Does 1948 deed let city claim hospital land?

A hospital and the city of Toronto are squabbling over a deed that says city is entitled to buy land for $835

Thestar.com
Oct. 31, 2015
By Betsy Powell

In 1948, the Town of Weston sold half a hectare of land for $835 to a local residents’ association raising money to build a hospital.

The deed stated that if, in the future, the land was no longer used as a hospital site, the Town of Weston (now the city of Toronto) must be given the option of buying the property back for an amount not exceeding $835.

The hospital was built and has operated on the property until this month, when the Humber River Hospital was shuttered and its operations moved to the world’s first fully digital hospital on Wilson Ave.

But before hospital administrators put the old site up for sale, lawyers notified the city that the “disputed clause” had expired and was no longer enforceable.

The city disagreed.

“To date, the city has taken the position that the disputed clause entitles the city to purchase the city parcel for $835 if the land is not required for hospital purposes,” says a report from the city’s solicitor included in next week’s council’s agenda.

The L-shaped parcel of land sits under part of the closed hospital building and its parking lot. The entire site covers 4.5 hectares.

This summer, the hospital filed an application in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice seeking a declaration that the disputed clause is “unenforceable and of no force or effect.”

That application says the city has no claim to the land, the Town of Weston was not authorized to include the clause and the sale to a third party does not “trigger” the disputed clause “provided such proceeds are used to fund the new hospital,” which is the plan.

But that day in court might not happen. The solicitor’s report is recommending council approve a proposed deal between city staff and hospital representatives. Council will debate the details at next week’s meeting during an in-camera session.

Councillor Frances Nunziata, whose ward includes the old hospital site at 200-208 Church St. in the northwest part of the city, says the deed should give the community a say in what happens to the property, which is in the middle of a residential area.

Some residents are concerned that the hospital will sell “to the highest bidder” who will build townhouses or condo towers - increasing density and traffic in the area.

To do so, a developer would have to file a rezoning application because the property is zoned for institutional use. It’s expected the existing structure will be demolished, Nunziata said.

“The community wants a long-term care (facility), seniors’ residence, a child-care facility, they don’t want the hospital to sell it to a developer to build residential,” she said.

The deed “really was sort of a trump card for us, for the city and the community, because we want institutional uses on the land. It’s really the use of the land the community wants to leverage.”