[URBAN NOTE] On the troubles with Hotel X at Exhibition Place

[rfmcdonald]

The Toronto Star's Alex Ballingall reports on the latest problems at Exhibition Place.

The already-delayed construction of a “cutting edge” resort at Exhibition Place was halted last month when the company that was building the complex placed a $32-million lien against the city-owned property, the Star has learned.

In an Oct. 25 email to the Board of Governors of Exhibition Place, which includes five city councillors, Chief Executive Officer Dianne Young said she had informed the city’s legal department of the situation at the Hotel X, a project near the iconic Princes’ Gate that has been discussed since as early as 1999.

Young wrote that one week earlier—in mid October—Multiplex Construction Canada “suspended work on the Hotel X site” and took out liens against the property. Young said the owner of the Hotel X development subsequently hired a new builder “because of this action and the inability to move the project forward.”

Exhibition Place is a publicly-owned area that is run by a city-appointed board of governors, which can lease properties for business ventures with municipal approval. The Hotel X project was given the green light in December 2009, and was originally slated for completion in May 2015, according to a board report.

Government records show Multiplex certified a lien against the Hotel X property on Oct. 19 that is worth $32,573,260. Six more contractors took out liens in the following days, ranging from just over $20,000 to almost $5 million. Liens are typically placed against properties as a means to keep a right of possession until a debt is paid.