The corporate hoping to redevelop a former Calgary golf course is suing the town for $113 million, alleging that the town hasn’t acted in good religion concerning the deal and its conduct rendered the land unusable for redevelopment.
Highland Park golf course was listed on the market in 2012. The next 12 months, an organization associated to Highland Park Developments, Vancouver-based Maple Ventures Inc., entered into an settlement to purchase the land.
Metropolis council permitted rezoning for the mixed-use growth in 2017, which might have seen the previous northwest Calgary golf course reworked into 2,000 residential items in addition to workplace house.
However the developer alleges that the town didn’t disclose details about the land, together with its historical past, use for stormwater drainage and issues some land is probably not developable — info that the developer states if it had recognized, it would not have proceeded.
The developer additionally alleges the town had an ulterior motive — saying it delayed the event so the town itself might take over the property and use it as inexperienced house.
Metropolis is reviewing lawsuit
Not one of the allegations offered within the assertion of declare have but been confirmed in court docket. The Metropolis of Calgary mentioned it has acquired the assertion of declare, and is reviewing it. A press release of defence has but to be filed.
The developer is arguing it suffered the next damages:
- $38 million as a consequence of decreased land worth.
- $75 million in misplaced or delayed income.
- $20 million in thrown-away investments.
- $75 million in misplaced returns on invested capital.
- Additional damages as a consequence of misplaced compensation it says it could have been entitled to primarily based on an expropriation underneath the Expropriation Act.
The assertion additionally argues the developer is entitled to restitution, because it argues the town continues to be “unjustly enriched” by the land.
The land, which is bordered by Fourth Road N.W. on the west and McKnight Boulevard to the north, is close to the place the town plans to construct an LRT station as soon as the north-central leg of the Inexperienced Line is constructed. It was used as a golf course for practically half a century, and an underground creek runs via the house.
The assertion of declare says that within the years main as much as metropolis council’s public listening to and eventual resolution on the undertaking, the town supplied “deceptive, inaccurate or inconsistent” details about stormwater drainage on the positioning.
At a public listening to, metropolis administration mentioned it advisable approving the event and {that a} metropolis examine would assess any regional drainage points and recognized flooding issues.
In an interview on the time, Mayor Naheed Nenshi mentioned he shared residents issues about groundwater flooding and that whereas the town is answerable for water drainage, if the event made the issue worse the developer could be on the hook for enhancements.
After that approval, the developer argued the town delayed its capability to maneuver ahead, rejecting a revised plan for the positioning the developer says it accomplished voluntarily.
It additionally says the town continued to make use of the land as a de facto stormwater storage facility and inexperienced house with no try to legally purchase the land or enable the developer to maneuver ahead.
Residents had expressed issues about growing the positioning, fearing paving parts of the positioning might make space flooding worse.
In 2018, a drainage examine launched by the town discovered probably the most viable choice to take care of the drainage points could be the development of two ponds — not twinning the storm duct that runs via it just like the developer anticipated.
