie. The "Golden Mile" lives again!!!

 

[Alley Kat]

"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem"

This is today's Toronto Star editorial. How could they possibly do such a great job of not getting it?

http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/416136

'Big-box' myth vs. reality

Apr 21, 2008 04:30 AM

A proposal to build an eight-hectare shopping and office complex in Leslieville has attracted loud opposition that seems out of proportion. Critics, foremost among them Councillor Paula Fletcher, have railed against the prospect of a "big-box" store locating there. Many seem especially outraged that a likely tenant would be Wal-Mart.

However, the official site plans, filed by the developer SmartCentres with the city on Friday, indicate that what is planned is far from the suburban big-box outlets that Fletcher has deemed an "anathema." The proposal features retail outlets that resemble traditional storefronts lining Eastern Ave. and Lake Shore Blvd. plus a central pedestrian area. Parking would be hidden from the street, and the complex is expected to provide about 2,000 full-time retail jobs.

But that's the problem, according to Fletcher. The city's official plan designates this area as a special employment zone, reserved for high-quality jobs. The site's existing warehouse-style buildings were devoted to film production until moviemakers left for Filmport, an enormous studio complex a short distance away in the Portlands.

Toronto officials, backed by Fletcher, maintain that this property should be held for similar "high-value" occupations, not lowly retail jobs. Backers of the shopping complex are going to the Ontario Municipal Board next month in an effort to reverse that ruling.

There seems some room for compromise here. The proposed shopping complex is a mixed-use development with upper-floor offices suitable for medical practices, smaller law firms, accountants, architects, and other professions. By any standard, those are "high-value" jobs. Proponents of the development say they are willing to suspend their OMB challenge and open discussions with the city if there were any indication that some mutual agreement could be found.

That, rather than more protests, seems the best way to proceed.
_______________

...and this drivel from Christopher Hume in the same edition. http://www.thestar.com/GTA/Columnist/article/416576