Few Ontarians know this, but hundreds of properties worth many billions of dollars are sitting empty across the province.
Previously a psychiatric institution, Century Manor in Hamilton is one of more than 800 disused buildings owned by the province of Ontario. (Sourch: Samantha Craggs/CBC)
These properties are owned by the province of Ontario and number some 800 vacant buildings. Given that the province of Ontario is the second-largest property owner in the country, second only to the federal government, some vacancies are understandable. In total over 4,500 buildings are owned by the province, covering some 44 million square feet of space.
Ontario Provincial Government Has Way Too Much Office Space
The Auditor General criticized the previous Liberal government repeatedly over its real estate practices. One of her complaints was that the province uses too much real estate, wasting $174 million in overused office space. Almost $20 million is being spent a year servicing and maintaining the vacant buildings. In response, previous Liberal politicians have mentioned that much of the vacant real estate stock is not desirable, such as decaying old jails, remote buildings, or dilapidated property. The province has failed to meet sale targets of the vacant buildings, only 25 were sold in 2017, even though the desired target was twice as high.
Government Owned Real Estate Needs Be Managed Much Better
Experts have repeatedly mentioned that government owned real estate is under-utilized and poorly managed. For example, ad revenue at GO Stations is very low despite high traffic. The City of Toronto also owns considerable vacant property, underused buildings, and brownfield (unused industrial zoned land), that it could sell and/or return to greater productivity to the private sector. Solving real estate problems and opening up opportunities for purchase is not only about restricting foreign buying, or tightening up lending standards, it’s also about changing the status-quo.