RendezVous LeBreton partners want to salvage deal

With justtwo weeks left before their deal with the National Capital Commission officially dies, the two feuding sides in the LeBreton Flats redevelopment will turn to mediation totry one last time to settle their differences.

EugeneMelnykand John Ruddy have been locked in a legal battle since November, when Melnyk'sCapital Sports Management Inc. sued Ruddy's Trinity Development Group and project manager Graham Bird for $700 million.

• CBC Ottawa's coverage of the LeBreton Flats redevelopment

Ruddy answered with abillion-dollarcounterclaim, allegingMelnykwas trying to avoid paying for the arena because he couldn't afford it.

Bird, whose consulting firm GBA Development and Project Management has been involved in the RendezVous LeBreton partnership since the beginning, saidFriday that the deal is "too important to fail, and is worth salvaging."

Let's stop, take a deep breath, find the middle ground and get on with it.- Graham Bird

A GBA spokesperson said the three sideshave scheduled "imminent" mediation beforeJan. 19, when the National Capital Commission officially ends the deal.

A leading mediator, former Ontario chief justiceWarrenWinkler, has been asked to oversee the talks, which would include Bird,Melnykand Ruddy and their lawyers, the spokesperson said.

Bird optimistic

Mediation is often a part of a civil litigationbut doesn't always take place quickly, Bird said.

No one wants to spend years in court"yelling at each other," so it made sense to try to arrange the session at a time when the LeBretonpartnership might still be rescued, Bird said.

The way Bird sees it, emotions ran high before the holidaysbut he's optimistic the partiescan still see the "brilliance" of theirproposal and the thousands of hours of work that havegone into trying to build five distinct neighbourhoods and a new arena for the Ottawa Senators.

"Let's stop, take a deep breath, find the middle ground and get on with it," said Bird.

Neither Capital Sports Management Inc. nor Trinity Development Group would comment.

It won't be the first time the parties have taken part in mediation various legal documents filed in recent weeks describehow a session among the Rendezvous LeBretonpartners failedin July 2016.

And while someconsiderthe partnership as good as dead, an NCC spokesperson said last monththe organization could reconsider ending the dealif it's presented with compelling evidence the partners haveresolved their differences.

Statement of defence filed

Bird also filed his statement of defence to Melnyk'slawsuit in court on Friday, and called for the case to be thrown out.

The majority of that lawsuit revolvesaround Ruddy and Trinity, and the claim that Trinity'sthree-tower project atthe nearbyBayview Station would be in direct competition with the real estate to be developed at LeBreton.

As for Bird, Capital Sports claimed he acted as an agent for Trinity to increasedensity at thosetowers, and took part in meetings with city staff without notifying Capital Sports.

"It was that underlying fear that we were somehow playing games with [Capital Sports Management]and I think we were quite frankly offended by that," said Bird.

"We've been extremely true to the dream, to the vision, and the implementation of that from the get-go."

Bird refutedall the allegations against him, saying nothing about the proposal has substantially changedand his firm has never been involved in the design or financing of Trinity'stowers at 900 Albert St.

None of theclaims in the original lawsuit, counterclaim or Bird's statement of defence hasbeen proven in court.

Mediation scheduled to salvage LeBreton Flats deal

6 years ago

Duration 0:28

Graham Bird, whose consulting firm GBA Development and Project Management has been involved in the RendezVous LeBreton partnership, will attend last-ditch talks to salvage the deal before the NCC terminates it.