Tartu College from Concept to Reality – Vision, Opportunity and Risk

Tartu College (TC) started its first full year of operation as a student residence in September 1970. Its location was ideal for students to be close to the downtown campus of the University of Toronto. The building was made possible by the Federal Government’s policy of promoting and increasing higher education in Canada, which necessitated in­creased student living spaces.

Central Housing & Mortgage Corporation [CMHC, now Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation] supported the building of student residences by offering CMHC 50 year mortgages for 90% of the construction cost of these buildings. Tampold Wells Architects and their sister organization Student Management Services Ltd. (whose President was Elmar Tampõld) used this opportunity to plan and build numerous such buildings across Eastern Canada. They included student residences at university campuses in Ottawa, Fredericton, Moncton, Halifax, Waterloo and Toronto.

Their experience and knowledge with the student housing market encouraged Elmar Tampõld to propose the construction of a high-rise student residence to his fraternity Korp! Sakala and subsequently to other Estonian fraternities which could also serve as a common home for all. The fraternities had recently lost their leased konvendi maja at 42 Bedford Avenue in the Annex. To show this to be more than a conceptual plan, and with considerable foresight, Elmar Tampõld pre-purchased (with an Option to Buy) a building in 1965 at the corner of Bloor St. W. and Madison Avenue (310 Bloor Street West) from its owner, Dr. Herbert Bowen.

In 1967, discussions began in earnest amongst Eesti Korporatsioon Liit (EKL) members to plan out the requirements for a shared home, an ühismaja, for all of the Estonian academic fraternities, sororities and societies active in Toronto. As a first step, Tartu College was legally established as a Not for Profit Corporation by the Province of Ontario on November 8, 1967. The founding Directors of TC met in November 1967 and authorized issuing $400,000 of Series A Debentures yielding 7% per annum (each valued at $400) maturing on Dec. 1, 1997. These funds were intended as the basis for securing the CMHC mortgage to construct the building. In addition, they made the decision to also purchase the neighbouring lot at 302 Bloor St. W. to increase the size of the potential development on the site. The two lots were purchased for a total of $450,000 and make up the current TC site.

Student Management Services paid for the 310 Bloor St. W. lot with a $50,000 down payment. The balance of the purchased cost was paid for with a 2 year vendor-take-back (VTB) mortgage at a 7% interest rate. The 302 Bloor St. W. lot was paid for with a $15,000 down payment and the remainder secured with a 3 year VTB mortgage at 7% interest. This downpayment was made possible by three $5,000 loans taken out by Edmund Waldin, Tõnis Laar and Johannes Pahapill, all Directors of Tartu College.

On April 23, 1968, CMHC agreed to make a loan under the National Housing Act, to finance the construction of this student housing project at 302 and 310 Bloor W. There were however numerous conditions to fulfill. The first mortgage was to be the lesser of $3.011 M or 90% of the construction cost, repayable over 50 years, at 67/8 % interest per annum. As conditions for this loan, CMHC would have to approve the working drawings and specifications for the building, construction supervision would need to be carried out by a qualified architect or engineer, and there would be a 15% holdback on the value of the work completed “until the project has been fully completed and the statutory period for the filing of mechanics liens has expired”. The final cost of the project required certification by an auditor, approved by the CMHC and supported by other data as CMHC would require. In addition, CMHC’s commitment would cease if their conditions were not met or if construction of the project did not start within six months from the date of their approval letter.

Development continued quickly and numerous agreements needed to be completed for the required approvals and before construction could begin. The City of Toronto demanded 112 parking spaces for this development as per their planning by-laws. This required lengthy negotiations with the Toronto Transit Committee (TTC) and Metropolitan Toronto. The only way to provide such a solution was to build underground parking and supplement the parking requirement with outdoor parking on the vacant TTC right-ofway land, beside TC. This is now the site for the new International Estonian Centre.

The City’s Committee of Adjustment approval for ‘minor variances’ was received on September 30, 1968. It provided for ‘the number of motor vehicle parking spaces required by by-law to be provided and maintained in conjunction with the use of the subject parcel of land as an apartment-hotel’. [The City had no proper zoning definition for student residences and thus TC was classified as an apartment hotel]. The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto gave TC a lease on the parking lot property for 31 years, with a further 31 year option, to allow TC to have the required parking demanded by the City of Toronto. This lease between Metro Toronto and Tartu College was signed on September 13, 1968.

In addition, letters of approval and concurrence were required from the University of Toronto and the Ontario Government prior to any CMHC funding approval. As well, numerous meetings with the City took place, drawings and specifications needed to be completed, a detailed construction budget was established for submission to the CMHC, a Committee of Adjustment hearing needed to be held and much more. The project was progressing rapidly in the second half of 1968. The building permit application was filed on June 28, 1968 and the demolition of the houses at 302 and 310 Bloor Street W. was begun. A stipulated sum construction contract was signed with AG Murphy Construction Ltd.

Issues arose related to the building permit application. TC was forced to ask for an exemption to their application when a new by-law was passed after the building permit submission to the City. This by-law would have necessitated a complete redesign of the structure and a reapplication for a revised CMHC mortgage. The exemption was granted with the proviso that an indemnity agreement was entered into. This Indemnity Agreement was signed by the City of Toronto and Elmar Tampõld personally who had to enter into a Line of Credit with the Bank of Montreal (BMO) for $150,000.

At the time TC did not have the financial wherewithal to sign such an indemnity, which read “That he will indemnify and save harmless the City and the Commissioner from and against any liability for damages, loss, costs or expenses, incurred by any reason of or in any way arising out of the issuing by the Commissioner to the Owner or to Tartu College of a building permit...” Without this indemnity and without the 112 parking spaces, a building permit would not have been issued.

At their October TC Board meeting, the building plans were amended with an increase in construction costs of $130,000 and a corresponding increase in their first mortgage with CMHC. This was mainly due to the addition of the G Floor (the semi-buried floor where the Estonian fraternities and societies are based) to the scope of the project.

By year end, a building permit had been issued, the two building lots 302 and 310 Bloor St. W. were transferred to Tartu College from SMS (for the sum of $2 on Dec. 12, 1968 plus the outstanding mortgages on the properties). The homes on these lots were demolished and construction of a new student residence building started. The problems had only begun.

(To be continued)

JAAN MERI

(The President and Chair of the Board of Directors for Tartu College during the past 11 years.)