Union Station's reno deal crumbles
Private plan in works for 6 years
Miller refuses another extension
Apr. 26, 2006. 06:28 AM
PAUL MOLONEY AND DONOVAN VINCENT
CITY HALL BUREAU
The 100,000 commuters who use Union Station each day may have to live with the crumbling structure for years to come after a deal to renovate the building fell apart.
After nearly six years of talks, a $100 million-plus plan to transform Toronto's Union Station into a transportation showpiece collapsed yesterday.
Union Pearson Group, the private consortium selected to do the work, announced yesterday it could not meet the city's May 31 deadline to finalize the deal.
The consortium is prepared to keep working if an extension of unspecified length were granted by city council, Union Pearson project director Ron Taylor said yesterday.
But Mayor David Miller declined.
"Council bent over backwards to provide extension after extension," he said yesterday. "There was a deadline set, it was a fair deadline and this building's too important to keep it essentially in a holding pattern."
Restoring Union Station is considered a key initiative for Toronto. The building is a historic landmark, a vital transportation hub and a crucial part of the city's downtown. It is a destination point for the TTC, VIA Rail and GO Transit and will one day have a rail link to Pearson airport. But the structure is in desperate need of repairs and upgrades.
Miller wouldn't say whether the city would now look for a new private sector partner or carry out renovations on its own.
"Until May 31, the city shouldn't be speculating on what we're going to do without them because we have a legal obligation to negotiate with them in good faith until then."
Union Pearson won the job over a Chicago-based group that is now suing the city, claiming the selection process was flawed.
Taylor, meanwhile, noted councillors have said the city can't afford the $30 million to $40 million in basic repairs the station needs, let alone come up with the $100 million or so to redevelop the transportation hub.
The plans, in the works since the city took over the property in 2000, call for new restaurants, 130,000 square feet of retail space, entertainment venues and the rail link to Pearson.
While Miller and Taylor expressed disappointment, former Toronto mayor John Sewell, who has been a persistent and vocal critic of the Union Pearson deal, was delighted.
"I think it keeps falling apart because it's a dumb idea," said Sewell. Sewell argued that the focus should be on improving the transportation hub — wider platforms, new escalators, a new roof — instead of developing the commercial areas.
Despite yesterday's announcement, Councillor Sylvia Watson said she believes all is not lost.
Such work could be done piecemeal, said Watson, who chairs council's administration committee.
The issue heads back to council's administration and planning committees, with staff reporting back with recommendations, Watson said.
Union Pearson's investors and lenders need to see a completed implementation plan, review leases with GO and VIA, and examine the makeup of the board that will oversee the new facility.
Taylor estimated it would take 30 to 45 days for his side to go over the leases and there isn't enough time.
"What we would want is a commitment to expedite these processes," he told reporters. "We're prepared to stay at the table. We've said very clearly that we want to do this deal."
Miller, meanwhile, said the city is not to blame for delays.
"We would be in a position to deliver all our obligations by the deadline," he said. "It's my understanding from speaking to Union Pearson that a small extension wouldn't solve the problem. My understanding is that Union Pearson needs quite a bit of time, after the city meets its obligations, to meet theirs."
Taylor said the private consortium has spent $7 million to $8 million to get this far.
The complexity of restoring the historic landmark was a major obstacle, said Janice Etter, chair of the Union Station Revitalization Public Advisory Group.
"You have so many overlapping jurisdictions,'' she said in an interview. Leaving Union Station as it is isn't an option, she said.
"The station is in desperate need of repairs, never mind restoration. But the city isn't in a good financial situation right now," she added.
Councillor Doug Holyday, who firmly believes the Union Station proposal was sound, cited windows and plumbing in need of upgrades.
"But that doesn't give it the facelift it really needs, that's just maintaining it,'' he said.
The city is looking at losing an opportunity to showcase the station, Holyday said.
It was going to be an attraction for residents and tourists visiting Toronto, he said. The derailing of the deal sends a message the city isn't interested in working with the private sector on projects like this, he said.
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