R.D.P. LAND FIASCO: SERIES TIMELINE

Part 1: early to mid-1980s

In 1981, Jean Drapeau’s administration issues an order for the city to acquire hundreds of vacant lots of land in a rectangle between Perras and Maurice-Duplessis Blvds., on either side of Marc-Aurèle Fortin Blvd. in R.D.P. “at double the evaluation.” The city buys the section north of Maurice-Duplessis with an $8-million budget in 1983 and 1984. During its final days in power in 1986, the Drapeau administration sells part of the acquired land for $3 million to developers Lucille and Lionel Duval to build a giant shopping centre called Place Marc-Aurèle Fortin.

Part 2: late 1980s to early 1990s

Jean Doré’s administration carries on the Drapeau plan for developing R.D.P. and buys the remaining parcels in the Marc-Aurèle Fortin rectangle for $7.7 million. The Duvals’ lender, the TD Bank, seizes their nearly finished shopping centre and the couple declare bankruptcy. The city then seizes the property from the bank for unpaid taxes. The city is the only bidder when it’s auctioned and ends up buying back the property, now with an unfinished mall, for $3.5 million. The province fuels real estate speculation in the sector with talk of a hospital and a Highway 25 extension.

Part 3: mid-1990s to late 1990s

Place Marc-Aurèle Fortin is a vacant white elephant costing the city a million dollars a year in upkeep. One of Mayor Pierre Bourque’s councillors reveals he and another councillor have been fielding private offers from potential buyers. But the city launches a public call for proposals to sell the mall for $6.5 million. Nothing comes of it. A negotiated offer for $4.6 million from a businessman comes along, but he later withdraws it. The city then gets a $6-million offer from a numbered company belonging to the Sochaczevskis to open it as a “Disney-type” mall.

Part 4: late 1990s

Bourque meets privately with one of the Sochaczevskis and agrees to add a demolition clause to the offer to buy Place Marc-Aurèle Fortin. The clause says that if the buyer decides to completely demolish the mall, the $6-million price will drop to $3 million. City council approves the transaction. Months later, the city issues a demolition permit for Place Marc-Aurèle Fortin. The city gets $3 million for the sale. The next year, the numbered company sells part of the vacant land for $7.9 million to two big-box stores, and later sells another part for housing for more than $800,000 plus taxes. Part 5: early 2000s

The Bourque administration turns its attention to selling the southern part of the rectangle for higher-end housing. The city launches a public call for proposals. The minimum bid price is $5 million, the estimated market value, but the city is ready to deduct millions of dollars. No one bids. The city drops the minimum price to $3.75 million, and there’s one bidder. The city accepts the “not totally conform” offer from Groupe immobilier Grilli. An election arrives, and Gérald Tremblay defeats Bourque. The Grilli company asks to withdraw its offer and get its deposit back. The new administration agrees.