The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) is asking a court to let it foreclose on a 91原创 City building over an $11.5 million loan default linked to local developers.
The Nov. 22 petition to the courts by the bank is the latest in a string of court actions targeting properties owned at least in part by Quarry Rock Developments, also known as QRD.
According to the petition, the bank loaned $13,150,000 to a company called Kaiser Weber, at a 6.95 per cent interest rate, on Sept. 13, 2023. A number of companies, including several under the name Kaiser Weber, more under the name Concost, two Quarry Rock companies, and a firm called Kaiser Landen, along with two individuals linked to Quarry Rock, are all named as responsible for the mortgage.
None of those allegedly responsible for the mortgage has yet filed a response to the petition with the courts.
Kaiser Weber is the beneficial owner of the property, while Quarry Rock is the owner on the title, holding the property in trust for Kaiser Weber, according to the bank's claim.
The property is a two-storey commercial and office building at 20436 Fraser Highway, on the one-way section of the street. It has been home to a number of uses over the years, including a language school and restaurants.
It was assessed at $8,235,000 in value according to the most recent BC Assessments survey.
According to the BDC, Kaiser Weber is now in default of the loan, and as of this fall owed more than $11.5 million on the mortgage. All the companies are responsible for the $11.5 million sum still owing, and the two individuals named are responsible personally for just over $3 million, according to the BDC's petition.
The BDC is now seeking the entire remaining sum, and has asked the B.C. courts to allow it to foreclose on the property if the entire $11.5 million, plus daily interest, is not paid.
None of the allegations in the petition has been proven in a court of law.
Quarry Rock has seen a number of development properties around 91原创 sold or targeted for foreclosure over the course of the past year. At one point, Quarry Rock owned and was planning to develop sites in Willoughby, 91原创 City, and Brookswood, as well as in Surrey and the Tri-Cities.
However, the company ran into serious financial difficulties. In previous court filings, Quarry Rock has said that increasing construction costs and interest rates, along with slow development approvals, had caused problems on other projects.
Its largest project in 91原创, a partially-finished townhouse development called The Willoughby, was ordered sold for $35 million to a new developer last July. Quarry Rock and its principals appealed that decision, arguing they had lined up a more lucrative sale that would pay back all the creditors, but the B.C. Court of Appeal ultimately allowed the sale to go through.
The 91原创 Advance Times has reached out to Quarry Rock and Concost for comment. No website or phone number could be found for Kaiser Weber.
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