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Added Moira Hamel-Smith, Bellone’s wife: “The offer that was made was for nearly twice what the property was worth. It was very specific. It was only if we broke the (health unit) deal. At that point, in hand, we had an offer of intent to lease which we had already signed. They were trying to buy the building to get us to break that deal.”

They were told they could get up to $800,000 for the building and downtown property, Hamel-Smith said. The agent approached them about six to eight weeks after the intent to lease was signed April 20, 2018, she said.

This is the latest twist in the strange saga involving 446 York — a former music store on downtown’s eastern edge that’s been long-planned to be the location for the supervised drug-use facility, which would allow people to take illicit drugs while under medical supervision.

Monday, Middlesex-London Health Unit boss Dr. Chris Mackie said co-ordinated opponents of the project successfully pressured the Ford government to block the location.

The issue blew up in the Ontario legislature the next day, with London NDP MPP Terence Kernaghan accusing the premier’s office of “cutting deals in backrooms” with a London political consulting company, Blackridge Strategy, “and meddling in municipal affairs” to block the drug-use site’s location.

The location has been opposed by several groups, including developer Drewlo Holdings Inc., for whom Amir Farahi of Blackridge is a registered provincial lobbyist.