(Ottawa) Canada is selling its former Manhattan residence, which once housed its consulate general in New York.
Global Affairs Canada says the five-bedroom condo was listed for sale Thursday for more than $13 million, which is expected to surpass the purchase price of its new $9 million condo on a Manhattan street known as Billionaires’ Row.
The ministry says the new condo is smaller and more suitable, and that the old unit, which was purchased in 1961 and last renovated in 1982, needed electrical, heating, ventilation and plumbing upgrades.
He says the old apartment also did not comply with the Accessible Canada Act, 2021, which requires barrier-free environments for people with disabilities.
Global Affairs Canada says the purchase of the new condo will save Canadian taxpayers millions of dollars and reduce ongoing maintenance costs and property taxes while supporting future program needs.
But the opposition Conservatives say only Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and “his wasteful Liberal government would think it would be more cost-effective to quadruple the cost to taxpayers and buy a new luxury condo for $9 million instead of making repairs.”
Concerns about the Park Avenue apartment were first raised in 2014.
Seven years later, Global Affairs Canada approved renovations costing $1.8 million, but the project has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, recent documents submitted to the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates show.
Global Affairs Canada said in a letter to the committee that several months after the new consulate general was appointed in New York, it identified new problems with the old residence.
These included accessibility issues, lack of separation between family and work space, and restrictions on events that the co-op’s board had imposed on them.
The approved renovation project would not have addressed these “fundamental” problems, the letter said, and renovation costs have risen to $2.6 million.
“Given the high renovation costs required to update the electrical, heating, ventilation and plumbing, Global Affairs Canada has recommended a move to a new, smaller, more suitable and more cost-effective apartment,” department spokesperson Brittany Fletcher said Thursday.
The Canadian government also owns a second apartment in the Park Avenue building in Manhattan, occupied by Bob Rae, Canada’s ambassador to the United Nations.
PHOTO SEAN KILPATRICK, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
Bob Rae, Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations
In searching for a new official residence for the consul general in New York, the ministry worked with a local broker and visited 21 different residences, ranging in price from $8 million to $21 million, according to the documents.
The government ultimately opted for a new luxury condo in the Steinway Tower, a building known as the world’s thinnest skyscraper, located just steps from Central Park.
The official residence will be used for diplomatic activities, including networking receptions, official briefings and hospitality events such as discussions with business and political leaders.
It will be used by Tom Clark, a former journalist, who was appointed Canadian consul general in New York in February 2023.
Opposition Conservatives say there’s no point spending millions on a new luxury condo for the prime minister’s “media buddy” while making Canadians who “struggle to put a basic roof over their heads or put food on their table” foot the bill.
“For Justin Trudeau and his well-connected Liberal cronies, life has never been better as he continues to punish ordinary Canadians with his costly policies,” fumed Michael Barrett, the opposition’s ethics critic.
Global Affairs Canada was forced to admit it was behind the recent purchase after New York real estate rumours reported the condo deal was for King Charles himself.
The deed shows it was listed at more than US$6.6 million and was sold last month to “His Majesty the King in Right of Canada.”
This prompted some local New York media to report that a royal purchase had been made, with Global Affairs Canada then taking steps to rectify the situation.