Unfortunate end to Salvage Shop standoff

Kingston Rd. at Manderley, site of the former Salvage Shop and other vacant retail properties.

By Hedy Korbee

A standoff between Roy Clifford, owner of the The Salvage Shop, and condominium developer Core Development Group has come to a head with Clifford being evicted from his former store at 1492 Kingston Rd.

Core Development, which has owned the property since January, changed the locks on Tuesday and took possession of the property after months of lease extensions and unsuccessful negotiations.

“It’s an unfortunate situation,” said Core President, Bryan Nykoliation. “We’ve been trying to help Roy and accommodate him on a number of fronts.  We don’t know what else we’re able to do.”

After taking control of the property, Core painted the storefront white and plans to use the site, along with other vacant shops, as a sales centre for its new mid-rise condominium in the heart of Birch Cliff.

Core agreed to tell its side of the story after a Facebook post by the Salvage Shop was released earlier this week.

It contained very personal information and has been widely shared in the community.

Birch Cliff News contacted Clifford directly but he refused to comment on the situation.

“We’ve been extremely patient”

“We’re not the big bad developer,” Nykoliation said in an interview with Birch Cliff News, noting that the company has a legally binding contract that was signed by Clifford.

According to Nykoliation, Clifford’s six-month lease on the property expired on July 17 and was extended by the company to Aug. 17 and then Sept. 3 and finally Sept. 7 in order to give to give Clifford more time to pack up and move his extensive inventory.

Nykoliation said that Core gave Clifford “a material amount of compensation, which he accepted and was part of the agreement to leave on Aug. 17.”

Clifford has been occupying the property rent free since the spring, Nykoliation said.  The company also hired a real estate agent to help him relocate, paid for classified advertising, offered to pay Clifford’s moving expenses and even offered company resources to help him pack.

“I’m very sympathetic to Roy,” Nykoliation said.  “I don’t know what else I’m able to do.  I’ve given him significant amounts of financial compensation, resources and time…He’s not accepting any of these things and it came to a point where we were no longer able to delay.”

Crawford: “Unfortunate and sad”

Gary Crawford, Ward 36 City Councillor, expressed his regret at the way things have turned out.

“It is unfortunate and sad that this difficult situation has not been resolved amicably.  I understood that the Developer and The Salvage Shop had been working together to negotiate a timely solution. My team and I have done everything we could to assist Roy and The Salvage Shop with packing and preparing for their final sale advertised and held on August 26th. The Birchcliff and surrounding communities have also been very generous with their time and efforts to also assist in any way possible,” Crawford said in a statement.

Birchmount Residence homeless shelter, 1673 Kingston Rd.

Three developments in Birch Cliff

Core has a vested interested in keeping the peace in Birch Cliff because the company has three condo projects currently in the works.

A public consultation meeting is planned for October where the developer plans to share its concepts for the mid-rise Manderley condo based on feedback they have already received from the community.

Core has also purchased the Birchmount Residence homeless shelter at 1673 Kington Rd. as well as the five houses to the west of the shelter.

They’ve submitted a site plan application to building a four-storey development consisting of 52 urban stacked town homes.  There will be underground parking and the units facing Lake Ontario will have terraces.

The sales centre at the former location of The Salvage Shop will be used for the Birchmount Residence project first.

The company is building another four-storey stacked townhouse project with 118 units on Clonmore Dr. just east of the Quarry. They took the property over from another developer who had purchased seven houses on Clonmore as well as two vacant lots.

Clonmore Dr., east of the the Quarry, site of a proposed 118-unit, four-storey stacked townhouse development.

Nykoliation said Core has some “phenomenal development options” for the three properties.

He said it is the company’s intention to invest in Birch Cliff and help make a difference and they look forward to engaging the community as part of the public process.

“We’re an atypical builder in that we try to not only bring a high quality project to the area but we look to positively invest and change for the better the neighbourhoods that we develop in.  We do that through great architecture, community involvement and taking pride in the project that we’re in because its part of our brand as well.”

Late this afternoon The Salvage Shop posted to Facebook once again and readers can view their page here.