Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 6/2/2015 (2052 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The first round in the expropriation battle over land upon which a fire hall was built has been won by city hall.

A mediator ruled this week the city doesn't have to include a small triangular piece of land on Taylor Avenue as part of its expropriation of land controlled by developer Shindico.

The ruling follows two days of public hearings in mid-December in which lawyers for the city and Shindico argued over how much land the city should take in expropriation.

The fire hall on Taylor was built by Shindico in 2012 under terms of a secret deal negotiated by the former fire chief and Shindico. In the deal, the three parcels of city land would be swapped for the property on Taylor. The Taylor land is owned by a numbered company controlled by Shindico's CEO Sandy Shindleman.

COLE BREILAND / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Fire-paramedic Station No. 12 at 1780 Taylor Avenue.

But council killed the land swap and ordered an outright purchase. However, both sides couldn't agree on a price, and then it was discovered they couldn't agree on how much land the city should take from Shindico.

The December hearing focused on a small, triangular parcel of land at the northeast tip of the fire hall property. It covers part of the entrance to the neighbouring property, the bulk food store Scoop N Weigh, where Shindico and the food retailer have joint easement rights.

When the city was carving out the fire hall land, it left the tiny triangle parcel for Shindico, on the grounds it didn't need the land for the fire hall and didn't want to be responsible for any costs associated with maintaining the Scoop N Weigh entrance.

That was also the argument Shindico put forward: The triangle-shaped land was too small to be developed and could only be sold to Scoop N Weigh, so the city should include it in the expropriation.

Shindico also expressed concern the expropriation would eliminate Taylor Avenue access for two parcels of land the company owned behind the fire hall.

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca