A blackout over National Capital Commission negotiations with RendezVous Lebreton came into effect at midnight Wednesday, but not before a lawyer for DCDLS, the group behind the Lebreton Flats development bid that finished second, wrote a stinging open letter to the NCC.
Several elements of the Eugene Melnyk-backed RendezVous LeBreton plan were called into question in the letter.
“First, we are perplexed as to how the proposal of the Rendez Vous LeBreton team met the requirements of the Request for Qualifications, based on your stated objectives which were to see development for primarily non-residential uses, such as museums, galleries, special attractions, hospitality and office space, which fosters public access and experience,” wrote Frank Carpentier on behalf of Nelligan O’Brien Payne LLP lawyer Debbie Bellinger.
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Mr. Carpentier also wrote of recent news reports that the NCC would look for ways to “lift the national prominence” of the RendezVous LeBreton proposal.
“This allows one team to improve upon its proposal and to introduce elements that were not part of its formal submission. Our position in the overall process will be severely prejudiced by that approach,” he wrote.
Mr. Carpentier also demanded the NCC release the scoring results with DCDLS under a strict confidentiality agreement.
DCDLS also requested the NCC not allow RendezVous LeBreton to negotiate with any DCDLS partners, threatening to pursue legal action if any negotiations were to occur.
Mr. Carpentier also took exception to meetings RendezVous LeBreton held with business leaders during the original blackout period, alleging that broke confidentiality agreements under the strict RFP requirements.
When announcing it would enter negotiations with RendezVous LeBreton, the NCC took note of the bid’s proposal to cover the LRT.
“We studied the feasibility and viability of this option in the context of our own proposal, and concluded that this approach is not economically viable, is technically difficult to implement, and more importantly will result in significant delays in the planned opening of the Confederation Line of the LRT,” Mr. Carpentier wrote.
He demanded the NCC publicly clarify there is no winner yet, and that RendezVous LeBreton merely won the right to negotiate first.
“Based on the foregoing, our team is willing to remain involved for the time being; but it will revisit its position from time to time based on its assessment of where things stand,” he wrote.
