Here’s The Transcript Of Trim Road CIP Discussion

One of our much cherished Bank Street Irregulars who send in info to The Bulldog, sent in  this gem.

They made a transcript of part of the discussion at finance committee about the Trim Road development that received a Community Improvement Plan tax break of $1.2 million. It was approved on Tuesday after the Canada Day weekend.

That the move was only revealed on Friday before the Canada Day weekend has been branded as an affront to the public policy discussion because it allowed residents no opportunity on business days to discuss the issue.

One point of interest … have any of you folks noticed whether this was picked up in the traditional media. Just send a comment to this post if you have. Thank you in advance:

3:20:00

Sutcliffe: Let’s move to item 7.3 the application by Trim Works Developments Ltd for 1280 Trim Road, and I understand we have a delegation on that from Brent Harden. Good afternoon and welcome thank you for coming in .

Brent Harden: Thank you Mayor. Good afternoon everyone. My name is Brent Harden and I’m owner of Harden Realties and La Maison D’Or  Jewelers 3:20:51 

I’m also the owner of Trim Social, a small Shopping Plaza on Trim Road in Orleans. Last year I acquired a piece of property located at 1280 Trim Road, directly across the street from my current development. 

This new property currently houses a vacant decrepit building but the land is full of potential, located in a thriving and upcoming community, Trim neighborhood. Although the land was overpriced, I’d been told by councilor Luloff before purchasing it about the CIP program and the allowances that it would provide in the name of community improvement. This ultimately became a huge factor in my decision to purchase the land as I anticipated the grant would help to offset not only the cost of the land but also the current high prices of construction. 

However, if the CIP Grant is in question, the future project is in question as well. As we await for council’s decision,on the ground, the project has been put completely on hold. We simply will not be able to proceed without the grant. 

Our proposed plaza will take an unattractive piece of property and transform it into a booming vital new development containing a mixture of

retail restaurants, automotive and personal care services. This project will provide countless benefits to the Orleans Community, including the creation of 75 new jobs in very close proximity to the LRT station, a minimum of five hundred thousand in new development fees that will be reinvested into the community, a focus on using local sourced materials and local small businesses to complete the build, removing an eyesore of a building and replacing it with modern structures and lush green space. 

Lousy City Planning Report Inadequate: BENN

I am truly thankful for the opportunity to speak to you all today and for ongoing support from Councilor Luloff in making this project a reality. I sincerely hope that you will see the value in providing us the CIP Grant and allowing us to move forward with creating new jobs and investing in our community. As a small business owner who has spent 44 years working in Orleans, I am thrilled and honored to be involved in the evolution of such a truly special neighborhood. Thank you for your time.

Councilor Luloff: 3:23:20 I just want to take the opportunity to thank you very much for continuing to invest in the community. The East End and certainly this area has been, you know, a bit economically depressed for quite some time. To see the continued investment that you’re making in Orlean, is heartening. This is an old hanger building essentially, and when we first sat down to discuss this property, you were very interested in keeping the building as it is, refacing it, making use of it in, I think, what you’d call the concept of Trim Works and then finding out that that that wouldn’t be possible, given the state of the building and then going back and reimagining the project working with the secondary plan group, to reimagine the project once again to get it to a point where it fits, you know, quite well, I believe, with the Secondary Plan and the Official Plan and the permissibility of this land. It’s a great deal of work that you’ve put into this and a great deal of thought and care that you’ve put into this: 75 new jobs on this site where a rusted out old building currently sits is an excellent use of this property. So thank you for coming out today, thank you for going on the little bit of a roller coaster ride that we’ve put you through throughout this and (I) appreciate, as the applicant coming out today to make this presentation, to take questions from this committee, I appreciate it very much. I fully support this application and I want to thank you for your continued investment in our community, you’ve been a wonderful partner to work with. Thanks.

Sutcliffe: Thank you Councillor Luloff. Councillor Dudas

3:25:20

Laura Dudas: I just quickly wanted to say that this is very exciting. As Councillor Luloff alluded to, this area has had a tough time you know. We’ve had federal jobs in the past, we used to have the RCMP, we used to have DND all along Saint Joseph, and you know, things were thriving, things were booming, we had opportunities and then a lot of that changed, a lot of those jobs went to the South End, to the West End. And, you know, once again, we don’t want to linger in the past; we need to move forward and by incentivizing businesses such as yours to reinvest in our community, to make sure that St Joseph is truly living up to its name as the main street as the heart of the East End.

I’m really really excited Brian. I don’t actually have a question for you. I’m just really happy to see that you’re taking the City up on its offer to reinvest in an area that desperately needs it. So I’m excited about this project. I will fully support it and I think that seeing more projects such as this, as well as housing, like these are opportunities for us in the East End and I’m very happy to see it, so thank you very much.

Sutcliffe: Thank you Councillor Dudas 

Theresa Kavanaugh 3:26:30

Thank you Mr Mayor. Thank you for the presentation as well Mr Brent. I just want to get more detail exactly what the 75 jobs are, and how this works. Being as it’s close to the (LRT) station, how much investment is it for active transportation, for walkability and cycling to this site? Because I just want to make sure we’re not investing in something that is car oriented. 

Harden: The project is within 300 meters of the new LRT station, so there’s walking distance, people can actually go there, go with any part of the city and come and work, obviously most of people will be working in Orleans. 

