'I'm not moving:' garage owner vows to fight Royalmount megamall expropriation

Garage owner won’t leave A TMR garage owner said he won’t leave despite having his property expropriated for the Royalmount megamall project.

Montreal — A TMR garage owner says he’s not going anywhere despite having his property expropriated to make room for a controversial megamall project.

“How would you feel if you got thrown out of your own house?” said Athanasios Azeloglou. “This is my living and I have no choice, basically.”

Azeloglou said he received notice two years ago that his property would be expropriated to make room for the Royalmount megamall. While most other businesses on Royden Rd. have been sold or otherwise vacated, Azeloglou said he doesn’t intend to leave. While he said TMR officials told him he would receive fair market value for his garage, the amount he was offered was a fraction of what it would take to set up a new shop.

“If they gave me double, I wouldn’t move,” he said. “I’m running a business, I’m settled, where am I going to go?”

Last April an administrative tribunal ruled the expropriation was final.

“The judge ordered the city to give me the money, I didn’t accept, it’s in trust,” said Azeloglou.

Since its inception, the Royalmount project has been the subject of controversy, with critics saying it will wreak havoc on traffic. A city report filed in May said the project must undergo several changes to avoid causing intense congestion.

Earlier this month a group of TMR residents disrupted a city council meeting to express their unhappiness with the mall.

In a statement a spokesperson for development company Carbonleo said the building has already been handed over by TMR.

“It is Carbonleo’s understanding that Mr. Azeloglou willingly sold his property to the city at his full asking price,” they said. “We are not aware of any complaint since then.”

Azeloglou said that statement is inaccurate.

“The city is throwing me out for a project that’s private,” he said. “You explain that to me.”

The garage owner said he’s been told he must vacate the garage by February and even his lawyers doubt anything can be done. Even so, he says he’s resolute in his decision.

“I’m not moving. I’m not interested,” he said. “This guy, he may have a couple of bucks, but he doesn’t scare me.”