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U of T's Observatory Lands (Richmond Hill)

R

rdaner

Guest
Town gazes upon site

But, despite the rumours, Dunlap observatory lands not for sale: U of T

January 29, 2007
Jim Wilkes
Staff Reporter

Just like Halley's Comet, rumours about the David Dunlap Observatory keep coming around again.

Rumours that the rolling, heavily treed property in Richmond Hill that boasts Canada's largest optical telescope is about to be put up for sale, in part a victim of light pollution from the ongoing development that surrounds the 80-hectare site.

Director Peter Martin admits it has already become obsolete as a traditional observatory, one where astronomers point telescopes into the night to gaze at stars and record them on film or digital plates.

But Martin, an astrophysics professor at the University of Toronto, says it's still a vital spot where stellar spectroscopists gather important new observations at wavelengths unaffected by the brilliant light of a Richmond Hill night.

"You can only do what you can do, so it pushes you into niche areas rather than the broad sweep that an observatory can do in a perfect site," he said.

It was at the observatory in 1972 that U of T astronomer Tom Bolton first proved the existence of black holes, collapsed stars whose gravitational pull is so powerful that nothing can escape them.

A green oasis in the heart of Richmond Hill, between Yonge St. and Bayview Ave., just south of Major Mackenzie Dr., it has vast open fields and huge woodlots that are home to dozens of white-tailed deer. The deer are increasingly a problem for nearby homeowners, who claim they eat their trees and attract illegal hunters.

Martin says it's hard to escape the recurring rumours that the site is for sale and the possible $200 million windfall it could bring the university.

"There have been no official talks about selling," said Martin, who joined the faculty 35 years ago and became its chair in 1999.

There's also the matter of whether the university is actually permitted to put the property on the market.

The observatory and surrounding lands – a pre-Confederation farm purchased for just $28,000 – were given to the university by Jessie Dunlap in 1935 in memory of her husband, a wealthy Toronto lawyer and mining entrepreneur. The trust declared that if the school no longer needed the property for an observatory, it would revert to the Dunlap family.

The university's governing council has hinted it might be able to bypass the trust conditions if it sold the site and used the money to advance astronomical research in other areas, but that's a legal debate to be dealt with down the road – if it was actually about to be sold.

"This story has more legs than a centipede," said Richmond Hill Mayor David Barrow. "The story just keeps going around and around."

Barrow is the first to admit he'd be eager to see the land as a huge park in the centre of town and hopes if the university did sell, the town would get first crack at it. The town already leases adjacent land from the university, where it built the Elvis Stojko Arena.

"When we hear about it being for sale, we inquire and they tell us there's nothing imminent," Barrow said. "Then we hear they're actively engaged and then we learn it's not the case."

But none of that dulls the mayor's ardour.

"There's an opportunity there we wouldn't want to miss if it did become available," he said.

Developers are also keeping an eye on the site, which is surrounded by homes and the streetlights that have reduced the big telescope's usefulness. The town enacted a bylaw in the mid-1990s to force lighting to be aimed toward the ground, rather than upwards, but by that time it was too late to prevent a disastrously illuminated night sky.

"The fact that a town has grown up around this property, no matter what measures we might have taken, has probably put it at risk for its original use," Barrow added.

"If those 200 acres went on the market, we'd be competing with those who had other uses for it and it could go for $1 million an acre in a bidding war."

Critics have suggested that much of the land is a fallow field and that the telescope has outlived its utility as a watcher of the skies. Barrow isn't so sure.

"I don't know what its potential is," he said. "Some may say it's meeting its potential by sitting there as greenspace."

Councillor Lynn Foster, chair of the town's Architectural and Conservation Advisory Committee, has said she wants to protect the observatory lands and have them declared a heritage site.
 
If they took that $200 million dollars, they could build one of the best observatories in the world, and still have some left over.
 
The observatory is a building type that I find quite beautiful- it's simple on the outside, feels big inside, and opens up to the sky beautifully (you can get the same thing at the SkyDome, but the feel in the two buildings are completely different).

If I could buy the observatory, I'd convert it into my house!
 
Historic telescope blinded by the light

Historic telescope blinded by the light
Encroaching urban sprawl has diminished effectiveness of U of T's observatory, prompting talk of selling the property
PAUL TAYLOR
From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071016.wdunlap16/BNStory/Science/

October 16, 2007 at 4:12 AM EDT
Thirty-five years ago, Toronto astronomer Tom Bolton made a discovery that rocked the scientific world: He proved the existence of black holes.

