Louise Station report finds no wrong-doing by city

An independent review of a controversial land deal between the City of Calgary and a private developer has concluded no rules were broken.

The report was ordered by city council into an agreement the city made six years ago to sell a run-down public housing building on First Avenue S.W. to a developer.

The city then built new public housing on top at Louise Station on Fourth Avenue and Eighth Street S.W. near Eau Claire.

It is a multiple-purpose building including a fire-EMS station, affordable housing and residential, office and commercialunits.

The Louise Station project was a public-private partnership between the city, the province and The LaCaille Group.

Questions were raised about whether the city got a fair price and whether it might have been cheaper to renovate the old units rather than build a smaller number of brand new ones.

City manager Owen Tobert told council this afternoon no rules were broken in the deal but he also said the negotiations were "not perfect."

He added city procurement rules are being tightened.

Mayor Naheed Nenshi says while the report shows no wrong-doing, he still wouldn't have supported the original deal.

He says the cost per unit to build new affordable housing was substantially higher than refurbishing the old building.