We have entered into letters of intent with over five

different types of businesses who are very interested in coming out. So this is on the road to becoming a very successful project except for this one stumbling block, which is the financing of the project, which is a large part of what will be needed. Thank you for your question 

Kavanagh: Okay but what kind of businesses?

Harden: There’ll be several restaurants opening up. We have a physiotherapist interested, we have a pharmacist absolutely, we have a dentist coming out, and we have a large facility that is an automotive use.

Kavanagh: Pardon? What was the last one? I’m sorry I didn’t hear you. 

Harden: That is a focus on automotive use. 

Kavanagh: Focused on automotive use. What does that mean?

Harden: I can’t get into too much detail. Obviously we have letters of intent that are based on confidentiality agreements. But, yes, it’ll be a form of a garage, which is absolutely allowed with the current zoning, and it will serve cars in that corridor.

Kavanagh: Okay. Thank you 

Sutcliffe: Thank you Councillor Kavanaugh .

Councilor Shawn Menard 3:28:42

Thanks very much Mayor.  I’m going to be dissenting on this. I know Councillor Luloff had brought forward the report previously to be able to bring this forward and I appreciate that and supported that at the time to have the discussion. I do think though this is the same kind of path we were heading down before with the review of CIPs and of Brownfields, of course, which you know, were tens of millions of dollars coming out of that constantly with the City of Ottawa, where we’re subsidizing this. 

It’s not found money, it’s not free money,  it’s taxpayer dollars and we’re subsidizing these private sector endeavors, so I guess just the question to the applicant is…if you feel like we should be doing this for almost all businesses? Should everyone get a property tax grant, or is it just the ones where we think that it may or may not go forward, and I guess the corollary to that is, is this is in such peril that this municipal grant of over a million dollars would make or break the project? I just can’t believe that. And if that’s the case, isn’t this a little bit tenuous for you? Otherwise, right, I mean if it’s going to be make or break with about that amount of money isn’t this a tenuous venture to get into?

Luloff? (not clear): Mr Mayor I don’t think that’s an appropriate question for somebody who’s applied to a program that existed and still exists.

Putin Is Alive And Well And Living At City Hall

Sutcliffe: Sorry, could you clarify exactly what your question is Councillor Menard. I’m not sure I understand it. I don’t think it’s relevant for the applicant to comment on the program in general …

3:30:12 

Menard: Thanks Mayor. And on his own application, I think you’re right. So in terms of your own application: is the project in such apparel that this procedure doesn’t proceed with a municipal grant and if it doesn’t proceed with the municipal grant, you’re saying it can’t happen without it, what are the economics for you of the go forward in terms of the success of this project or not?

Luloff: Councilor that’s actually one of the criteria for applying to this program, is that it has to be demonstrated that it’s not economically feasible without it.

Menard: Yeah and I guess I’m asking the applicant, that if it’s not economically feasible  without it, what are your chances of economic success in the future?

3:31:00

Harden: The chances of economic success are very very good. We’ve thought this through very well. I’ve done other commercial projects including the one across the road. The problems that we faced was the additional cost of the land because of the LRT on the corner so there was a primary cost that we didn’t think we would incur that has gone up in value, our cost of the construction itself and, of course, the cost of financing. So, this is a very viable project but the difference is made with this grant, this will allow the banks to look at our project and say, hey this makes sense, that’s why we’re here today.

Menard:  3:31:00 …I wish you all the success in the world as I do with all businesses in Ottawa, and I want them to succeed. 

I just think I have a problem with subsidizing it with municipal taxpayer dollars at the end of the day, and that’s what this is, and that’s why we’ve got a review of these programs. So I’m looking forward to that review coming out and hopefully changing the nature of how we go about this because, literally we’ve (given) tens of millions, actually over a hundred million dollars of subsidies for these types of things in the last decade in Ottawa, and I think that that money could go to better use. I appreciate you being here and I wish you all the best in the world and success in the world, just not with the property taxpayers dollars in this way. I’ll be dissenting here. Thank you

3:32:20

Mayor Sutcliffe: Mr. Harden, thank you very much for your delegation. Does anyone else just want to speak to this before we vote on it? I’ll just state for the record, as councilor Luloff knows that I do support economic development, I support economic development in Orleans, but on principle I will be voting against this proposal because I promised to review the CIP program and I’ll be voting against any CIPs that come forward until the review of the program comes forward and we decide as a Council what CIPs we will be supporting going forward. So I guess we’ll need a recorded vote on this please.

Yes:  Orleans East Councillor Mathew Luloff; Orleans West: Laura Dudas; Stittsville: Glen Gower; Beacon Hill-Cyrville: Tim Tierney; Rideau-Rockcliffe: Rawlson King; Kitchissippi: Jeff Leiper; River Ward: Riley Brockington; Orléans South-Navan: Catherine Kitts; Osgoode: George Darouze; Kanata North: Cathy Curry.

No: Mayor Mark Sutcliffe &  Capital Ward Shawn Menard.

 —

Don’t miss our regular features

Everything Ottawa      Full Local     Bulldog Canadian

Opinion    Comments    Breaking News   Hood Hub

Ontario   World    Get Cheap Gas   Big Money

Pop Gossip   Your Home    Relax …

Bulldog Weather    Full Local Sports

Page 2   Page 3   Page 4   Page 5   Page 6

Other features:    Full Bulldog Index    Return to Bulldog Home