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Google wants to develop and tax 350 acres of Toronto

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Alphabet Inc’s Sidewalk Labs unit is proposing it get a share of property taxes, development fees, and the rising value of Toronto city land as part of a deal to build a smart city, according to the company’s slide presentation made public on Friday.
Alphabet Inc’s Sidewalk Labs unit is proposing it get a share of property taxes, development fees, and the rising value of Toronto city land as part of a deal to build a smart city, according to the company’s slide presentation made public on Friday.
Toronto and its politicians got a real ear-full on Friday when they found out that Sidewalk Labs’ small project, a 12-acre plot of land called Quayside with tech-friendly development, actually wants to develop 350 acres and draw profit from sources including higher property taxes and a share of developer fees, the Toronto Star reports.
Actually, all levels of government officials, from City Hall to Queen’s Park and Parliament Hill were left in a state of shock at the audacious plan that would develop and tax a huge swath of prime, mostly public city property.
« There is no way on God’s green earth that Premier Doug Ford would ever sign off on handing away nearly 500 acres of prime waterfront property to a foreign multinational company, » a senior official tells the Star.

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