A few leading astrophysicists had predicted that so-called "black holes" could be created when huge stars die and implode under their own massive weight. According to the far-out theories, these super-dense objects would exert such a powerful gravitational pull that not even light could escape their grasp. Essentially, black holes would be invisible - and that would make it extremely difficult to find one.

But Prof. Bolton of the University of Toronto achieved the near impossible by spending many long nights at the David Dunlap Observatory in Richmond Hill. He charted the bizarre movements of a star that appeared to be tugged by an unseen companion. Gases were being sucked off the surface of the star and disappearing into the void of space. He published his findings in 1972, arguing that the only logical explanation was a black hole.

"It took months of work, but it was a gamble that panned out," said Prof. Bolton, who was 28 at the time of his landmark paper. Indeed, the discovery earned him, as well as the U of T's Dunlap Observatory, a place in the history books.

Today, Prof. Bolton's beloved observatory appears headed for the auction block. The university recently announced plans to sell it and the surrounding 190-acre property.

The observatory, in a sense, has fallen victim to the urban sprawl around Toronto. Light pollution from encroaching development has "limited the reach of the telescope in terms of the objects you can actually see," explained Pekka Sinervo, dean of U of T's arts and science department.

When it first opened 72 years ago, it was surrounded by farmers' fields. Now, housing abuts the wooded site that is home to the domed observatory and its stately administrative building.

But the relentless march of urbanization north of Toronto has a silver lining - it's driven up land prices and the university stands to make a tidy profit. The estimated value of the property ranges from $75-million to $100-million.

Prof. Sinervo said money from the sale would be used to create a new Dunlap Institute at the university's downtown St. George campus. Among other things, the institute would concentrate on the design and development of sophisticated equipment for the next generation of huge telescopes being planned for more remote and darker locations around the world.

Yet even before the university could consider the sale, it first had to reach an agreement with the Dunlap family. In 1935, Jesse Dunlap donated all the money for the observatory in memory of her late husband, David, a mining entrepreneur and astronomy buff. Under the original terms of the gift, which amounted to $28,000, the property would revert back to the family if it were no longer used for astronomy.

After lengthy discussions, the family has agreed to re-endow the university, with the sale proceeds apparently being divided between the university and the Dunlap descendants.

"The university's share will actually be the single largest portion," said Prof. Sinervo, although he would not provide precise details.

The proposal goes to the university's governing council on Oct. 30 for final approval.

Family spokesman David Dunlap said the new Dunlap Institute "is going to be a world-class centre of excellence and I am absolutely certain my grandmother [Jesse] would be delighted with this chain of events."

But Prof. Bolton and other astronomers mourn the demise of the historic observatory, which can still boast the largest optical telescope in Canada, measuring 1.88 metres (74 inches) in diameter. (At the time it opened, it was the second biggest in the world.) "It is a real tragedy," said Prof. Bolton, who is now 64 and one year away from retirement as a professor in U of T's department of astronomy and astrophysics. "The facility has unique capabilities for certain kinds of research and the current powers-that-be don't consider that research important."

Ian Shelton, a Toronto astronomer who is famed for discovering the brightest supernova (exploding star) in 400 years, is another advocate for the observatory's research. He noted that the telescope is actually "100 times more sensitive" today than when it was first built. In the late 1980s, the observatory abandoned traditional photographic plates and switched to electronic equipment that can amplify the light of individual stars while subtracting the effects of background light pollution.

Dr. Shelton acknowledged that a bigger telescope in a darker location would be needed to study the farthest and faintest objects in the heavens. But the old observatory is still useful for examining the "billions of stars" in our own galactic neighbourhood and "quite a few of them are very exciting."

Even so, Prof. Sinervo insists that abandoning the Dunlap Observatory is the right thing to do. "I don't disagree that there is science being done." But that type of "bread and butter [research] isn't going to ... change our understanding of the universe."

By focusing on the development of telescopic equipment, he said, the university might be able to earn a stake in a more powerful observatory capable of looking back to virtually the beginning of time.

"We are working to understand what really happened in the first few thousand years of the universe. That is the kind of thing we can do with the investment, if properly made. It is a different vision for how we should put our resources to play. The reality is that the large majority of our astronomers here at the university are in full agreement with this decision to go forward."
 
