Toronto business asks courts to prevent eviction for Ontario Line storage facility

Access Self Storage at 40 Beth Nealson Drive. (Photo from accessstorage.ca)

A Toronto business is asking the courts to prevent their eviction as landowners look to lease the land to Metrolinx as part of the Ontario Line.

Access Self Storage has been operating on Beth Nealson Drive, near Eglinton Avenue and Don Mills Road, since 2014. A previous storage company operated on the land since 1980, with a lease set to expire in December 2021.

The property is about six acres and includes 11 self-storage buildings, with 1,092 units for customers the company describes as small businesses, residents and charitable organizations.

The land is being leased from Hydro One Networks Inc. (HONI) and Infrastructure Ontario.

• Download our app to get local alerts on your device
• Get the latest local updates right to your inbox

According to an injunction filed by Access on Friday, the company had begun negotiations with HONI in 2015 to extend its lease. The property, the company argued, was unique in that it allowed drive-up storage access. The statement of claim suggests the company will be unlikely to find another property nearby with similar attributes.

A series of meetings with HONI and IO occurred over the years and it was ultimately decided that a new licence agreement would take effect on Jan. 1, 2022. According to the injunction, the lease would be extended for an initial five years, with three successive renewals for a possible 20-year term.

Access said they negotiated that the lease could not be terminated within the first five years.

“On the basis of HONI and IO’s representations, Access reasonably expected that it would continue to occupy the property for the 20-year term of the licence agreement unless the whole of the property was at some time in the future required by HONI for the construction and operation of a transformer substation,” they said in the court document.

However, according to the documents, in July of 2020 Access was informed that Metrolinx was potentially interested in acquiring the property.

One year later they were notified by letter that they had to vacate the property as of December 2021.

According to the court documents, the landowners agreed Access could retain possession until June 30, 2022, extending the agreement a few times until a final eviction notice was delivered in August 2023 that said they had to vacate the property by Nov. 30.

“We understand this will be a change for this business and its customers, which is why we have been flexible in extending their occupancy however, the land is now needed for the Ontario Line to move forward,”a spokesperson for Hydro One told CTV News Toronto in a statement.

According to Metrolinx, the land is required for a future maintenance and storage facility for the Ontario line. “This will be where vehicles will be inspected, maintained, cleaned and stored to ensure safe and reliable service for commuters,” Andrea Ernesaks, Senior Manager of Media Relations for Metrolinx said in a statement.

“Construction work on this critical infrastructure cannot begin until the land is vacated.”

Proposed path of Ontario Line. (Metrolinx)

Metrolinx’s website says the site in Thorncliffe Park was selected because it met all of their technical needs and had the least impact to local jobs and businesses.

However Alim Yhap, the director of property taxation and corporate real estate services at Access Self Storage, says he does not believe his business is being treated equitably.

“While we whole-heartedly support the development of transit solutions in our community, we believe the Government of Ontario and its agencies are not living up to their commitments and obligations and are throwing a local business and its customers into uncertainty.”

In its statement of claim Access says it did not seek alternative properties between 2015 and 2020 because they had an understanding their lease would be extended. They argue that by the time the decision as made, all suitable replacements had been taken up, mainly by Metrolinx.

In addition Access says their business will be irreparably harmed by the potential loss of customers and harm to reputation.

“Self-storage customers typically do not travel more than 3 to 5 kilometres from their residence or business for self-storage,” they wrote in the court claim.

“Even if Access’s customers were immediately given the option of transporting their possessions to an alternate Access property (which Access does “Even if Access’s customers were immediately given the option of transporting their possessions to an alternate Access property (which Access does not have capacity to do), many would simply opt to store their possessions in one of Access’s many competitors in the immediate vicinity of the Property.”

This isn’t the first time the Ontario Line subway system has forced local businesses to shutter. In August, the president of a popular pastry shop in Toronto’s Greektown was forced to close after learning that his property was up for expropriation.

At the time, Ernesaks told CTV News Toronto that “no major infrastructure project, especially in a built-up city like Toronto, can happen without impacting properties.”

“We understand this can be difficult for property owners, business owners and tenants, which is why we only acquire properties that are absolutely necessary for projects, and we make every effort to minimize the amount we need through careful planning and design work.”

The 15-stop, 15.6-kilometre Ontario Line is expected to run from Exhibition Place through the downtown core along Queen Street before heading north to the current location of the Ontario Science Centre.

It is scheduled to be completed by 2031.