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Development firm KTS Properties has made the first of its promised charitable gifts in Ottawa, donating $100,000 to the Dave Smith Youth Treatment Centre.
KTS, formerly known as Katasa Group, was at the centre of a controversy last winter over a $300,000 donation negotiated by Capital Ward Coun. Shawn Menard. That money was to have been spent on traffic-calming measures and affordable housing in Menard’s ward as part of the company’s approval to build a 22-storey highrise at the intersection of Carling and Bronson avenues.
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Menard, who worked with city staff to forge the deal, said the money would bring benefits to his constituents and help to offset the increased traffic the tower would bring while also addressing affordable housing needs.
But the deal provoked the ire of other councillors, who wanted the money spread throughout the city. KTS backed out because of the controversy, but later promised to donate an equivalent amount in three $100,000 donations to Ottawa charities.
The donation to the Dave Smith Youth Treatment Centre’s Village of Hope was announced Wednesday. The centre is expanding its treatment capacity by 25 per cent with the recent opening of its new building in Carp.
“We hope that, through this donation to the Dave Smith Youth Treatment Centre, we can shine more light on this small but important charity that helps youth heal and grow and offers their families hope,” Tanya Chowieri, partner and executive lead of KTS Properties, said in a statement.
The two other donation recipients have yet to be announced.
Meanwhile, city council will grapple this fall with a new policy governing rules of what councillors can and cannot negotiate when dealing with development companies.
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