Took the Globe long enough to get this story which broke a couple of weeks ago. U of T is pushing the whole light-pollution angle but it's not entirely accurate that the observatory is useless.

http://www.yorkregion.com/article/50058

Oh well, U of T will make some nice dough, so will the Dunlap family, so will some developers...
 
"It is a real tragedy. The facility has unique capabilities for certain kinds of research and the current powers-that-be don't consider that research important."

- Professor C. Thomas Bolton

Like it or not, the DDO is really part of World History, not just Canadian. That is primarily because of Mr. Bolton's work. And what a ridiculous scenario that will lead to its demise. They just cannot wait to get out of the way of so-called urban sprawl. There will be no heroic battle, just resignation, and of course the recovery of their investments.

Someday we will look back at this as yet another lost opportunity in this bum's rush. The shell may be salvaged as part of some development's empty symbolism, but even that may be a longshot very soon.
 
I think U of T is handling this very well. They get more research facilities and can use some of the new revenue to acquire a partnership into a more powerful, up to date observatory. I've spent some time as an amateur astronomer so I understand the problems associated with light pollution. I hope whoever develops the site will leave the observatory building in tact for its historical and architectural significance (probably sans the old telescope which perhaps U of T can use at a darker location). I'm feeling optimistic about this development.
 
It's a misconception (being fuelled by U of T) that the DDO is obsolete because of light pollution. Some of its functions have been mitigated but light pollution is basically at 1970s levels because of local by-laws and the telescope is used for spectroscopy which is unaffected.

UofT has been trying to do this under the radar for at least a few years but, since they didn't own the land, they were trying to figure out how to get out of it with a few bucks, I think.

The town is trying to get heritage designation for the land. That will be a key factor in determining what buildings etc. remain intact. I expect this thing to drag on for years with OMB cases etc. The university, IIRC, is expected to ratify the deal tomorrow. After that, watch the developers come swooping in.
 
And so the sale begins...

1512476266_9ad8b8e283.jpg


Late this afternoon, U of T's Governing Council voted to declare the David Dunlap lands surplus so that it can be sold to the highest bidder. I was one of about a dozen "guests" from Richmond Hill. We were permitted to listen, but at the last minute learned that we would not be allowed to present a deputation to the council. We were not permitted to ask questions or make comments. What a "fun" process that was!

There are many overlapping issues and several stakeholders involved here: U of T Administration, DDO astronomers and staff, the Dunlap family, the Town of Richmond Hill and area residents. So far, area residents have been effectively shut out from all discussion of what will become of the DDO property.

As has been noted here, the DDO grounds and buildings have significant historical and architectural value and should be preserved. Also, the telescope continues to be used by U of T and international astronomers -- primarily for stellar spectroscopy, a field that s largely unaffected by light pollution. If U of T does not want it, hopefully DDO will become a shared facility accessible to all Ontario universities. The telescope is useful for research, but can also be used to economically train undergraduates and continues to have great value for public outreach education, special lectures, etc. Such a move would require a shared investment from several sources, however.

If we lose the land to development, we will lose the last significant green space in the middle of Richmond Hill. Area residents will be forced to make do with narrow strips of land running next to diverted creeks and storm detention ponds. It just seems wrong to me, that U of T would take 180 acres of healthy forest and meadow away from the people of Richmond Hill, while they charge donors $750 a tree to plant them on the St George campus.

The fact is, the DDO is worth saving. U of T students and alumni should be concerned and outraged over this scheme.

http://www.rhnaturalists.ca/save-the-observatory/

http://flickr.com/groups/save-david-dunlap/pool/

373831063_ff80bddd4b.jpg
 
There is more to it than astronomy

Really? After regenerating the forests on the property over the past 70 years, is it fair for U of T to steal this land from the people of Richmond Hill and the GTA? This is the largest remaining green space in the middle of our town. It's bigger than St. George campus. If UofT's cash grab allows developers to plow up the trees and pave it over with houses or big box stores, it will render every green/sustainability project U of T does downtown into a sad joke.

Useful astronomy is still taking place at DDO and we hope that is allowed to continue. Did you do optical astronomy or spectral? Because the telescope is still fairly booked by astronomers using it for spectral work.

