Thornhill
May 22, 2008 11:41 PM
Concerns abound, but future unclear for Thornhill Green
By: David Fleischer
Thornhill Green was once a successful co-operative housing venture, but now residents and neighbours say it is being turned into a social housing complex without their input.
Co-op board members last week received documents telling them the region’s housing agency, Housing York, has a May 29 court date to approve the purchase of the 101 townhomes from property management consultants Mintz and Partners.
In 2006, York Region assumed control of the co-op, putting it into receivership, and asked the courts to appoint Mintz and Partners to set things right.
Residents say they were told they would get the co-op back at the end of the process, not that the region would be the new landlord.
“It’s questionable, in our view, whether receivership was justified in the first place. It’s unacceptable to take an independent, community-based organization and turn it into government-based housing,” said Dale Reagan, managing director of the Co-Operative Housing Federation of Canada’s Ontario region.
“There have been other receiverships, but none where the program regulator and funder has attempted to take over the asset,” he said.
Residents contacted the federation, seeking its help, after receiving last week’s notice.
Having a government housing facility in the area displeases current owners and neighbours, said longtime co-op resident Jim Common.
The real estate agent said the homes are worth at least two or three times the $8 million the region is paying.
Though residents should have been given 30 days notice, the first motion before the court is to waive that, Mr. Common said.
“We’re quite shocked by the suddenness of this,” Mr. Reagan said.
The federation’s lawyers are still reviewing the voluminous documents and what form of assistance they offer remains to be determined, but Mr. Reagan expressed numerous concerns.
Mr. Common was a co-op board member before the board effectively dissolved two years ago and residents who were not on the board received no notification of the sale at all, he said.
Over the weekend, they leaped into action, launching a website and contacting the federation.
As part of a funding deal with the province, 40 of Thornhill Green’s units are subsidized housing. The complex was managed co-operatively, with all residents chipping in, until it went into receivership.
The co-op operated well until social housing costs were downloaded by the Harris government, Mr. Common said.
With the region unable to off-set the new costs, money to pay for the subsidized units started coming out of the co-op’s reserves, leading to the point where receivership was instituted to right the ship.
“I think they think they can mange it more effectively,” said Mr. Common of the region.
Sandra Parrott, who ran unsuccessfully for the NDP in last fall’s provincial election and one of those receiving housing assistance, was more cynical saying, “This (takeover) was planned from the beginning.”
“The region and the receiver have acted under the terms of the social housing reform act,” York Region director of housing Sylvia Patterson said.
“They promised us we’d be back on our feet in two or three years and we’d be a co-op again,” said Ms Parrott, a 28-year resident.
Asked whether residents can expect the co-op to return, Ms Patterson said the May 29 motion is to approve the agreement between Housing York and Mintz and Partners, and what happens is up to the courts.
She would not comment on how residents could be affected by a sale, beyond saying the information is contained within the legal documents.
Even though the majority of its units are privately owned, legally, Thornhill Green is already considered government housing. That will become more than a technicality if the co-operative management is not restored.
“It’s quite an eye-opener,” said Ron Swentiski, president of the Cricklewood Ratepayers Association. “We are quite concerned.”
The board, representing a high-end residential neighbourhood adjacent to Thornhill Green, met Tuesday night to discuss the situation.
“There are no concerns about the complex as it is ... they’re good neighbours,” Mr. Swentiski said.
While acknowledging the nature of NIMBYism, he said there are legitimate issues about what demographic changes could bring to the surrounding neighbourhoods.
“I’m not opposed to social housing (but) it raises some concerns and worries,” he said.
The region lent $2.1 million to Mintz and Partners for capital repairs, but Ms Parrott wonders where the money went, since she saw few improvements beyond re-shingled roofs and fixed downspouts.
“The property looks far worse than it did before,” she said.
An influx of new residents has led to a population unfamiliar with the concept and spirit of a co-operative venture, she said.
“The flavour of the location has really changed,” Mr. Common agreed.
After 13 years at Thornhill Green, he and his wife are looking to move.