Residents of townhouse development say they bought homes because of the surrounding greenspace, now it's being destroyed

A group of residents in a Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue townhouse development say they thought they were living in a protected greenspace until bulldozers came in. Now they claim they bought something the builder couldn't deliver.

Christina Rokakis says that she and her husband purchased a unit at the Terra development from Broccolini in 2020.

"We really fell in love with the greenery," Rokakis said in an interview.

She said they even paid extra to be next to a forested field.

"So, we decided to pay $50,000 more expensive compared to another unit, because we were told there was protected greenery."

However, bulldozers have been removing trees and flattening the ground to construct a parking lot for the aerospace company MDA, which is expanding next door.

According to Carina Fraschetti, Rokakis's neighbour, residents were not warned about the construction.

"This was an absolute shock. All of a sudden, we see stakes in the ground," Fraschetti explained.

The owners decided to contact the city.

"There's been zero communication to advise citizens on what is happening to our neighbouring land. So, it feels just really fast and overwhelming," Fraschetti said.

Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Mayor Paola Hawa says she can sympathize with the Terra residents, but she added the adjacent property is not a protected greenspace.

"That land has always belonged to MDA. It has always been zoned as industrial. They have the legal right to do as they wish with that piece of land," the mayor said.

According to Hawa, the parking lot is temporary while MDA expands its operations. She noted that berms will be added to lessen the impact.

Although none of these assurances about greenspace were in the deed of sale, Rokakis says they feel like they have been misled.

"Maybe we wouldn't have gotten this project if we would have known I would have been waking up to cars and to a big parking lot right next to our unit."

In a statement, the developer, Broccolini, said, "We are disappointed in the false claims that CTV News has brought to our attention regarding the Terra residential project in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue. These false claims are not consistent with how we work and are being surfaced by select upset households regarding the development of an adjacent lot on which Broccolini has no control."

The mayor said this should serve as a lesson that if people move next to the vacant lot, they should know how it's zoned and what could be built.