City wants to unload toxic Catharine Street site for taxes owed
The city is again pursuing a tax sale of a notorious contaminated property in the North End that was partially cleaned up on the taxpayer tab two years ago.
The property at 245 Catharine St. N., home to a former electroplating facility, is now up for grabs for $188,438, said city taxation director Larry Friday. That price represents unpaid taxes, but also the $135,000 taxpayer tab for a city-ordered building demolition and cleanup of vats of industrial waste in 2011.
The Spectator was unable to reach current owner Baldev (Dave) Maden, who picked up the property after an earlier tax sale attempt in 2005. He sued the city and province after the 2011 cleanup and that lawsuit is still before the courts.
Friday said city tax sales of between 12 and 20 properties each year typically spur payment of ar- rears or attract a new owner. “But there are always exceptions,” he said, particularly when “unique” environmental problems are involved.
Another Maden-owned property was offered for tax sale in late 2011, about the same time the city stepped in to clean up drums of waste at 245 Catharine St. N.
Friday said the building at 249 Hess St. N. — which is also filled with suspected hazardous waste in barrels — didn’t prompt a single bid. The city must decide later this year whether to take ownership of that west harbour property, try to sell it for less than the $15 3,000 in taxes owed, or simply let the tax bill grow.
Another polluted property, 350 Wentworth St. N, is $165,000 in arrears and eligible for tax sale in September. But it is unclear how a potential sale might be affected by the hundreds of barrels of hazardous waste recently found hidden be- hind a basement wall.
Together, the three properties represent about $500,000 in tax arrears.
The city has an environmental remediation and site enhancement (ERASE) program to encourage developers to tackle polluted land, said urban renewal manager Glen Norton.
The program has approved 32 project grants potentially worth $14 million since 2001, but not all of the planned remediation projects have gone forward, he noted.
Norton said would-be developers can be daunted by the potential liability associated with severely con- taminated properties. “I can understand the hesitancy,” Norton said. “It often requires a very sophisticated investor to make it work.”
Another building at 245 Catharines St. N. recently suffered about $75,000 in damages from a suspicious fire.
But Councillor Jason Farr said he hopes the city’s proactive cleanup in 2011 will still make the property more attractive to potential developers.
“It’s still a brownfield, but it’s a good location,” said Farr, who added the city received a few “nibbles of interest” following the 2011 cleanup. “I know neighbourhood residents are extremely interested in any plans for the property going forward.”
Bids for 245 Catharine St. N. (minimum $188,438) will be accepted until 3 p.m. on May 14.