Who owns the biggest stake in Hamilton’s urban boundary debate?
Four landowners own nearly half of the property - at least 1,100 acres - that could be developed in rural Elfrida if Hamilton votes to expand its urban boundary to accommodate growth over the next 30 years.
And recent property sales show would-be developers are betting huge dollars that the city will say yes - if not at a special meeting on Friday, then someday.
A high-level look by The Spectator at dozens of the largest land parcels in the Elfrida area suggests long-established local builders like Multi-Area Developments and Paletta International Corporation have some of the greatest holdings in the area around the Highway 20 and Rymal Road East crossroads.
Corpveil Holdings and Effort Trust, along with local builder Marz Homes, also own hundreds of acres.
With tens of millions of dollars at stake, in some cases developers have held onto parcels for decades in anticipation of an urban boundary expansion that would enable residential construction.
This is a long vision. It takes so long to bring land out," said Aldo DeSantis, president of Stoney Creek-based Multi-Area Developments, who bought some land in the area as far back as 1998 for less than $6,000 an acre.
Since then, land value has skyrocketed in the still-unapproved Elfrida development area - with one Oakville corporation paying about $170,000 per acre for a large parcel this year.
On Friday, city council is poised to vote on whether to back a staff-recommended plan to expand Hamilton's urban footprint into roughly 3,240 acres of agricultural land - including about 2,300 acres in the Elfrida area.
Developers back the city staff-recommended ambitious density" plan as a balanced" approach that breaks into farmland and hikes intensification - infill units in the built-up area - to 60 per cent over the 30-year horizon.
Ontario Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark called the city's exploration of a no-expansion scenario irresponsible" and unrealistic" in a recent Spectator op-ed, which left some city politicians fuming.
But anti-sprawl campaigners have urged them to hold the boundary firm to save farmland, mitigate climate change and avoid an increase in municipal costs. They contend the 80 per cent intensification rate needed to hold the boundary firm is achievable.
Stop Sprawl HamOnt organizer Nancy Hurst acknowledged it can be a bit daunting for resident volunteers to think about standing in the way of well-financed business interests, lobbyists and lawyers.
We know this issue is not going away after Friday or any time soon. There's too much money at stake," she said. But we're feeling brave."
The Ontario government has told municipalities like Hamilton to plan for growth until 2051. The province forecasts the population will spike by 236,000 people, reaching 820,000 by 2051. This influx is expected to require 110,320 more residential units.
Planners must identify land needs based on planning policy, but also what types of housing - single-family homes, semi-detached, townhouses, apartments, laneway suites - the market will bear in the years ahead.
With roughly 2,300 acres of developable land, Elfrida represents the largest of the city's so-called whitebelt lands. The others are situated along Twenty Road East, Twenty Road West and Whitechurch Road.
The city must update its official plan to reflect its land needs and growth strategy for submission to the province by July 2022.
Big players
The Spectator's scan of 60-plus bigger properties shows four development groups, including DeSantis's firm, own some of the largest parcels in and around the edges of the proposed Elfrida expansion area - which is not yet set in stone, city officials note.
All four are members of the Hamilton Needs Housing coalition that mailed out contentious flyers urging residents to support the urban boundary expansion.
Multi-Area Developments (at least 335 acres): Headed by DeSantis, a 40-year veteran builder, the Stoney Creek-based firm built the Summit Park subdivision on Rymal Road East that will welcome a 2,000th family this spring.
Paletta International Corp (at least 330 acres): The Paletta business empire was started by Pasquale Paletta after he emigrated from Italy in 1949. By the time he died in 2019, the family's real estate holdings were described as the largest in Hamilton and Halton combined.
Corpveil Holdings/Effort Trust (at least 225 acres): Effort Trust officials like Thomas Weisz or David Horwood are listed as directors of several Elfrida landholding corporations. Effort Trust is one of largest property management companies in Ontario.
Marz Homes (at least 183 acres): Marz is a homebuilder based out of Hamilton but active all across southwestern Ontario since 1968. The firm is a partner with the city in a redevelopment of the Jamesville social-housing complex in the North End.
Big Spenders
The Guglietti family (Melrose Investment, Rosehaven Homes): A corporation linked to the family-run, Oakville-based builders bought just under 100 acres in Elfrida this year for $17 million.
Valery Homes: A corporation linked to the Hamilton-based homebuilder bought 104 acres in the Elfrida area in 2017 for $17.5 million.
Greybrook Realty/Castlepoint: Corporations linked to the directors of these GTA-based developers bought two properties and 144 acres in the Elfrida area for about $20 million in 2015.
A sweeping estimate of how much more valuable rural land could become should it be folded into the urban area isn't possible, notes Keith Lancastle, CEO of the Appraisal Institute of Canada.
There are several factors that must be weighed on a parcel-by-parcel basis, including housing type and proximity to services, Lancastle noted. It would be worth less if there's going to be more costs to the developer to provide services to the property to make that conversion."
But DeSantis, who appeared before council for the first time in 40 years to speak to the boundary issue, says he has no interest in unloading land. We play the long game," the 76-year-old said, noting his son, David, as vice-president, will continue building homes.
If council doesn't support expansion, the rural land in Elfrida will be brought into the urban boundary eventually as demand mounts for new homes, DeSantis contends.
He agrees with the city's consultants, other builders and industry associations that Hamilton needs to build in new greenfield areas to meet a demand for homes, or buyers will go elsewhere to find affordable options.
It's a joke because the pressure will build up and they're only delaying the inevitable as far as I'm concerned."
On Hamilton Needs Housing, a campaign led by public relations firm StrategyCorp, DeSantis says the other story wasn't being told."
He questions the validity of an unscientific city mail-out survey that showed 90.4 per cent - or 16,636 of 18,837 respondents - supported a frozen urban area.
This didn't have to be political, and they stirred everybody up."
Stop Sprawl HamOnt encouraged residents to participate in the survey and sees the results as a clear signal of the public's appetite for a firm boundary.
They also don't buy that an increased supply of homes outside the boundary will help address Hamilton's affordability crisis amid skyrocketing prices.
Hurst noted would-be developers have been angling to build in Elfrida for more than a decade.
They (council) will look at this again and again ... But if we win today, it's another few years for everybody to realize our farmland is precious, that climate change is here, and we'll be that much smarter."
Coun. Brenda Johnson says she has heard from plenty of developers, but felt no undue pressure, over the latest push to expand the urban boundary on the southeast Mountain.
Her ward currently includes some of the whitebelt lands, and before 2018, Ward 11 also encompassed parts of the proposed Elfrida urban area.
Over the years I've been lobbied by all of them - which is fine; that's their job. But I was hired by my constituents and my job is to be their voice."
So far, the veteran councillor says she is opposed to the idea of urban boundary expansion. It would take a lot of convincing for me to change my mind," she said.
-With data provided by Jesse McLean, Toronto Star
Teviah Moro is a reporter at The Spectator. tmoro@thespec.com
Matthew Van Dongen is a reporter covering transportation for The Spectator. mvandongen@thespec.com