Sale of Surplus Land at 11 August Avenue

South of Danforth Avenue and East of Victoria

Park Avenue (Ward 13 - Scarborough Bluffs)

The Corporate Services Committee recommends the adoption of the following report (April6,1999) from the Commissioner of Corporate Services:

Purpose:

To seek Council's approval to accept an offer from Mr. Gaspare Messina to purchase the surplus lands at 11 August Avenue.

Funding:

Revenue in the amount of $75,000.00, less broker's commission of $3,000.00 plus GST and any expenses incurred by the City incidental to the closing of the transaction.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

(1)Council waive the obligations, pursuant to Section 42 of the Expropriations Act, to offer the owner or owners from whom the property was expropriated, the first chance to repurchase the lands on the terms of the best offer received;

(2)the Commissioner of Corporate Services or the Executive Director of Facilities and Real Estate be authorized to accept the offer from Mr. Gaspare Messina to purchase the vacant land located at 11 August Avenue and described as Lot 24, Registered Plan 1936;

(3)the City Solicitor be authorized to complete this transaction according to the terms and conditions of the Agreement of Purchase and Sale; and

(4)the appropriate City officials be authorized and directed to take necessary action to give effect thereto.

History:

With the adoption of Clause No. 5 of Report No. 28 of The Corporate Administration Committee, the former Metropolitan Council, on November 8, 1995, authorized staff to offer four parcels of surplus lands at the lower end of the market value range, to Metropolitan Toronto Habitat for Humanity Inc. The four parcels are delineated in heavy black lines on Schedule "A" attached and are in the Oakridge Community which is predominantly a low to medium density residential neighbourhood with commercial/retail activities along Danforth Avenue.

Metropolitan Toronto Habitat for Humanity Inc. (MTHFH) is a charitable non-profit volunteer organization building homes around the world in partnership with badly housed families. MTHFH accepts no government money, but it does accept donated land, donated services and donated development fees.

Comments:

Negotiations between staff and Mr. Nicholas Volk, Chair of the Board of Directors of MTHFH have been ongoing since March 1996. Based on internal appraisal reports, an offer to sell three of the four properties was made to MTHFH on September 16, 1998, subject to Council approval. The remaining property was not offered as it is not zoned for residential use. Initially MTHFH indicated interest in purchasing two of the properties (27 Lucy and 11 August Avenue) but then withdrew from negotiations in February 1999 advising that they had "decided to target larger pieces of properties in order to build more than one home at a time".

The property at 11 August Avenue was listed on the Toronto Real Estate Board's Multiple Listing Service with Re-Max Goldenway Realty Inc. at an asking price of $79,900.00 on March 3, 1999. While there were twelve inquires about the site, only one offer, that from Mr. Gaspare Messina to purchase the property was received on March 18, 1999 with the following terms and conditions:

Conclusion:

Completion of this transaction as detailed above is considered fair and reasonable and reflective of market value.

Contact Name:

Neubert Li, Real Estate Administrator, (416) 396-7422, Fax No. (416) 396-4241, E-mail Address: li@city.scarborough.on.ca.

(A copy of the maps attached to the foregoing report was forwarded to all Members of Council with the April 19, 1999, agenda of the Corporate Services Committee, and a copy thereof is also on file in the office of the City Clerk.)