Lease of the year? For taking advantage of us?

By Frank Touby –

The much-criticized Corus building taking a primo lakeshore spot at the foot of Jarvis Street is a finalist in the claimed “prestigious” Office Lease of the Year “REX” award from the National Association of Office and Industrial Properties, aka NAIOP.

Could it be due to the fact that the first plan was one praised for design excellence? Then it was degraded to a piece of crap that caused the waterfront group to withhold $9 million in funding for Corus. Then, the Corus bunch back stepped a little bit and gave back a smidgen of what had drawn praise, but was much less than the great plan that initially sucked the judges in. And thus a possible award, no doubt for making suckers out of our city and tricking us into accepting a lesser building on our precious benighted waterfront.

It all drew praise from TEDCO’s top banana, comedian Jeffery Steiner, CEO, who enthused, “It also reflects the first private sector investment in Toronto’s east bayfront section of the waterfront.” Whoopie! Let’s give away more sweetheart deals and the all-virtuous private sector will be clamouring for more. What success! Ain’t TEDCO grand! Isn’t it time Toronto council took control of it’s “arms-length” TEDCO and sent Jeff off to Second City where he can harmlessly resume his natural calling?