7. Acquisition - 9 Leeming Drive -
former St. Thomas School - Owned by Ottawa Catholic District School Board
ACQUISITION du 9 de la
promenade LEEMING, ancienne école ST. THOMAS appartenant
au OTTAWA CATHOLIC DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS
That Council approve
that:
1.
Staff be authorized to complete the acquisition
of the former St. Thomas School property, located at 9 Leeming Drive and
legally described as Block E Registered Plan 442519 as shown on Document 1
from the Ottawa Catholic District School
Board, based on the Acquisition Agreement and utilizing debt financing, in the
approximate amount of $2M, as described in this report;
2.
Staff be directed to consult further with the community on the future uses of the subject property, as described in this report,
based on reaching a community consensus that a Special Services Levy will be
implemented for the City to recover its acquisition costs and/or all related net
renovation, demolition or construction costs related to the proposed community
uses, and report back to Council by March 2011;
3.
In the event that a community consensus is not
reached by February 2011 on funding a community-use option for the property through
a Special Services Levy, staff be directed to report back to Council by March
2011 with recommendations regarding the disposal and sale of all or
part of the subject property.
Que le Conseil approuve:
1.
D’autoriser le personnel municipal à acquérir du Ottawa Catholic
District School Board la propriété de l'ancienne école St. Thomas, située
au 9 de la promenade Leeming et officiellement décrite comme le bloc E dans le
plan enregistré 442519, tel que le montre le document 1, sur la base de
l'entente d'acquisition et à l’aide du financement de la dette au montant
approximatif de $2M, comme il est décrit dans le présent rapport;
2.
De Demander au personnel de poursuivre ses consultations avec la communauté sur les utilisations futures de la
propriété en question, comme il est décrit dans le présent rapport, la
condition qu’un consensus communautaire soit atteint visant à ce que la Ville
recouvre, au moyen d'un prélèvement pour services spéciaux les coûts de cette
acquisition et tous les coûts nets de rénovation, de démolition ou de
construction liés aux utilisations communautaires proposées, et qu'il fasse
rapport au Conseil d'ici mars 2011;
1.
dans l'éventualité où il n'y aurait pas d'ici février 2011 un consensus dans
la communauté sur le financement d'une option d'utilisation communautaire de la
propriété au moyen d'un prélèvement pour services
spéciaux, de demander au personnel de présenter au Conseil, d'ici mars 2011, un
rapport assorti de recommandations relatives à l'aliénation et à la vente d'une
partie ou de la totalité de la propriété en question.
DOCUMENTATION
1. City Manager’s report dated 4 May 2010
(ACS2010-CMR-REP-0014).
2. Extract
Draft Minute, 4 May 2010.
Report to/Rapport au:
Corporate Services and
Economic Development Committee
Comité des services organisationnels et du développement économique
and Council / et au Conseil
Submitted by/Soumis par: Kent Kirkpatrick, City Manager / directeur municipal
Contact
Person/Personne ressource : Gordon MacNair, Director, Real Estate Partnerships and
Development Office/Directeur, Partenariats et Développement en immobilier
(613)
580-2424 x 21217, Gordon.MacNair@ottawa.
REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS
That the Corporate Services and
Economic Development Committee consider recommending to Council that:
1.
Staff be authorized to complete the acquisition
of the former St. Thomas School property, located at 9 Leeming Drive and
legally described as Block E Registered Plan 442519 as shown on Document 1
from the Ottawa Catholic District School
Board, based on the Acquisition Agreement and utilizing debt financing, in the
approximate amount of $2M, as described in this report;
2.
Staff be directed to consult further with the community on the future uses of the subject property, as described in this report,
based on reaching a community consensus that a Special Services Levy will be
implemented for the City to recover its acquisition costs and/or all related
net renovation, demolition or construction costs related to the proposed
community uses, and report back to Council by March 2011;
3.
In the event that a community consensus is not
reached by February 2011 on funding a community-use option for the property
through a Special Services Levy, staff be directed to report back to Council by
March 2011 with recommendations regarding the disposal and sale of all or
part of the subject property.
RECOMMANDATIONS DU
RAPPORT
Que le Comité des services organisationnels et
du développement économique envisage de recommander au Conseil :
1.
d'autoriser le personnel municipal à acquérir du Ottawa Catholic
District School Board la propriété de l'ancienne école St. Thomas, située
au 9 de la promenade Leeming et officiellement décrite comme le bloc E dans le
plan enregistré 442519, tel que le montre le document 1, sur la base de
l'entente d'acquisition et à l’aide du financement de la dette au montant
approximatif de $2M, comme il est décrit dans le présent rapport;
2.
de demander au personnel de poursuivre ses consultations avec la communauté sur les utilisations futures de la
propriété en question, comme il est décrit dans le présent rapport, la
condition qu’un consensus communautaire soit atteint visant à ce que la Ville
recouvre, au moyen d'un prélèvement pour services spéciaux les coûts de cette
acquisition et tous les coûts nets de rénovation, de démolition ou de
construction liés aux utilisations communautaires proposées, et qu'il fasse
rapport au Conseil d'ici mars 2011;
3.
dans l'éventualité où il n'y aurait pas d'ici février 2011 un consensus
dans la communauté sur le financement d'une option d'utilisation communautaire
de la propriété au moyen d'un prélèvement pour
services spéciaux, de demander au personnel de présenter au Conseil, d'ici mars
2011, un rapport assorti de recommandations relatives à l'aliénation et à la
vente d'une partie ou de la totalité de la propriété en question.
