A partially-built condominium project that’s been in limbo for months is on the verge of being sold.
The 62-unit Tenor development on Sturgeon Road went into receivership in February after sitting idle for months. Since then the receiver, Deloitte & Touche, has been assessing the cost of completing the project. But rather than proceeding with completion on its own, the firm is now close to finalizing a sale, said its representative Jeff Keeble.
“We do have a potential sale of the property,” Keeble said. “I just can’t disclose it at this point. I don’t want to jeopardize the sale.”
Keeble won’t name who the buyer is or say what type of entity it is, but said the buyer’s intent is to finish the project.
“Once we know, it will be a public process, being a court-appointed receiver,” he said.
Any sale would require court approval to become final, Keeble said. He expects to know more in about a week.
St. Albert Mayor Nolan Crouse has spoken to Deloitte & Touche and the potential buyer and is under the impression that a sale is all but completed but not yet signed. He thinks a completed sale would be positive for the idle project.
“We’re not looking at an abandoned building through the winter,” Crouse said. “Everything that we can tell is that there’s going to be action.”
“I’m happy because I don’t want a large derelict-looking piece of property. It looks like it’s moving forward and I’m happy about that,” he added.
City staff trimmed the overgrown weeds on the property earlier this summer, Crouse said. The cost of the work will be recouped either through taxes or a letter of credit the city holds against the development that will provide up to $600,000 for any alterations required to bring the property up to city standards, Crouse said.
St. Albert senior Gerry Segger put a deposit down for two units and is frustrated that Deloitte & Touche is holding buyers to their contracts even though it’s well past the original completion dates. The contracts have a clause stating that closing dates are estimated and the vendor isn’t liable if it misses these “even by a substantial degree.”
Segger expected one of his units to be completed last November and the other in May of this year. The contracts also state it’s the vendor’s option whether or not to return deposits if it doesn’t meet the closing date.
Segger is disappointed that the only correspondence he’s received was a letter months ago stating that the project had gone into receivership and a rejection of his request for a refund.
“In the meantime some seniors who have bought there in good faith are left in limbo,” he said. “I think it stinks from here to high heaven.”
