A case involving a Thornhill housing co-op was in court recently, with residents battling against York Region for control of their community.
“Its decimated the sense of community,” said Jim Common, president of the Thornhill Green Co-Op. Common, who has lived in the community for most of his life, said the changes he has seen since York Region took control of the housing co-op several years ago have been drastic.
“We’ve had crackhouses; we’ve had one of the other board members saying there was a brothel,” Common said.
In 2006, York Region placed the 101-unit townhome co-op at Yonge Street and Royal Orchard Boulevard into receivership. In May 2008, residents were notified that the region would be buying the homes. Backed by the Co-operative Housing Association of Canada, Thornhill Green residents have since fought to retain control of their community.
"We see it somewhat as a takeover,” said Harvey Cooper, manager of government relations with the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada. “There wasn’t any sort of notice given to the co-operative.” With 550 non-profit housing co-operatives in the province, Cooper said there is concern over what the outcome of this case will mean for other similar communities.
“We do fear it may establish some legal precedent,” he said. Murray Klippenstein, lawyer for the Federation, echoed the significance this case could have.
“This decision from the courts could be very, very important, because it set precedents that could affect hundreds of co-ops in the province, with assets in the hundreds of millions of dollars,” he said. Klippenstein said that the region had acted with a hidden agenda, “taking over very valuable property for less than it’s worth.”
Common, a real estate agent for Re/Max, agreed regarding the value that lies within the property.
“Because they are transferring it from a co-op into their housing pool, they do have the right to redevelop it, sell it, do anything,” he said. “It theoretically would make sense for them to sell the property and relocate the people that are on subsidy.”
Sylvia Patterson, director of housing and residential services for York Region, said that co-op residents have nothing to fear.
“The plans are to continue to operate the property as it is today, as a social housing community. The only thing that’s going to change is the ownership of the property.” A date for the court’s ruling has not been released.
