Prominent developer Julie Di Lorenzo resigned from the Waterfront Toronto board this week saying she does not believe the public corporation’s deal with Google sister company Sidewalk Labs “is in the best interest of the corporation and our country,” the Star has learned.

Di Lorenzo made the comment in her resignation letter dated Monday, the eve of a meeting where remaining board members unanimously approved a “planned development agreement” with Sidewalk Labs to keep working toward a final partnership deal to develop a high-tech test neighbourhood.

The Star obtained the letter independently of Di Lorenzo, who agreed in an interview to elaborate on her contention that Waterfront Toronto tied itself too closely to the Manhattan-based urban innovation firm, limiting its independence, potentially stifling innovation and failing to address data concerns.

Her concerns are likely to heighten public ones about the proposal to build a cutting-edge live-work community from the ground up, testing possible solutions to urban problems with help from sensor-gathered data — a prospect fuelling worries over data ownership, security and monetization.

Di Lorenzo, president of Diamante Urban Corp., wrote to Waterfront board chair Helen Burstyn that, after almost three years as a director, she is proud of what the waterfront revitalization corporation has achieved.

“Over the past 15 years, Waterfront Toronto earned the trust of three levels of government, to serve as custodian of in excess of 1.2 billion dollars, to complete one of the most important infrastructure projects in this country known as the Flood Lands Restoration Project,” she wrote.

“We controlled our narrative and our destiny and did not relinquish it to any other until now. I do not believe it was the intention of the 3 levels of government to allow a single limited company to become our filter, our gatekeeper and our agent. Yet through an unconventional and an opportunistic series of circumstances, I feel we have allowed this to happen.”

Read more:

Quayside: Partnership with Sidewalk Labs is not a done deal, Waterfront Toronto warns

Details on Sidewalk Labs’ waterfront tech district remain fuzzy

Advocates ‘cautiously optimistic’ as Waterfront Toronto set to change hands

Di Lorenzo said that last fall she, like many, was excited about the prospect of Sidewalk Labs possibly winning an open tender competition to help develop and transform the almost five-hectare former industrial site at Lake Shore Blvd. E. and Parliament St.

“When you say Google’s coming to town, it’s pretty exciting,” she said, adding that turned to consternation when the investment and real estate committee she chaired was asked to vote on a “framework agreement” with Sidewalk Labs only four days after getting the draft Oct. 9.

They instead sent it to the full board, which approved the agreement Oct. 16 — one day before a splashy announcement attended by dignitaries including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Eric Schmidt, then executive chairman of Alphabet Inc., the Google and Sidewalk Labs parent company.

Di Lorenzo voted against approval, citing time constraints, which was reported when board minutes were made public. She does not blame other directors for voting for it, she says now, adding she has for the past eight months pushed for improvements in terms, some of which are reflected in the planning development agreement signed Tuesday.

But, she wrote in her letter, Waterfront Toronto continues “to allow the proponent to procure advice and services ostensibly on our behalf, and continue to allow this ‘outside’ of our procurement protocol. It has become ever more difficult to obtain independent advice on behalf of Waterfront Toronto.”

Di Lorenzo told the Star she doesn’t think Waterfront Toronto and Sidewalk Labs should have jointly hosted town halls, commissioned consultant work and more, often under the “Sidewalk Toronto” moniker, while Waterfront was still probing the terms of the developing deal.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Di Lorenzo says she couldn’t sign the new agreement, which commits the partners to working toward a final deal next year but gives them opt-out options, in part because a joint committee will review public relations and government relations matters and be the venue for sharing information.

“Only Waterfront Toronto should brief our democratically elected government stakeholders and we have always been transparent” with them, she said in the interview.

Her letter also raises concerns that the value of the 2.7-million-square-foot Quayside — and hundreds of acres of public land being unlocked for development by $1.2 billion in floodproofing funded by the three levels of government — be gauged for its value as a public asset. “What is (Sidewalk) bringing to the table and what are they potentially getting out of it?” she asked.

Di Lorenzo also thinks that Waterfront has compromised its ability to work with companies already advanced in innovations such as wood-composite highrises, and worries Waterfront Toronto hasn’t done enough to protect itself from legal liability on issues such as driverless cars envisioned for the district.

The government corporation could be developing an innovation district itself, retaining full control and using a company like Sidewalk as a consultant, she said in the interview.

“We in Toronto and Canada know how to ‘city build’ and although we have work to do with our priority neighbourhoods, we have some of the smartest people in North America as community activists and city builders and engineers and designers and artists … this is about technology and data,” she said.

“What are the net real new jobs? How are Canadian values protected? I felt like we are shortchanging our own capacity.”

Waterfront board chair Helen Burstyn said there were lengthy negotiations before the new deal was signed and “no questions were left unexamined or unanswered.” She added that “Waterfront Toronto received strong, independent and expert financial and legal advice from leading firms, including KPMG, McCarthy’s and Dentons.”

“Given the deep due diligence to date and the continued vigilance with which we will continue to conduct the next phases of this collaborative effort with Sidewalk Labs, our board is completely comfortable with the obligations undertaken at this time.”

Sidewalk Labs has vowed to address the concerns. The firm’s chief executive officer Dan Doctoroff previously told the Star: “We’re not going to use data for commercial purposes. Data will be used to improve quality of life. Processes used to develop policies will be open and collaborative.”

Read more about: