From the Post:
How can you comment on a secret project?
TEDCO remains tight-lipped about 'project symphony'
Peter Kuitenbrouwer, National Post
Published: Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Last night the Toronto Economic Development Corp. held a public meeting to gain public input, they said, into a proposal for a new, 10-storey, $140-million building they want to put up on Queens Quay, at the foot of Jarvis Street.
But how is the public supposed to have any opinion at all? TEDCO won't identify the tenant for the building, for which they will begin excavation in July.
All they'll say about this project, code-named "Project Symphony" like some bad James Bond movie plot, is that it involves a publicly traded company in the "knowledge business," which will run a 24-hour operation on the site, and whose workers will move to the new building "from all over the place."
Jack Diamond, the architect on the job from Diamond and Schmitt, displayed some pretty watercolours of his project, with sailboats on the lake and cranes unloading raw sugar for the Redpath sugar refinery next door; he asked for the public's input.
But about half the 100 people present, in the rotunda of Metro Hall, left after the presentation and didn't stay for the discussion. Small wonder: how can you discuss a mystery?
As the meeting began, Andrew Gray, vice-president of East Bayfront Development at the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corp., told the assembled, "I'm going to turn it over to TEDCO, because really this is their show tonight." No kidding.
When the city, province and federal government created TWRC to develop the waterfront, the public was given assurances of involvement in the planning process. TEDCO, the city agency that owns most of the port land, showed again last night that it has another model: it works behind closed doors.
Jeff Steiner, the president of TEDCO, did confirm that he hired Diamond and Schmitt to design the building, without a tender.
"Jack Diamond was assisting us with the Queen Elizabeth Docks," he said. "We showed [the tenant] his work. We asked, 'Do you want to proceed with this architect?? They said yes. There's very little time on the front end to get this done.
"The construction contract will be tendered," he added. "We will have a mix of tendered and untendered."
Mr. Steiner also said that City Council directed TEDCO to go find a commercial tenant for the waterfront site, and, he said, the tenant (with whom he is now negotiating) apparently approached him about the site.
In February, TEDCO evicted Cinespace Studios from Marine Terminal 28, the cargo terminal that had become one of Toronto's busiest movie studios, to make way for the mystery tenant.
Jim Mercopolis, who works for Cinespace, was bewildered at Metro Hall last night.
"I came here to find out what was the rush to kick us out," he said.
"Based on what I see tonight I don't understand what the rush was. They still don't have a deal. The meeting reinforces the cloak of secrecy that follows TEDCO around."
Another participant said he has attended a number of public meetings over the years about this site.
"The consensus about the Jarvis Street Slip was to have an iconic use, such as a museum or a performance venue," the man said.
"If you put a commercial tenant, what's going to draw me down to that site? I want to go down there for something unique and special."
Mr. Steiner responded that no museum or university made a proposal.
And Mr. Diamond only said, cryptically, "Don't assume it won't be iconic."
Jill Hicks, who runs a tour boat on Lake Ontario, said, "You are going to negate 300 jobs that are using that dock wall."
Mr. Steiner responded, "I think the plan is to continue to have waterfront tourism."
Well, Mr. Steiner, I don't want to buy a pig in a poke.
Please don't organize any more "public meetings" until you either (a) have something to announce or (b) care what the public thinks.
Pkuitenbrouwer@nationalpost.com
© National Post 2007
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