BACKGROUND
On 24 September 2009, the Realty Services Branch received notice from the Ottawa Catholic District School Board (the “Board”) that 9 Leeming Drive (former St. Thomas School) was surplus to the Board’s needs and was being circulated to the City. The notice indicated that, in accordance with Regulation 445/06 of the Education Act, the property was being offered to “priority purchasers” including the City and that the Board required a response within 90 days.
The subject property abuts the north side of Maki Park as outlined on Document 1, and has a site area of approximately 2.78 acres. The property is zoned Minor Institutional and is improved with a one storey school building, constructed circa 1962 with a total building area of approximately 25,875 sq. ft. and includes a gymnasium addition built in the mid-1960’s. The school gymnasium was used by the community groups (e.g. Scouts) from the mid-1960’s until June 2006 when this arrangement was apparently terminated by the Board.
On 9 December 2009, Council considered a
report (Ref. # ACS2009-CMR-REP-0055) regarding the potential purchase of this
property. The report indicated that the
Crystal Beach/Lakeview Community Association had requested that the City
purchase this property for re-use as a shared-used community centre and that
the Ward Councillor supported this acquisition request.
The report also noted that:
·
the
existing recreation facilities at Maki Park include a soccer field, a baseball
diamond, a children’s play area and structure, an outdoor hockey rink and a one-storey
community building known as Maki House with a ground floor area of 4,085 sq.
ft. for community activities and a partial basement with a floor area of
approximately 1,500 sq. ft. for use mainly as storage;
·
Parks,
Recreation and Culture staff could not support the
acquisition of St. Thomas School within currently funded programs given the
large capital investment (purchase price, major repairs and lifecycle
replacement that would be needed to operate the property as a City-owned
community facility); and
·
Parks,
Recreation and Culture staff would strongly support squaring off of the
southern property line, increasing the available land for future expansion of
Maki house (additional programming rooms and/or gym) without having to lose, or
adversely affect, the existing sports fields.
The report then identified three (3) basic options that staff considered regarding the potential purchase of all or part of this property for City use as follows:
Option 1 buy
the whole property and retain and improve the entire building;
Option 2 buy the whole property; retain and
improve the 7,875ft2 building portion with the gymnasium on part of
the property (shown as Parcel “B” on Document 2); demolish the remaining
18,125ft2 of building and sell the residual part of the property to
recover some of the project cost (shown as Parcel “C”) on Document 2; and
Option 3 buy a small portion of the property
(shown as Parcel “A” on Document 2) to allow for relocating the outdoor rink
area and building a new purpose-built building with 7,875ft2 on Maki
Park.
Based on an analysis of the three options,
staff concluded and recommended in the December 2009 report that:
- The
City pursue negotiations with the Ottawa Catholic School Board for the
City to acquire, for park purposes the 0.124 ha. (0.306 ac.) portion of
the Board’s property at 9 Leeming Drive (shown as Parcel “A” on Document
2) and staff report back to the Corporate Services and Economic and
Development Committee and Council in Q1 2010 with respect to the status of
the negotiations for acquiring Parcel “A” and any resulting costs and
funding source for the acquisition; and
- Council
might wish to consider approving a project and allocating funding to
provide a new purpose built 7,700-7,900 sq. ft. community building with a
gymnasium to replace the facilities that were previously available for
community use for over 30 years until the use arrangement was terminated
in 2006.
Upon considering Report # ACS2009-CMR-REP-0055, Council then directed staff as follows:
1. To pursue negotiations with the Ottawa Catholic School Board for the City to acquire the St. Thomas School site at 9 Leeming Drive;
2. To consult with the Ward Councillor and the community on the future uses of the school on the condition of funding this acquisition and/or all related net renovation, demolition or construction costs through a Special Services Levy;
3. To report to the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee on the status of the negotiations for acquiring the site and the funding sources for this acquisition.
