More than a year after being placed under receivership, 248 and 260 High Park Avenue has found a buyer. The site of the High Park Alhambra Church has been under construction since November 2019, with TRAC Developments and Medallion Capital Group planning a four-storey, 70-unit condo through adaptive reuse.
But those plans, bogged down by budget overruns, have yet to come to fruition, and now the property’s fate is up to the new owner.
Although filings from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice only reveal the buyers as a numbered company known as 1001136742 Ontario Inc., they do indicate that the entity wasn’t intending to assume any of the existing Agreements of Purchase and Sale. Presale purchasers were informed over email on June 13 that their agreements could be terminated, and that they could seek deposit protection through Tarion. They were also provided with an Approval and Vesting Order Motion update letter on July 16.
According to a July 8 report from the receiver, Ernst & Young Inc., six unit purchasers expressed a desire to retain their agreements. Meanwhile, 18 purchasers were either not opposed or undecided, while the remainder had not replied by the time of the report. As such, a July 11 order approving the sale of the High Park property and authorizing 1001136742 Ontario Inc. to “terminate and disclaim” existing sales agreements, specifies that those six agreements, as well as the agreements of the purchasers who had not yet responded, not be “immediately disclaimed.”
Earlier reports from the receiver said that 64 of the 70 units within the condo planned for 248 and 260 High Park Avenue had been pre-sold.
The proposed development at 248 and 260 High Park Avenue/Medallion Capital Group, Turner Fleischer Architects
Receivership Granted Amid $42M Debt
A receivership order over 248 and 260 High Park Avenue was granted on May 27, 2024, amid allegations that over $42 million was owed to Meridian Credit Union by 260 High Park Limited Partnership, TRAC Developments Inc., and 2486357 Ontario Inc. as of April 9, 2024.
260 High Park Limited Partnership is described in court documents as a single-use real estate development company formed specifically for the High Park Alhambra Church project. Meanwhile, 2486357 Ontario Inc. appears to be the owner of 248 High Park Avenue specifically, and the address on file for that numbered company matches that of Medallion Capital Group. TRAC Developments is referred to in the court documents as the “general partner” of the developer and the owner of the 260 High Park Avenue address.
Meridian’s sworn affidavit, dated May 22, 2024, explains that they entered into a demand credit agreement accepted by 260 High Park Limited Partnership on July 12, 2022. That agreement was later amended on September 25, 2023, with repayment expected less than a week later, on September 30, 2023. Pursuant to the amended credit agreement, the debtors owe just over $42,252,410 to Meridian.
In addition, construction liens clocking in at over $14 million were registered against the mortgaged lands as of March 6, 2020, according to title searches referenced in the court filings, and the debtor’s failure to clear those liens was considered “a breach of the terms of the credit agreement.”
The affidavit from Meridian says that they had “lost confidence” in the debtor’s “ability to manage and complete” the project due to the extent of “significant construction liens,” and in part, due to project overruns.
While a singular update provided on the condo project’s website in June 2021 indicated that site shoring and excavation on the site were complete, formwork and concrete on parking level 1 was underway, and a tower crane had been installed, court filings reveal that work had come to a halt by late 2023. The filings further say that the trade contractors abandoned the project “due to liquidity challenges and other delays.”
A September 30, 2023, report prepared by Finnegan Marshall explains that there was an increase in the overall project budget to over $95.4 million — and that amount does not include a mezzanine loan interest reserve of around $5 million — marking an overrun of approximately $4.8 million. This was on top of the “unfunded cost overrun” cited in a previous report, which came in at around $3.7 million.
260 High Park Avenue as of July 2023/Google Maps
Sales Process Earned Seven Offers
On October 1, 2024, the Ontario courts granted approval for CBRE Land Services Group to begin the marketing and sale process for the property at 248 and 260 High Park Avenue. CBRE was selected out of three other brokerages.
CBRE’s sales process consisted of a marketing phase followed by a two-round offer submission phase, and the brokerage’s efforts ultimately resulted in 45 non-disclosure agreements being executed and 10 entities touring the project, according to a report from the receiver from later in October. It also says that seven offers were received “that complied with the requirements of the sales process” by the bid deadline on December 3, 2024.
By the second round of bidding, there were only two offers remaining that were being seriously considered, including the purchaser’s. “The Purchaser made two different structured offers, one which was all-cash, and the other of which was for a higher amount but that was contingent upon receiving financing from [Meridian Credit Union] at a below market interest rate,” says Ernst & Young’s report.
“The unsuccessful bidder offered to purchase the project at a lower transaction value than the purchaser’s initial all-cash offer and this offer also required financing from MCU at a below market interest rate,” it adds. “The unsuccessful bidder had advised the Receiver that it would also deliver an offer that was conditional on obtaining third party financing other than from MCU, but ultimately did not submit such an offer.”
The Agreement of Purchase and Sale with a finalized purchase price was established on May 1, 2025. It’s unclear from the court documents what the ultimate selling price of the property was.