'Transformative' project expected to bring jobs to Rexdale

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The U.S.-based company planning a billion-dollar development around the Woodbine Racetrack will be getting more than $120 million in property tax breaks over the next two decades - but if that redevelopment were to one day turn into a casino, all bets are off.

That was the word from Toronto Council this week, when it approved granting the Cordish Company, the Maryland-based developer behind the WoodbineLive! proposal, what is known as a Tax Increment Equivalent Grant (TIEG).

The TIEG system lets developers phase in property tax payments over a period of time and has been used in various U.S. jurisdictions for many years to lure high-value investment. TIEGs are new in Toronto - council first approved the plan in May of this year, and WoodbineLive! is the first recipient.

It's also the first recipient of a richer grant that would allow taxes to be phased in over 20 years rather than a decade, because the city's economic development staff have deemed it to be a "transformative" project.

The six-million-square-foot development will include in its first phase live entertainment venues, restaurants and shopping surrounding the Woodbine Racetrack in Rexdale. Later phases will include office development, and still later phases - not included in the TIEG - will include housing and big-box retail.

The whole project is expected to create 9,400 full-time jobs. The Cordish group has agreed to hire preferentially from the high-needs neighbourhood in the immediate neighbourhood, facilitate apprenticeships with local unions, and use unionized labour.

And by virtue of an amendment by Economic Development Committee Chair Kyle Rae, any attempt in the future to convert part of the development into a casino, that portion of the TIEG will be cancelled and Cordish will have to pay the full property tax freight.

Steve Diamond, lawyer for Cordish, said that wasn't onerous - particularly because Cordish had no intention to attempt to start a casino on the property.

"If a casino ever occurred I think that's fair," said Diamond. "That would have revenues coming in to support it."

Mayor David Miller and a majority of council from across the political spectrum touted the deal as first-rate city-building, in spite of the fact that the level of jobs would be relatively low-paying.

Miller said the development would literally transform north Etobicoke and northwestern Toronto in general.

"You go to Woodbine right now and what do you see? Literally acres of asphalt. What did you see 10 years ago? Acres of asphalt. Twenty years ago? Acres of asphalt. Thirty years ago? Acres of asphalt," said Miller. "If you see the neighbourhoods surrounding Woodbine, you understand why they haven't grown into the kinds of neighbourhoods we have in Leaside - in the downtown - in parts of Etobicoke and Scarborough. Because they're not connected to the city and there isn't employment there that allows people to live in simple dignity."

Local Ward 2 (Etobicoke North) Councillor Rob Ford, a frequent critic of Miller, found himself in rare agreement with the mayor as he urged councillors to support the plan.

"This is a billion-dollar project creating 10,000 jobs and this is going to help the people that need the most help in the city," said Ford. "The whole area is going to get revitalized because of this project� This development is going to go down in history."

Economic Development Committee Chair Kyle Rae looked not to the past but the far future in his support for the project.

"It reminds me of one of those Star Trek episodes where they go onto a planet and do what they call terraforming - where they introduce oxygen and building and create a society on a dead planet. I don't want to say Rexdale's a dead planet, but we've got an area in the city that needs terraforming, that needs building out, that needs jobs - that needs assistance in a program that's not doing all that well."

Most councillors followed Ford, Rae and Miller's lead and supported the measures. Only two voted against: Ward 20 (Trinity Spadina) Councillor Adam Vaughan and Ward 22 (St. Paul's) Councillor Michael Walker.

Vaughan voted against the proposal after council rejected an amendment of his, asking for the proponent to account for all of the tax breaks and other kinds of assistance it received from other governments.

"This in many ways is tax relief for food courts and fast food restaurants," said Vaughan. "I have great trouble understanding how this council can hand over this kind of tax break to an entertainment complex with skating rinks and fountains, but had much more difficulty giving assistance to the MARS district."

Walker, meanwhile, argued that the city was creating a precedent for other developers seeking tax relief.

"It's a dangerous, slippery slope we're heading into," he said. "At this point in Toronto's life, we aren't in a position to provide this kind of subsidy. And then you go back to what kinds of jobs you're creating. If we couldn't subsidize high level jobs downtown and those are the kinds of jobs we're looking for, how can we argue for this project? What about the next project in an area of the city that's depressed - are we going to provide a subsidy there?"

The matter will be coming before Toronto's Planning and Growth Management Committee for one more community hearing, and be finalized in the fall.