No investor until Walker Power had been willing to take on the task of resurrecting this decrepit property that had languished for so long due to the risks involved and the sheer enormity of the project. The financial and personal commitments of the principals of Walker Power to the success of this development have been extraordinary. For four years Walker Power has dedicated thousands of man hours and millions of dollars to the revitalization of the building and the surrounding area.

At the second meeting of Walker Power and the City to discuss the project (at which the Mayor and members of the Flaming Department were present) Walker Power had been told that the City would not ask for heritage designation of Walker Power if the construction generally complied with the original architectural aspects of the building. Walker Power has ensured that this has been done.

The City was aware of the magnitude of the development taking place when the first permit was issued for the commencement of work. Several individuals in various departments became involved in various capacities as the plans unfolded.

The City cooperated with the principals and encouraged the development plans and an agreement was reached by which abutting property owned by the City would be purchased and additional land would be leased by Walker Power to facilitate parking for tenants and visitors to both this Property and parkland owned by the City to the north of Riverside Drive. The participation of the City was vital to the success of this undertaking and appreciated by Walker Power.

It is for these reasons that Walker Power was caught totally off-guard when the suggestion resurfaced that the property be designated under the Ontario Heritage Act (OHS) long after the plans for the complete renovation of the building had been implemented and construction was nearing completion. A notation first appears to have re-surfaced in a worksheet in the summer of 2019 but was never drawn to the attention of the principals of Walker Power. How disappointing that such a significant detail would not have been discussed at length with the principals as all other matters relevant to the project had been.

The insertion of the reference to Part IV in the July 24th and August 27‘h worksheets did not resonate and Walker Power had no idea that the designation under Part IV of the OHA was a condition of site-plan approval until a meeting with Frank Scarfone during the second week of September 2019.

The request for designation at this stage and in this manner is truly alarming. The OHA contains detailed requirements for notice which Walker Power was entitled to receive. Just as important, why was this issue not discussed as the plans unfolded if the City had serious concerns about the preservation of features of the building? And most important, after having been induced to proceed with the assurances given by officers of the City that no designation would be sought, an enormous outlay of capital is now in jeopardy.