The City of St. Catharines, Ont., has issued two “repair, replace or demolish” orders to owners of a long-abandoned and contaminated site that used to be two auto parts manufacturing plants once run by General Motors.
The property standards orders, issued May 22, call for changes related to the maintenance of the structures on the site, such as securing electrical components and removing debris.
The orders come after the city inspected the site following recent complaints from residents of “doors being propped open” at the West Plant at 285 Ontario St., as well as a gate open at the East Plant at 282 Ontario St., St. Catharines Mayor Mat Siscoe told CBC Niagara in an email.
“For over a decade a great deal of time, energy and money has been invested in this site by everyone involved,” Siscoe said in a statement to CBC News.
“While the orders issued today will not resolve the issues that have prevented redevelopment to date, I hope they will serve as the starting point for a constructive path forward,” he added.
If the owners fail to comply with the order, city officials can issue monetary penalties or prosecute under the Provincial Offences Act, bylaw enforcement manager Paul Chudoba said.
MPP raises concerns over site at Queen’s Park
The city’s property standards orders do not address the cleanup of contaminants once found in the site’s soil and ground water. St. Catharines MPP Jennie Stevens tabled a motion addressing that issue at Queen’s Park Wednesday.
Stevens says she has been receiving calls from concerned citizen groups and environmental advocates pushing for cleanup of the 22-hectare site, which is about the size of 41 American football fields.
“Fifteen years after General Motors abandoned the Ontario Street site, St. Catharines residents are still living beside contamination, unanswered questions, and a complete lack of accountability,” Stevens said in a news release.
The motion sought to hold GM accountable for remediation at the site under the Environmental Protection Act, according to an NDP news release.
Responding in Question Period at Queen’s Park Wednesday, Environment Minister Todd McCarthy said the ministry will monitor the city’s cleanup orders.
“Our government expects that all regulated parties can and will follow Ontario’s strict environmental laws, and we will take appropriate action if we see non-compliance that is identified,” McCarthy said at Queen’s Park on Wednesday.
Stevens told CBC Niagara that McCarthy has “promised a meeting” next week to discuss the site further.
In 2010, GM ceased production at the two plants and sold the site to developer BayShore Groups in 2014 for $12.5 million.
“When GM sold the Ontario Street property in 2014 it was in good condition and met Ontario and municipal requirements,” GM spokesperson Marie Binette said in an email to CBC Niagara.
However, environmental assessments of the site conducted in 2010 and 2012, which CBC News obtained through freedom of information requests, list contaminants in the soil and ground water.
Those include carcinogenic metals and chemicals that exceed Ontario’s regulatory standards used for safe redevelopment of industrial sites before they can become residential developments.
Who currently owns the site?
BayShore Groups, a redevelopment company with offices in St. Catharines and Budapest, purchased the site in 2014 with the intent to turn the site into a retirement community with hiking and bike trails along Twelve Mile Creek, alongside a trade school and more, according to a news release published on its website in 2018.
While Ontario land registry documents show a BayShore subsidiary as the current owner of the land, Siscoe told CBC Niagara the group has “no involvement with the site at this time.”
Stevens, an NDP MPP for St. Catharines, says she also believes that BayShore has walked away from the project.
BayShore did not respond to a request for comment from CBC News.
Though both city and provincial officials believe BayShore has abandoned the project, the city’s cleanup order was still sent to the BayShore subsidiary that is listed as the current owner of the site.
When asked why the city would issue an order to a group that officials believe is no longer involved, Chudoba, the city’s by-law enforcement manager, said “that’s who we recognize as the property owner at this point.”
Meanwhile, a Halton-based wealth management firm, Celernus Investment Partners Inc., says it has stepped in as the mortgage holder for the Ontario Street property, and is actively managing and overseeing the site.
In an email to CBC Niagara, Celernus founder Gord Martin said the company has taken steps to ensure the site’s security for the last several years, including the deployment of “property patrols multiple times per day,” maintaining the fence and fates and “ongoing property cleanup.”
“We continue to work collaboratively with the City of St. Catharines and the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, ensuring full access for all required environment monitoring and reporting,” said Martin.
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