Toronto developer Sam Crignano promised buyers of his upscale Residences of Pier 27 condo development some of the best waterfront views in Toronto. He just never thought they would include the rusting Captain John’s Restaurant.

For months now, Crignano has been offering to do whatever it takes, including financial assistance, to get the waterfront relic — a former tourist attraction and seafood restaurant — towed out of sight, as he had expected it would be years ago.

“I keep asking the question: ‘How long? How long?’ Something has to give before the end of this year. That thing is just ugly,” say Crignano, president of Cityzen developments.

Since water was turned off and the restaurant shut down by city health officials a year ago, the ship, the Jadran, has remained firmly anchored at the foot of Yonge St. while waterfront officials decline to take the critical next step: seeking an order under federal maritime law to assume control of the ship.

In the meantime, its owner, “Captain” John Letnik, has been trying to find buyers for what has become a massive metal albatross: a 50,000-square-foot, 55-year-old engineless ship that could cost the city $250,000 to have towed away and cut up.

Two buyers have expressed interest. One hoped to turn it into a tourist attraction in Cuba, another a casino and restaurant in Hamilton. Meanwhile, the ship is sinking in debt. Letnik owes close to $1 million in back taxes, utilities and rent on the waterfront slip. He also has an outstanding mortgage of more than $200,000.

“I’m still living on the ship. I sleep about 50 per cent of the time on a mattress on the floor,” says Letnik, 74, who also owns a lowrise apartment building in Scarborough.

He stripped the ship of most of its contents last July when the city, Waterfront Toronto and the Toronto Port Authority moved in tandem to shut the business down and ordered the gangplank and all signage removed.

A year later, the aged walkway and faded menu board remain as the adjacent condos loom large and construction crews continue their work rejuvenating the Queens Quay area at Yonge St.

Crignano has warned Waterfront Toronto officials that time is running out. Owners of the Pier 27 condos, ranging from more than $500,000 to $3 million, are slated to start moving in late this year. Come fall, the parking lot where the gangplank now sits is supposed to be turned into a public promenade 45 metres wide.

It will run north-south, from Queens Quay and connect to a promenade that will run east along the harbour wall, in front of the four condo buildings. It is supposed to be a new public gathering place for nautical activities, such as the recent visit of the tall ships, and a key part of Waterfront Toronto’s efforts to bring life to prime lakefront land that has been dominated by parking lots for decades.

“I’ve been applying as much pressure as I possibly can to get that thing out of there. I’ve even offered to contribute financially,” says Crignano. “One plan is to try to move it somewhere else in the harbour and try to make something of it.”

Nothing would delight Letnik more. The biggest obstacle to any sale, he maintains, is the fact the Port Authority isn’t willing to grant a new owner a long-term lease on any waterfront slip, which makes it too risky to take on a ship needing millions in restoration.

Captain John is determined to save his famous floating restaurant at the foot of Yonge Street.

“We would certainly be willing to entertain any offers, but we’ve had nothing so far,” says Pamela McDonald, director of communications for the Toronto Port Authority. “We did have some preliminary interest, but there have been no serious written offers.”

Civic officials are quietly coming to terms with the fact they will likely have to forgive the outstanding taxes and rents owed by Letnik, says one person close to the situation. But the ship is now more liability than asset, given that it’s mired in the muck of Lake Ontario and there is a risk it could break up during towing.

There is also the issue of the $200,000 mortgage, and Letnik’s determination to get some kind of payback for a ship he says cost him $3 million back in the 1970s to tow from his homeland, the former Yugoslavia, and convert to what was, at the time, a pioneering fine-dining restaurant in a somewhat remote part of the city.

“That’s my life sitting there, and they destroyed it by shutting me down,” says Letnik. “People don’t realize how much tourism I brought to Toronto with Captain John’s. “I’m going to stay there as long as I can, whatever it takes.”

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And he may well be able to do just that.

Civic officials admit they have tried to be respectful rather than tough, given Letnik’s long history in the city, even if the waterfront is undergoing a remarkably quick renaissance all around him.

Plus they face a bigger problem. As long as Letnik is owner, no one else can approve a sale of the ship, even if a willing buyer is found. It could take months to seize control in federal court under maritime law.

“There’s no interest in going to court” says McDonald. “We remain hopeful that a buyer will be found.”

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