Geraldine Brophy/The Western Star
At the end of the corporation’s annual meeting this past Thursday, the board opened the floor to questions from those gathered and Taylor had a big one.
“Does the port corporation, the board, feel that they’re in a bit of conflict of interest with the local business community in terms of tenant rentals,” asked the city dentist.
Taylor is part of the Humber Valley Dental Clinic which owns the The Humber Trust Building on West Street. In addition to its own interests, the group also rents out other spaces in the building. It has lost at least one tenant to the port corporation’s R.A. Pollett Building on Riverside Drive and knows of others who have looked at the port for space.
When he asked what percentage of the building’s tenants were port related the answer from Jackie Chow, the corporation’s chief executive officer, was basically none.
She agreed that the port does compete with the business community, but added increasing port activity is something the corporation is working towards. She said this includes major pieces of business that are port related that would contribute in a significant manor and result in impact that all businesses would see.
But Taylor thinks the port is going against its own mandate.
“But you’re saying zero per cent of your tenants have port related business activity. I fail to see an increase in port activity here based on your tenant load,” he said in response.
Chow did backtrack a bit as other board members and staff chimed in on the discussion and listed tenants that are related to port activity like Clark Transport and the Barry’s Seafoods. But most agreed the bulk of the Pollett Building’s tenants are not port related.
Chow said construction of the R.A. Pollett Building was done completely with the port’s own revenue and that no government money or none of the divestiture money from Transport Canada went into any of the real estate piece of business the port has.
But Taylor doesn’t buy into that and after the meeting said “the money to put up this building didn’t come out of nowhere.”
He said the corporation says it’s main goal is port-related business, but 65 to 70 per cent of its tenants are not port related. Instead they range from gynecologists to Service NL’s occupational health and safety division.
“You got everything but port-related activity going on in this building,” said Taylor.
When asked about Taylor’s comments, Chow said the R.A. Pollett Building is attractive to tenants because it is completely wheelchair accessible, has ample parking and is air conditioned.
She said what the port has was not offered in the city before the building was constructed.
“While we may be competing with local business, we feel we’re fulfilling a need that’s not being met otherwise.”
What the port has to say about real estate
Real estate is the second of Corner Brook Port Corporation's three lines of business. Current real estate holdings include the dock, six rental buildings, three ancillary buildings and 22 acres of waterfront land. These facilities include office, commercial and industrial spaces. Real estate is critical to the corporation's long-term plan as it complements the industrial portion of the business and diversifies the revenue streams.
As the corporation continues to pursue business opportunities which will generate economic activity for the region, it is intended that the real estate holdings will attract projects or business ventures needing waterfront space, particularly those which will require inbound and/or outbound shipping.
Source: Corner Brook Port Corporation — www.cornerbrookport.com
