WINNIPEG – The owners of Shindico development company love Winnipeg and continued to work on a fire-paramedic station replacement program because they felt they’d do the best job for the city, their development manager says.
Shindico development manager Bob Downs defended his employers in a two-hour interview with CJOB.
Shindico is the commercial and investment real estate firm that was awarded contracts in the city’s much-maligned fire hall replacement program. An audit of the overbudget project found numerous problems, including mismanagement, a lack of oversight and improperly awarded contracts.
Downs said his bosses, Sandy and brother Robert Shindleman, who is the company vice-president and chief operating officer, care deeply about Winnipeg and felt they could do the best job on the emergency services buildings.
“The people that we work for carry their hearts on their sleeves and they bleed Winnipeg,” Downs told CJOB. “They don’t deserve what they’re getting….
“Sandy knew we could do for the city better than anybody else. And the money? I mean, our return on this transaction is about 3.8 per cent, and we can do a lot better than that.”
He also addressed an infamous land-swap deal that saw Shindico put “For sale signs” on properties owned by the city.
Under the deal, the city was to trade surplus properties for the land where the Taylor Avenue fire-paramedic station was built. City council didn’t approve the deal and the fire-paramedic station still sits on Shindico land.
“We want to do an exchange of land because we don’t want to sell,” Downs said. “It’s not the city saying we want to do an exchange of land. It’s Shindico saying we want to exchange land so we can continue to develop in lieu of the land you’ve taken from us.”
Shindico feels the audit that found numerous problems with the replacement program was flawed, Downs said.
The negative publicity has forced Shindico to explain itself to national and international businesses, he told CJOB.
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