TORONTO – The TTC is expected to cancel a 10-year, $48-million deal with its current newsstand operator after harsh criticism over an apparently sole-sourced deal and an ensuing third-party consultants report, according to various media reports.
The National Post reports that the TTC will reverse a previous decision to extend the lease with Tobmar Investments International – which runs the Gateway Newsstands seen throughout the TTC – and open up the bidding process to tender.
The outside consultant was brought in by TTC Chair Karen Stintz after Mayor Rob Ford criticized the lease extension as a ‘sole-sourced deal.’
According to The Toronto Star, rescinding the lease extension will cost the city $3 million.
The deal was agreed to in October and gave the TTC a 67 per cent rent increase, a $1.5 million bonus and $1.5 million in promised store renovations.
The review, conducted by Altus Group Ltd., suggests the deal should be put out for tender to “ensure the best offer terms,” according to the National Post.
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