Wall stands by firm building $45M mall on GTH land
The provincial government is defending its decision to support a controversial Saskatoon-based company’s plan to build a $45-million wholesale mall at the Global Transportation Hub despite sharp criticism of its due diligence process.
Brightenview Development International Inc. has failed to complete two similar projects, but Premier Brad Wall told reporters Monday that it is “dealing with” its “past issues” and meeting its obligation to buy 30 acres from the government-backed GTH.
“It’s true of any project when it’s announced,” Wall said. “If I’m invited to attend because someone’s investing here, their cheque has cleared, they bought land and they’re going to create jobs in the province and they invite us to go, of course we’re going to go.”
Brightenview has paid more than $3 million toward its $7.6 million land purchase agreement with the GTH, according to a government spokesman. Wall said it is up to the company to build its Global Trade and Exhibition Centre once the land has been acquired.
“If they don’t proceed with the project, if any company doesn’t proceed with a project, I guess they’ll have to sell that land to someone else. But I think there’s been a lot of change (at the company).”
That isn’t good enough for the Saskatchewan NDP, which last month took the province to task for its failure to consult the RM of Dundurn and Chatham-Kent, Ont., — communities where Brightenview proposed but did not deliver similar projects.
Brightenview’s “laughable” efforts to build a similar mall in Dundurn suggest the government should be especially concerned with due diligence, transparency and accountability, said Opposition GTH critic Cathy Sproule.
However, she continued, it appears the province is instead worried about rebuilding the GTH’s reputation in the wake of a controversy stemming from a series of controversial land deals in 2013 and 2014.
“As long as the cheque doesn’t bounce, they’ll do business with people,” Sproule said. “And that’s concerning.”
GTH officials said last month they were “aware of and understood” the delays with Brightenview’s projects in Saskatchewan and Ontario, and that there was “no need” to consult the municipalities because the necessary information was available.
“(W)e have already received over $3 million from Brightenview,” GTH spokeswoman Kelly Brossart said in a statement. “This morning, there were over a dozen construction workers on their site. Brightenview is helping create job and economic opportunities.”
Brightenview CEO Joe Zhou said in a separate statement that the company believes the GTH provides “a number of advantages” for its potential clients, including easy access to major highways and rail lines.
In 2012, Brightenview unveiled its plan to build a massive “International Exhibition Centre” near Dundurn. The company bought land in the RM south of Saskatoon, but has not done any development on it, leading a local political to say it was “dead in the water.”
Two years later, Brightenview unveiled a second project — a $45-million “Global Development Centre” to be built on a vacant industrial park in Chatham-Kent. The company ultimately failed to buy the 33-acre property, and some of the land was sold to another firm.
Zhou said in the statement the company is “looking at other Saskatchewan projects including on our land at Dundurn which is a separate project with its own timeline.”