Understanding the "Lansdowne partnership plan" isn't easy. There are many documents to read including:
1- the staff report to Council (23 pages - available on the city website)
2- the glossy giant-sized "plan" document (56 pages - available on the city website)
3 - a 5 centimetre thick book of appendices
4- a slide presentation to Council (promised on the city website but not there)
But it would be simpler for everyone if the documents didn't contradict each other. Or maybe someone could tell the public which documents are correct and which are in error.
Just to illustrate the problem, here are some of the contradictions.
-- When is the housing built?
The staff report to Council describes all residential components as being in Phase 2 Before Council it was said this was "plug and play" (apparently intended to suggest that residential components were optional and subject to some subsequent decision by Council). This is contradicted by the Memorandum of Understanding including in the glossy plan document. Clause 4.5 of the MOU says "The Stadium, the Retail Component, the Front Lawn, the Holmwood Townhouses and all parking except residential and hotel component parking, must as a condition of the Project, proceed concurrently."
Well, are the townhouses in phase 1 or phase 2?
-- When does the City get paid?
In the staff report to Council it is said that "the City of Ottawa is in the first and fourth position in the waterfall structure" indicating that funds start flowing to the City. But later on the same page (and in other documentation) it is clear that the first payments go into the "Lifecycle fund". This is not a flow of cash to compensate the City; it is a reserve fund for major maintenance of the stadium and civic centre. That fund will be called upon to keep the facilities from deteriorating. It is like the reserve funds of a condo or a portion of rent paid to a landlord to cover real costs. OSEG receives return on its equity and repayment of its equity before any distributions are made to the City.
So how is the City first in line to receive payment?
The more you read these documents, the more questions you have.
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