One to focus on real estate, the other to promote investment

Print

E-mail

Text

Related Audio

• Historic Fort York David Spittal courtesy murmur.com
• test

If Toronto Council goes along with a plan unveiled by Mayor David Miller Monday, TEDCO, the arms-length company that deals with Toronto's real estate, will be replaced by two new companies. One will develop, lease and sell Toronto's real estate, the other will promote Toronto to businesses around the world.

The plan, which will go to next Monday's meeting of the city's Executive Committee, will phase out the Toronto Economic Development Corporation and provide $10 million in seed money to create the two new companies: Build Toronto, which will deal with Toronto's real estate assets, and Invest Toronto, to market Toronto as an investment opportunity.

The plan is not a surprise. Miller's Blue Ribbon Panel made similar recommendations earlier this year, suggesting that a new and empowered corporation overseeing the dispersal and management of Toronto's real estate holdings is essential to unlock the real values of that land.

And Miller told reporters that Toronto's needs have outgrown TEDCO's abilities and scope. The company was established prior to amalgamation, and was intended to deal mainly with large swaths of city-owned real estate on the waterfront.

Now, the city is dealing with surplus lands - large and small - across the board.

"TEDCO is limited statutorily on what it can do," said Miller. "We've received advice through the business community, our Agenda For Prosperity and the Blue Ribbon Panel - good advice - that the city has an opportunity to be much more active in the creation of wealth, and employment, and the use of our real estate assets. TEDCO can't, for example, redevelop residential land at all. That's the law. We've asked the province for legislative changes in 2006, and those are not forthcoming. But under the City of Toronto Act we have the ability to create the legal framework to allow both corporations to do their jobs."

Both of those corporations will be governed by a mix of government and private sector appointees. In each case Miller will sit in the chair, as will senior economic development officials. But a voting majority will be made up of appointees from Toronto's business community.

The city will, if the plan is approved, spend about $10 million to provide new staff and cover other startup costs. It will take until early 2009 to get the corporations up and running, working closely with the city - which will be the only shareholder.

Ward 3 (Etobicoke Centre) Councillor Doug Holyday was on hand for the briefing. He said he welcomes a plan that will move toward selling off city assets. But he questioned the need to spend $10 million and hire additional staff.

"I would like them to do something with city assets, but I'm concerned about the $10 million price tag to get into the business," he said. "We've got employees and I'd like to see them utilize existing employees rather than hiring new ones. We have 50,000 employees - surely some of them have time to look into these matters. When this comes to council the mayor will have to put forward a business case."