Toronto Area there are five active public real estate companies

Will the GTA be flooded by PPP opportunities?
In the Greater Toronto Area there are five active public real estate companies: Build Toronto, Toronto Lands Company, Waterfront Toronto, Ontario Realty Corporation and Canada Lands Company owner of Downsview Park. Each organization has been established to develop and manage public property in order to generate a sustainable revenue stream or enhance the value of its assets or both.

Build Toronto

The newest of these organizations Build Toronto announced that it is open for business today, May 12th at the Toronto Board of Trade. It was established in 2009 by the City of Toronto under the direction of Mayor David Miller.

Build Toronto has a portfolio of 31 properties representing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of real estate. The properties include underutilized transit land, parking facilities, libraries, police stations as well as the City’s residential properties.

Four large projects have been identified by Build Toronto as its first priority in the search for Canadian and International investors to partner in unlocking the market value of these sites. The properties include:

(1) A 54-acre location next to the Downsview subway station.

(2) 154 Front Street at the corner of Sherbourne and Front in the St. Lawrence neighbourhood in downtown Toronto.

(3) A 24 acre industrial property off the QEW highway near Islington Ave. and Lakeshore Blvd. in the city’s west end.

(4) 4050 Yonge St. an under underutilized 2 acre site projected for a 450,000 square foot development at the corner of York Mills Rd. and Yonge St.

All of these are Class A locations with extraordinary development potential. Under the direction of the Build Toronto Board, which includes leaders in Canadian real estate industry, Build Toronto seemed destined to find suitable partners that will see the properties developed.

In addition to Build Toronto there are four other public real estate companies. They are:

Toronto Lands Company

The Toronto Lands Corporation was created in September 2007 and incorporated in April 2008 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Toronto District School Board. The TLC’s mission is to maximize the Toronto District School Board’s real estate revenues in order to reinvest in TDSB schools and students.

Shirley Hoy, CEO of Toronto Lands Company said her organization is expected to generate a $30-million surplus annually for the Toronto School Board.

Waterfront Toronto

The Waterfront Toronto website says that it is building the largest urban revitalization project in North America. It is mandated by the three levels of Government each equally represented on its Board of Director to develop the publicly owned waterfront lands in downtown Toronto.

Ontario Realty Corporation

The Ontario Realty Corporation manages one of the largest real estate portfolios in Canada, consisting of approximately 6,000 buildings and structures and over 80,000 acres of land across the province. The portfolio includes a wide variety of properties ranging from detention centres to office space, courthouses and heritage buildings.

Its major projects in Toronto include 222 Jarvis St., the Keele-Wilson Provincial Campus Redevelopment and the West Don Lands Flood Protection Platform.

Canada Lands Company

Canada Lands Company Limited is an arms length, self-financing Crown Corporation reporting to the Canadian Parliament through the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities.

In Toronto CLC owns the CN Tower and several downtown office locations as well as other properties listed on its website.

Downsview Park in Toronto is a 572 acre property that was taken over by the Federal Government after the Canadian Forces Base on the property was closed in 1994. It is operated by PDP a crown corporation and subsidiary of the CLC established in 1999 that received full ownership of the Park in 2006.

While Build Toronto is well positioned to succeed with a strong Board of Directors and an exceptional portfolio of properties all five of these organizations are competing in the same jurisdiction for essentially the same partners and investment.

Does the presence of the five public development organizations work to their advantage or will the GTA becoming flooded with public private opportunities? Could flooding the market dilute the value of the opportunities to the development organizations and the public?