Fredericton sends N.B. Ex land payout fight to arbitration

Fredericton city council has voted to let a court decide how much the city must pay Fredericton Exhibition Ltd. for its expropriated lease on the Exhibition Grounds, after months of talks failed to settle a $4.1-million offer.

Chief administrative officer Steve Hart told council on Monday that the city had made its final offer and that, “despite respectful and constructive discussions between the parties, a settlement agreement has not been reached,” CBC News reported. He called the move to arbitration an “administrative and procedural decision” that affects only compensation, not the expropriation itself.

The city owns the grounds but had leased part of them to the exhibition, known as the N.B. Ex, until 2031. Council completed the expropriation of the leasehold in May, giving the city full control of the site for redevelopment, and voted the same month to pay the N.B. Ex $4.1 million. An N.B. Ex director told CBC in August that amount was “definitely not a fair number.”

The city has since sold a 4.9-hectare parcel of the grounds to the province for $7.7 million for a new middle school, with construction to start in the spring. By our calculation, the province paid about $1.57 million a hectare for that parcel. The city’s $4.1-million offer for the exhibition’s lease interest is about 53 per cent of the $7.7 million the province paid for the school parcel.

Hart said the court process could take six to 18 months, and the city can withdraw at any time if a negotiated deal is reached, which he said he still hoped was possible. The N.B. Ex did not respond to CBC’s interview request.

The decision came the same night council adopted its 2027 budget. Earlier this fall, council also approved a smaller shelter and a council pay raise.

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