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No condo registration until heritage buildings restored By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Despite costs to residents, the newly-built condominium at 11 Bronte Rd. -- the former Bill Hill marketria -- will not receive final registration until the developer makes good on its agreement with the Town to restore three heritage buildings. Oakville's Planning and Development Council voted last week to reject a proposal by Birchgrove Estates Inc., which called for the immediate registration of the condo even though restoration work had not yet been completed on the former Glendella Inn heritage building, or the old Bronte Post Office and Police Station. All three structures are on the site. "All deals involve the distribution of risk and liability. Right now all of the risks and liability are on the developer and the condo unit owners," said Mayor Rob Burton. "If we agreed to this motion, we would be shifting some of the risks and potential liabilities to the rest of the town's residents. That is who we represent." Town staff pointed to a 2007 agreement between Birchgrove and the Town, which allowed the developer to build a 10-storey mixed-use building with 203 residential units, 877.93 square metres of ground floor commercial space and nine townhouses. In exchange, Birchgrove agreed to carry out exterior restorations on the trio of heritage buildings. Community Development Commissioner Jane Clohecy said that while the condominium is nearing completion, the deadline for the restoration work has come and gone. Denise Baker, representing Birchgrove, noted work on the heritage buildings has intensified in recent weeks and said it should be done by Feb. 28. Residents currently living in the condominium are not so sure. ment's immediate registration. If the deadline for the restoration work passed, the Town could then access the money and complete, not only exterior, but interior restoration work. Town staff were not impressed by this proposal. "Our concern is that the condition of the restoration of the heritage buildings prior to registration is more important than securing an additional letter of credit," said Clohecy. "In fact, the registration carries with it for the applicant a lot of additional funding that they then have access to. This is more of an incentive than any additional letter of credit the Town could ask for." Ward 1 Town Councillor Ralph Robinson, who advised council to accept the additional securities deal, said it was important for council to make things right for the condo residents. Robinson added he believes such a deal should have been reached months ago. Town staff noted the restoration agreement with Birchgrove was in place well before the residents signed contracts with the developer and that residents could have found out about it by contacting the Town. Council will hold Birchgrove to the original agreement of restoring the exterior of the heritage buildings before registration is permitted. Only Robinson, Ward 1 Town and Regional Councillor Alan Johnston and Ward 2 Town Councillor Pam Damoff voted in favour of accepting the securities deal. 9 · Wednesday, January 23, 2013 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.insideHALTON.com NIKKI WESLEY / OAKVILLE BEAVER / @halton_photog AWAITING RESTORATION: Heritage buildings awaiting restoration include the former Glendella Inn, the old Bronte Post Office and Police Station. Ron Worton, representing about 75 condominium residents, said he and the others living within the condominium were not made aware of the restoration agreement when they signed contracts with the developer. He said the Town's decision to hold off on the registration has negatively impacted the condominium residents as they cannot own their units until registration occurs. "We are very, very anxious for registration for financial reasons so we can stop paying our occupancy fees," said Worton. "Those fees are 3.5 per cent of the money that we still owe the developer on our units and that amount, if you total it up for all of us, is about $350,000 per month. It's a lot of money." While Worton said his group was happy to see an accelerated completion date for the restoration work, he pointed out a lot could happen between now and Feb. 28 that would push the deadline even further into the future. He called on the Town to make a deal with the developer to allow for the immediate registration of the condominium. Birchgrove proposed increasing the amount of securities it has pledged to more than $1.2 million in exchange for the develop- SALE Downtown Burlington 2020 Lakeshore Road at Brant Street B L OW O U T At the Waterfront Hotel ANNUAL · Friday, Jan 25th 3pm to 9pm · Saturday, January 26th 11am - 4pm · Sunday, January 27th 11am - 4pm Bridal, Veils, Mother of the Bride, Flowergirl & Bridesmaid Dresses, Tiaras and Jewellery 390 Brant Street, Burlington BRIDAL AND DRESS BOUTIQUE up to www.promisesandlace.ca 905.639.1004