Toronto will have say on any Hearn site sale, says Tory
Mayor John Tory says he knew nothing of discussion about a potential sale of the fomer power plant in the Port Lands.

TheStar.com
Oct. 16, 2017
David Rider

Mayor John Tory says he has assurances Premier Kathleen Wynne’s government will consult Toronto before any sale of the massive decommissioned Hearn power generating station in the east Port Lands.

Tory said he knew nothing of any negotiations between provincially owned Ontario Power Generation and long-term Hearn tenant Studios of America until he read last Friday’s Star.

Speaking after a Monday visit to Facebook Canada, Tory suggested Wynne’s Liberal government was also caught flatfooted.

“Truth to tell, from what I can understand the government itself, at the very centre, didn’t understand that this was happening (and) . . . is now very much familiarizing itself with whatever is going on,” the mayor told reporters.

“We now have assurances from the government that any negotiation of the sale of, or any other treatment of, a very strategically located piece of land like that, would be done in consultation with us simply because it is in such close proximity to our waterfront and our Port Lands, and represents something that’s going to be a very strategic asset for everybody including whoever the owner of that piece of land is going forward.”

The 650,000-cubic-metre waterfront building — big enough to house the Statue of Liberty — opened in 1951 and closed in 1983. Studios of America, owned by partners including company president Paul Vaughan and prominent real estate developer Mario Cortellucci, has a lease on the site from 2002 to 2041, if all extensions are exercised, and a right to first refusal if the 16-hectare (40-acre) Unwin Ave. site is sold.

Last Thursday a lawyer representing OPG, appearing before a city committee to express concerns with the city’s Port Lands development plan, was asked point-blank by Councillor Paula Fletcher if there are negotiations to sell the site.

“I believe there has been discussions in that regard,” including recently, the lawyer, Mary Flynn-Guglietti, told Fletcher.

Ray Davies, OPG’s real estate strategy manager told the committee he had no knowledge of such talks. Although OPG has title to the land, Davies said, the Ontario government is OPG’s sole shareholder so “we wouldn’t make a decision without their blessing.”

Vaughan told the Star he was aware of such talks but a “gag order” prevented him from saying more and referred questions to “the land owner” OPG, which has not yet responded to the Star’s questions.

Proposals have come and gone for permanent use of the Hearn building, which hosts film shoots as well as special events such as Luminato in 2016.

Tory said he favours a “broad consultation” on the Hearn’s future, noting former industrial buildings around the world now house art galleries, retail, residential and more. “I think we should open our minds to doing something very bold with that building and that property and I hope that we’ll be fully consulted on that,” the mayor said.

Fletcher noted the Ontario government is a partner with the city and Ottawa in Waterfront Toronto, the agency executing a long-term redevelopment of the once-industrial Port Lands, and said the public and all partners should be consulted before any change to an important piece of waterfront.

Peter Tabuns, the NDP MPP for the area, echoed Fletcher’s concerns in an interview Monday.

“The whole area is being redeveloped so OPG and the provincial government should be helping the city. . . ,” Tabuns said. “To me taking a quick profit doesn’t seem very thoughtful or community minded.”

In June, the province announced it would sell another decommissioned former coal-burning plant, Lakeview on Mississauga’s waterfront. The developer or consortium that buys that property will have to remediate the industrial lands before transforming the area into a mixed-use community expected to house up to 20,000 residents and 9,000 jobs.