Alfredo De Gasperis

Alfredo De Gasperis
Born	(1934-01-28)January 28, 1934 Sora, Lazio, Italy
Died	March 27, 2013(2013-03-27) (aged 79) Toronto, Canada
Occupation	Business Owner: Sewer/Watermain Contractor Land Developer Vineland Estates
Spouse(s)	Teresa De Gasperis
Children	Jim De Gasperis, Carla De Gasperis, Fred Jr. De Gasperis

Alfredo De Gasperis (January 28, 1934 – March 27, 2013) was an Italian-Canadian developer, and contractor. He was the founder of ConDrain, a sewer and watermain contractor based in Concord, Ontario, Canada, and Metrus Development, a development company based in Vaughan, Ontario.

Early life

De Gasparis was born in the province of Frosinone, Lazio, Italy.^[1] He was the son of Attilio and Rosina De Gasperis. At the age of 18, he immigrated to Canada on a Greek passenger boat, arriving in Halifax at Pier 21 on May 3, 1952.^[2]

Business career

In 1954, Alfredo De Gasperis, along with his brothers Angelo and Antonio, started his first business out of a bungalow in Toronto, called ConDrain Construction. During the 1960s, they worked on many projects installing water and sewer lines in the Niagara Region.^[3] In 1972, Alfredo and his brothers founded Metrus Developments Inc., and Metrus Properties Limited. The 1970s brought the development of the community of Erin Mills in the new City of Mississauga, and ConDrain was selected by Cadillac Developments Ltd. to service their subdivisions.^[4] In 1983, Con-Drain construction became ConDrain Company. Over the following decades, the companies founded by Alfredo continued to grow in size; his family-owned construction conglomerate, one of Canada's largest, employs 4,500 and grosses in the range of $1 billion a year.^[3]
In 2004, Alfredo and his son Jim DeGasperis, bought Vineland Estates Winery.^[5]

Personal life

Alfredo De Gasperis died on March 27, 2013, at the age of 79. He was married to Teresa DiCarlo. They have three children, Jim, Carla and Fred Jr. De Gasperis.^[6]

Philanthropic Work

In 2009, Alfredo De Gasperis received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 29th annual BILD awards, for his impact as a contractor, developer, builder, and philanthropist.^[6] The BILD awards celebrate the best in design, construction, sales, and marketing in the building and development industry of the Greater Toronto Area.^[7]
Alfredo De Gasperis was inducted into the Italian Walk of Fame in 2011, which pays tribute to achievements of Italians.^[1][8]

De Gasperis devoted much of his time to many different charities and organizations.^[4]
In 2004, Alfredo and his brothers Antonio and Angelo donated the De Gasperis Conservatory to the Toronto General and Western Hospital Foundation. It was established in the Toronto General Hospital's Peter Munk Cardiac Centre.^[9] The Alfredo and Teresa DeGasperis Chair in Heart Failure Surgery was established in recognition of his support of the Toronto General Hospital.

In the early 1970s, he was part of a group of Italian-Canadians who helped create an organization to assist seniors while preserving Italian culture and customs - North York's Villa Colombo. He also served as vice-chair of the Villa Charities Foundation board.^[1][6]

Conflict with Municipalities

Mr. De Gasperis and his companies frequently found themselves clashing with municipalities and councillors that wish to preserve greenspace and farmland. They spent freely on lawyers to suppress opposition to development. As one example, a strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) lawsuit was filed against two city councillors opposed to the development of a large plot of farmland.^[10] They posed for a picture on the farmland; this was a pretext for the suit. This lawsuit was dismissed, with Justice James Spence calling it "an abuse of the court's process and an attempt to intimidate the councillors".^[11]

References