DISCUSSION
In response to the Council directions, the Realty Services Branch began negotiations with the the Board as the first step in the process. The Board indicated that they were only interested in selling the entire property. Market value appraisals were completed by City staff and an independent appraisal firm. In addition, the Board commissioned a third independent appraisal. The appraisal reports framed the negotiation process for a Property Acquisition Agreement for the subject property. The Agreement, as executed by staff, is now subject to Board and Council approvals and conditions for the City to undertake due diligence investigations (e.g. environmental investigations). The Agreement provides for the transaction to close on 31 August 2010 and for a purchase price in the amount of $1,730,750. The purchase price is based on the most probable highest and best use of the property if exposed to the open market. The total cost of this transaction, including the purchase price, GST, Land Transfer Tax and one year’s operating cost, for a vacant facility, is estimated to be approximately $2M. The Board staff report recommending the sale of the property at the negotiated price is scheduled to be presented to the Board of Trustees of the Ottawa Catholic District School Board for ratification on 27 April 2010.
On 12 February 2010, staff from the Realty Initiatives and Development and the Recreation Planning and Facilities Development met with the Ward Councillor regarding a community consultation process on the future uses of the school and the related condition set out by Council that the property acquisition and/or all related net renovation, demolition or construction costs be funded through a Special Services Levy.
As a result of that meeting, it
was agreed that staff would further examine three options for the portion of
property shown as Parcels ‘A’ and ‘B’ on
Document 2, to indicate the type and amount of community space that could be
provided and to establish estimates of the associated costs/special levy
requirements for each option. Staff would also meet with potential third party
users (e.g.
Staff previously recommended to Council in December 2009 that the City acquire at least a portion of the subject property to allow for the potential to provide additional community facilities in Maki Park. The Board has since indicated that it is only willing to sell the entire property. As a result, staff is now recommending that Council consider the acquisition of this property on the basis of the Agreement negotiated with Board staff, prior to determining whether there is a community consensus on a community-use option for the property and an associated Special Services Levy. However, staff is also recommending that the results of the consultation process, as described in recommendation 2 of this report, will be provided to Council by March 2011. In the event there is no community consensus reached by February 2011, staff should also be directed to provide recommendations to Council by March 2011, regarding the sale of all or part of the subject property in order to recover all or part of the City’s acquisition costs.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS
The offer to the Board will be subject to the City satisfying its due diligence investigations including environmental investigations.
RURAL IMPLICATIONS
There are no rural implications to
implementing the recommendations in this report.
CONSULTATION
In accordance with normal procedure, upon receipt of notice of the surplus school Realty Services circulated the Board’s disposal notice to various City Departments and the Ward Councillor for consideration. Consultation resulted in the recommendations of the 1 December 2009 report to Council (ACS2009-CMR-REP-0055) which directed staff to enter into negotiations to acquire the property. As set out in this report, staff has consulted with the Ward Councillor and a further community consultation process is being planned for May/June 2010.
COMMENTS BY THE WARD
COUNCILLOR(S)
As Councillor for Bay Ward, representing the Crystal Beach-Lakeview community in which the St. Thomas school site is located, I support the recommendations contained in this report. These recommendations are consistent with both the intent of the City’s Surplus Schools Policy, which is to retain for public use surplus school lands where possible and the desire of the Crystal Beach-Lakeview community to use this site for community uses. Currently City staff from Parks, Recreation and Culture are working with the community in developing options that could see either a re-use of a portion of the school or a redevelopment of the school site for community uses. Once these options have been identified (along with their costs), the intent is to engage the broader Crystal Beach-Lakeview community to determining the best use of this site and the extent of community contribution. In the interim the City should move forward in purchasing the site, with the understanding that its ultimate disposition will depend on the decision the community makes.
LEGAL/RISK
MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS
There are no legal/risk management impediments to implementing any of the Recommendations arising from this Report.
CITY STRATEGIC PLAN
This report supports the key City Strategic
Plan Sustainable, Healthy and Active City Priority; and its objectives for the
use of City recreation facilities to deliver quality programs and services to
enhance the quality of life for citizens and encourage active and healthy
lifestyles.
TECHNICAL IMPLICATIONS
There are no technical implications
to implementing the recommendations in this report
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
Subject
to Committee and Council approval of the report recommendations, staff
would recommend that the acquisition of the subject property be
funded through the use of debt financing. Future options on the use
of this property will be the subject of a consultation process with
the Ward Councillor and the residents. As directed by Council, this process will
also include a discussion on implementing a Special Services Levy to fund
all renovation, demolition and/or construction related costs
associated with these options including the property acquisition
costs. A report is to be submitted to Council by March 2011 with the
results of this consultation.
It should
be noted that Council does not require community agreement for the
imposition of a Special Services Levy to fund the costs of either
the property acquisition or the costs associated with any future
redevelopment of the site. Should the community consultations result in
recommendations to not impose a Special Services Levy and if Council does
not exercise its authority to implement the levy, the debt servicing costs
associated with financing the property acquisition would create
a future budget pressure.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION
Document 1 - Sketch of the property.
Document 2 - Sketch of the property showing Parcels ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’.
DISPOSITION
Following Council’s approval:
- Realty Services, Legal Services and Surveys Branch will finalize this transaction;
- Realty Services, Parks, Recreation and Culture and the Ward Councillor’s office will continue public consultation.
DOCUMENT 1
DOCUMENT 2
