Toronto developer challenges city's position on ownership of rail deck park airspace

In the wake of a report before Thursday’s executive committee meeting, a Toronto developer is challenging the city’s position on airspace needed for a downtown park project.

Rail Deck Park — a proposed city-owned urban greenspace over the Union Station Rail Corridor (USRC) between Bathurst and Blue Jays Way — requires the acquisition of 1.2 hectares of airspace over the busy rail line.

But while a city report claims the airspace is owned by CN and Toronto Terminal Railways (TTR,) CRAFT-Kingsmen Rail Corp. president Robert Sabato told the TorontoSun it actually belongs to them.

He also alleged negotiations, which the city claims to have had to acquire it, never took place.

“We’ve kept the city completely informed on our plans, and what our prospects for the property are,” he said, adding the purchases took place in September 2018 and May 2019.

“They absolutely know 100%, unequivocally, that we own it.”

CRAFT intends to develop a mixed-use development called ORCA along and over the rail line, a project in the works since 2013 that includes nearly five hectares of parkland and resembles the city’s eventual plans for Rail Deck Park.

In January 2018, council rejected CRAFT’s plans, prompting an unsuccessful appeal with Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT,) with CN Rail and TTR as co-appellants.

Deputy City Manager Josie Scioli recommended in Thursday’s report the city pursue expropriation if negotiations to acquire the rights fall flat.

“City and CreateTO staff have been engaged in negotiations with the various air rights holders to acquire the property interests and additional properties in the Rail Deck Park project area since 2018,” the report reads.

“To date, these negotiations have not been successful in producing an agreement between the parties.”

Those negotiations, Sabato says, never happened.

He noted May 27, 2019 LPAT hearing transcripts in which city lawyer Brendan O’Callaghan was asked by tribunal chair Susan Schiller where the city was in its efforts to acquire the airspace from CRAFT.

“To my knowledge, that process has not really started,” O’Callaghan said,

“I can tell you it’s certainly started in terms of the valuation.”

While a statement from the city contends many parties own the property under the Rail Deck Park site, it concedes most of the airspace between Spadina and Bathurst is indeed owned by CRAFT-Kingsmen.

CN Rail declined comment on the matter.

Meanwhile, Sabato says they’re waiting patiently for the supposed negotiations to begin.

“Our doors are open,” he said.

“They know how to reach us.”
Please share this