Carla White, whose long tenant struggle with Mondev, the developer who wanted her out of her convenient, cheap apartment in the old Da Giovanni building near Place Émilie‑Gamelin has been in the news before, has finally accepted a deal to move out but is not allowed to disclose the terms.
I was irritated to hear a Mondev spokesman on CBC radio claiming that the new development would be such a great thing for the area. Please don’t pretend you’re putting up condo buildings for the good of society, you twat. You’re doing it for profit.
Blork 12:18 on 2024-06-26 Permalink
It’s an interesting case. The logical thing would be to subsidize her rent elsewhere while the new building is being constructed, then move her into one of the “affordable” units that are supposed to be in the new building — perhaps even at her original rent.
That’s the logical thing, which means the actual solution arrived at was probably completely different.
Kate 13:05 on 2024-06-26 Permalink
On CBC radio she said that the settlement was not, or not merely, monetary. I suppose this means she was offered a new place to live that she could afford. We should all be so lucky – but we’re not all that stubborn.
Nicholas 15:28 on 2024-06-26 Permalink
She was previously offered a place two blocks away owned by the same firm that was larger in size, for the same rent (1/3 of the normal rent), and with a $10,000 cash incentive. Presumably if she wanted to be back in the original location once the new building was constructed they would have let her move back. But she held out for more, because she could. And in the meantime hundreds of people who could have had a home here have been delayed, but they are unknown future residents and she is a (loud) current resident.
Once they finally build this building it would be great if we got even one-tenth of the media coverage of all the new residents and what they think about their new living space, and if they had wished it was completed earlier. Especially, but not only, the people on a list waiting for affordable housing. We can see if they’re happy to be in their new place or grumbling because it’s not affordable enough.
My mom has moved around a few times in the last few years into large, 10ish storey buildings, both condos and rentals, two new builds, and they all had lots of people who seemed really happy to be there, including some families. But I’ve seen countless articles about other people, who already have homes, complaining about new construction in these two specific neighbourhoods, and not a single one about the new residents being happy to have a roof over their head in a nice building with good people in this housing crisis we’re living through. My mom has never had such a great social life as today, and she doesn’t even have to leave the building to experience it, and she can walk to restaurants and a grocery store and a ton of bus lines, but because of some nearby residents who already had a place to live and don’t like the changing neighbourhood (which were both mostly industrial), now all construction of similar buildings is banned in her current neighbourhood. I’d love to hear the stories of the people who’ve been helped, but those are positive so we rarely if ever hear them; instead we get dozens and dozens of stories about this one selfish person.
Ian 19:00 on 2024-06-27 Permalink
Fine line between NIMBYs and little tenants taking on corporate landlords & winning.
I take the side of the underdog in any anticorporate fight.
I understand your perspective, but it’s not the samr thing as NIMBYism.