BTW, at the same meeting where the UofT Governing Council voted to declare DDO lands "surplus" so they can be sold off, they also voted down a call from a student petition (http://stand.sa.utoronto.ca) to divest university investments in Darfur.

I think U of T is handling this very well. They get more research facilities and can use some of the new revenue to acquire a partnership into a more powerful, up to date observatory. I've spent some time as an amateur astronomer so I understand the problems associated with light pollution. I hope whoever develops the site will leave the observatory building in tact for its historical and architectural significance (probably sans the old telescope which perhaps U of T can use at a darker location). I'm feeling optimistic about this development.
 
I hope the land is developed in a sensible way. The observatory structure itself should be preserved as a historic site, with interpretive signs, and some of the forested area should also be preserved. In addtion, I hope the municipality will zone the site to accommodate medium and higher densities, unlike so much of Richmond Hill which is large houses on large lots.

As for the university, it's not the least bit irresponsible of them to sell off the land. They have a fiduciary responsibility to maximize the return from their assets, whether that return be defined in academic / research terms, or simply in monetary terms. If the place is no longer suited to the original purpose, why not sell it, and use the resulting money to, say, purchase a partnership in a world-class observatory in the Andes or somewhere?
 
No one is disputing the university's fiduciary rights. The questions revolve around what other obligations they have. To accept that getting the highest dollar is the pre-eminent concern one must accept certain premises:

-That the telescope is as useless as they say

-That they have a right to profit from a sale when they don't actually own the land

-That they have little or no obligation to have kept the municipality of Richmond Hill informed about what they were planning for the nearly 200 acres of prime greenspace in the centre of their town

They were very coy about all this until the cat was basically out of the bag. They negotiated a deal with the Dunlap heirs that kept everyone else out of the loop, apparently.

And, barely related: As for the Darfur thing, the university said they only had two tangential Sudanese connections and that's why it wasn't worth divesting. If it's true or not, I don't know.
 
I think that U of T's only mistake was going about this whole process in such a secretive way. The local community, university community, astronomical community, as well as the GTA as a whole, deserved more notice. Having said that, U of T can do whatever it pleases with its assets, and who are we to criticize the school for doing something that is arguably financially sound?

If the residents of Richmond Hill care so much about this property, nothing is stopping the town from zoning the entire lot as rural open space. Perhaps the town could join forces with local astronomers to take over operation of the observatory and turn it into a tourist destination.
 
I think that U of T's only mistake was going about this whole process in such a secretive way. The local community, university community, astronomical community, as well as the GTA as a whole, deserved more notice. Having said that, U of T can do whatever it pleases with its assets, and who are we to criticize the school for doing something that is arguably financially sound?

If the residents of Richmond Hill care so much about this property, nothing is stopping the town from zoning the entire lot as rural open space. Perhaps the town could join forces with local astronomers to take over operation of the observatory and turn it into a tourist destination.

True, it doesn't have to be urban sprawl as the land could be rezoned, but I bet many residents are clueless or simply don't question the reason for the closure and think there's nothing wrong with a new subdivision or some stores closer to home. I was under the impression that the U of T has some academic role and that it's something beyond a corporation.
 
http://www.yorkregion.com/article/57612

I think that U of T's only mistake was going about this whole process in such a secretive way. The local community, university community, astronomical community, as well as the GTA as a whole, deserved more notice.

The joke is that, at the meeting, they patted theselves on the back for having an open process. They pointed out they normally don't even put out press releases for council decisions, as if this was any other. As if people hadn't been asking them for years when this was coming and been told nothing was in the works.

Having said that, U of T can do whatever it pleases with its assets, and who are we to criticize the school for doing something that is arguably financially sound?

Yes, but it wasn't U of T's asset. The whole reason for the secrecy you mentioned is because they had no right to the land once they closed the observatory. That (it seems) is why they've spent the last few years negotiating something with the family that allowed them to get a slice of the sale of land which they did not own. Now everyone is happy - the family gets money and preserves their legacy and U of T gets something more than a decomissioned telescope: MONEY.

The land is now zoned institutional and is not even serviced. The problem is that if U of T sells to the highest bidder the owners can apply to build a subdivision or condos or whatever and then we're off to the OMB for years and a lot of money...Then the town will have to prove to the OMB (especially in the context of Places to Grow) why they should get to keep 190 acres of greenspace. If the Moraine battles are any indication, good luck with that.
 

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