New Owner Working to Finish Mission Hill Project Kamloops
This article was written by Jeremy Deutsch of Kamloops This Week on January 17th, 2012.
After sitting idle for more than a year, a controversial condo development has a new owner with a mission. An Edmonton-based real-estate company has been hired to complete construction of the stalled Mission Hill development in the West End.
Officials with Brentwood Developments have met with the city’s building department a couple of times to get the project restarted.
David Trawin, director of development and engineering services, said the company has told the city it wants to get phase one of the troubled project complete and sold. “We feel like it’s moving along like any other normal development at this time,” he told KTW, describing the initial meetings as positive. “From our perspective, it feels like it will get done.”
In October 2010, New Future group filed for protection from its creditors under the Companies Creditors Arrangements Act, the legislation that allows for a restructuring plan to be created. The group of companies, which is headed by Kamloops developer Mike Rink, owed a reported $80 million on projects, including Mission Hill. But, after more than a year under the protection of a court-ordered monitor, a financial firm from Toronto foreclosed on the property at the end of December. The move leaves Rink out of the development.
Mission Hill still has some hurdles to clear before it gets to the market. Trawin explained the city still needs to sign off on an amended development permit and occupancy permit, while the project still must become a strata before units can start to sell.
The amended development permit originally submitted by Rink looked to change some of the amenities in the development. Specifically, part of the plan was to build a pool in the first phase, but a geo-technical study concluded it wouldn’t work.
Trawin said the new company is considering its options, but he noted the amended permit will have to get final approval from city council. He couldn’t provide a timeline for completion of the project.
At the time of the development’s legal troubles, there were concerns from city officials about the state of the first phase, a 60-unit building, while it sat idle and incomplete. Though the city has not inspected the building, relying on inspection documentation from an outside engineer, Trawin is confident the structure is sound. “No red flags have been raised to me by the building department,” he said.