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Owner calls doomed mall a ‘white elephant’ at inquiry
July 23, 2013, Elliot Lake, Ont. – The owner of the doomed Algo Centre Mall said Tuesday he had no idea the building was in such poor condition when he purchased the "white elephant" in 2005.
July 23, 2013
By The Canadian Press
July 23, 2013, Elliot Lake, Ont. – The owner of the doomed Algo Centre Mall said Tuesday he had no idea the building was in such poor condition when he purchased the "white elephant" in 2005.
Testifying into last summer's deadly collapse of the mall, Bob Nazarian was adamant he did what he could to deal with the leaking rooftop parking deck, which caved in killing two women.
"I have even lost quite a bit of money in order to keep this mall to the (best) shape as possible, not just because of the property, because of integrity," Nazarian testified.
"I have never ever cheated anyone, or I never did something wrong to hurt someone."
Nazarian said the previous owners, Elliot Lake Retirement Living, deliberately played down problems that had beset the mall since it was built in 1980 – even after he explicitly asked about any defects.
"They said the mall is in sound situation – there's nothing wrong with it," Nazarian said.
"I have not been told that there are millions of dollars of expense to be spent."
The mall looked sound, the deal was a "steal," and he relied on a pre-mortgage bank inspection as to its good repair.
Instead, he said, he discovered the major problems after the purchase and spent "substantial amounts" trying to repair the roof.
"We were going down rapidly. We were knocking every door to try to bring this mall to good shape."
Nazarian said he wanted to sue Retirement Living – a prominent organization in Elliot Lake – but his lawyer advised against it because it would essentially have meant taking on the entire town.
But if Nazarian, of Richmond Hill, Ont., who turned 68 Tuesday, repeatedly made a case for how he had been victimized, he was far less clear about his finances.
For example, commission counsel Peter Doody produced various financial documents suggesting Nazarian had made around $10 million in profits before the mall's purchase.
He also showed statements Nazarian signed showing his net worth at $2.5 million in 2008.
"You could have used this money to pay to fix the roof," Doody said.
"What happened to the money?"
"That's a good question," Nazarian responded.
Nazarian frequently could not recall particular financial details. Nor could he explain why he didn't report $490,000 he was paid in management fees on his taxes.
He blamed his accountant for producing four different financial statements for the 2009 fiscal year showing income for his company ranging from a net loss of $209,000 to a profit of $418,592.
"I'm not an accountant and I cannot give you an accurate answer," Nazarian said.
"It's a sloppy job, I agree."
Nazarian immigrated from Iran in 1971 where he had been a machinist.
He began buying and selling apartments in Montreal where he lived for 15 years before moving to southern Ontario, where he started dabbling in shopping centres.
His investments were successful until he bought the Algo Centre Mall, he said.
Nazarian did admit to asking a structural engineer to alter his inspection report just before the mall collapsed in June 2012.
He said he wanted to make the facility "more appealing" as he sought refinancing.
However, he said the alterations were only a request, and it was up to the engineer, Bob Wood, to agree and make them in the final report.
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