Frequently Asked Questions

TLC was incorporated in April 2008 as the exclusive and wholly-owned subsidiary of the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) responsible for the reality management of non-operating school properties. At the direction of the TDSB, TLC would either dispose of a surplus property or lease it, retaining ownership in the event of future TDSB pupil accommodation needs.

In June 2018, the TDSB expanded the mandate of TLC to include the management of all Board-wide real estate interests, including site redevelopment, land use planning, property disposition & acquisition, leasing, partnerships and the integration of community service facilities for all 600 TDSB sites.

Since our inception, TLC has capitalized on opportunities and has generated close to $1BM through disposition and leasing of sites, allowing for greater re-investment in TDSB schools. Our leasing operations alone have generated the net revenues needed to retain school properties and undertake major development projects on school sites at Lawrence & Midland, Bloor & Dufferin and Yonge & Davisville.

As a wholly owned subsidiary, TLC is funded 100% by the TDSB.

However, TLC generates sufficient revenue to offset its entire operations as well as contributing approximately $1M annually towards property management and capital needs of buildings under lease. Operationally in 2019/20, TLC is budgeted to return to TDSB net proceeds of $1.2M and capital in excess of $40M

TLC is governed by a separate and independent Board of Directors, comprised of six citizen members and four appointed TDSB Trustees. The Executive Officer (EO), who oversees TLC staff, ultimately has responsibility for the operation of TLC and reports to the TLC Board. The TLC Board directs and provides leadership to the EO in accordance with the Shareholder’s Direction. The TLC Board will request authority, from the TDSB, to proceed on any matter that exceeds its authority. TLC also provides quarterly management reports on all operational matters in order to communicate its ongoing progress towards its strategic goals. TLC was incorporated as a separate corporation in accordance with the Ontario Business Corporation Act and operates on a Board to Board relationship

TLC’s Land Use Planning team oversees all land use planning matters on behalf of the TDSB. This work includes reviewing and responding to development applications, municipal and provincial land use studies, policies, and legislation, and other related matters that may impact TDSB sites and TDSB student accommodation decision making. TLC’s Land Use Planning team also provides land use planning support to the TDSB’s capital projects.

TDSB’s Strategy and Planning Division is responsible for student accommodation planning, including the development of an annual ten-year Long-Term Program and Accommodation Strategy (LTPAS); managing enrolment data and determining enrolment projections; conducting accommodation reviews/studies; facility space management; and capital planning.

TDSB’s Strategy and Planning Division advises TLC’s Land Use Planning team on accommodation challenges and issues; and in turn, TLC’s land use planning work informs TDSB’s enrolment projections and accommodation planning.

All disposition of school board property in Ontario is governed by Ontario Regulation 444/98. This regulation amongst other prescriptive requirements provides a first right opportunity for public agencies to acquire school board lands during a prescribed circulation period. If the surplus lands are not purchased by a public agency, the school board, can proceed to place the property on the open market. Whether a sale of a school board property is to a public agency or sold in the market place, a school board is to obtain market value for the public asset.

As with most legal contracts, including labour, real estate agreements are achieved through a negotiated balancing of each parties objective. Legal matters, propriety information and sensitive key business terms relating to the purchaser are critical to their continued success and operational performance and as such this information needs to be protected and not disclosed in an open forum.

Even if an agreement is entered into for the sale of a school board sit, there always is the possibility that the deal may not close, thus the deal terminates. Should a deal be successfully concluded, the transaction becomes a public record through the Land Registry Office.

No, all public agencies have a similar process for the disposition of land.

The Province of Ontario has had a primary focus on addressing the deferred maintenance challenges created by aging school facilities. As such, the Ministry has been providing grants to support reinvestment in school facilities and also requires school boards to use proceeds from site dispositions. Any use of proceeds of disposition and capital funding for new schools must be approved by the Ministry of Education. Each year school boards across the Province submit their top capital priorities to the Ministry. If a project is selected to advance, school boards are expected to build to Ministry benchmark. Upon occasion, the Ministry of Education may approve costs over and above the benchmark to be funded out of the school board’s POD account. Without Ministry approval, POD’s cannot be accessed for alternate uses.