Builders say Toronto World Cup traffic plan could stall projects and delay new homeowners

As Toronto prepares to welcome hundreds of thousands of FIFA World Cup fans this summer, thousands of new homeowners could soon get some bad news, CBC Toronto has learned.

The city has severely limited construction activity downtown and along major arteries between May 1 and July 31, aiming to keep roads as clear as possible during the six games Toronto will host.

Builders and developers told CBC Toronto the restrictions could force hundreds of construction sites to sit idle for days or weeks this summer. They say the resulting delays could impact as many as 10,000 people expected to move into new homes this year — an estimate based on condo towers under development — pushing move-in dates back by as much as two months.

Scott McLellan, chief operating officer of developer Plazacorp, which has two residential towers underway in downtown Toronto, said buyers preparing to move into those units later this year will likely have to make other plans. 

"Those people have to go find somewhere to live. They're not going to be able to move when they were expecting to," he said. 

"Their world goes upside down."

CBC Toronto was unable to reach an affected buyer because it's not clear who the individual buyers are as there is no public registry until titles are transferred upon completion of construction. Developers said they were not comfortable passing on the names of potential buyers because it's uncertain at this time which of the buildings will be directly impacted by the delays.

It's not clear why the city established a large no-roadwork zone for such a long period. Mayor Olivia Chow's office would not address that question when asked by CBC Toronto.

Toronto will host six games, between June 12 and July 2, all at Toronto Stadium, also known as BMO Field, at Exhibition Place. 

The city issued a map to builders and developers last month, headed "Road Work Restriction Areas (May 1 to July 31)" warning that "no work permitted" on roads and sidewalks within an area bounded by Sherbourne Street, Bloor Street, Lansdowne Avenue and the lakeshore. 

In a March 5 webinar with builders, the city's Dave Twaddle, director of permits with transportation services, said developers' staging areas — which typically take up a full lane — could remain, but deliveries would have to stop for three days around each World Cup game. He also noted that, except for emergency work, no other road closures for activities such as crane installation or removal would be allowed within the designated area between June 11 and July 3.

Toronto Hydro said it would focus on emergency work only during the May 1 to July 31 period. That means building projects requiring an electricity hookup during that time would need to check with the utility to see whether the work can proceed.

Major arteries between Yonge and Dufferin streets, and as far north as Highway 401, would also be no-roadwork zones for the three-month period — limiting construction because builders often need to curb lanes to serve their project sites.

Builders and developers said they were shocked and confused.