A Centretown property containing four heritage buildings that were slated to be demolished and replaced with a controversial mixed-use development is for sale. According to a new listing on Realtor.ca posted Wednesday, the block of Bank Street between Nepean and Lisgar streets is being marketed for an asking price of $14.5 million. The half-acre parcel of land at 178 Nepean St. and 211-231 Bank St. is âbeing sold on an âas-is, where-isâ basis under power of sale provisions,â the listing says, adding the site âoffers an opportunity to develop a mixed-use community near major downtown Ottawa landmarks.â Power of sale is a legal process that allows lenders to sell a property to recover outstanding debts when a borrower defaults on a mortgage.
In Ontario, lenders can begin the power of sale process 15 days after a missed payment, and property owners typically have 30 to 40 days to cover any arrears. If the amount owing still hasnât been paid, the lender has the right to evict occupants and sell the property. The Bank Street site became the focus of controversy when the company that owned it, 211-231 Bank Street Holdings, sought to evict tenants who lived in rent-controlled apartments in the existing buildings.
About a dozen tenants fought the eviction, but the provinceâs Landlord and Tenant Tribunal ultimately ordered them to vacate their units last year. In an email to OBJ Thursday afternoon, Bank Street Holdings spokesperson Sharon Kuzminski said the project is owned âby an independent group of professional investors and stakeholders.â A listing for 211-231 Bank Street Holdings on canadacompanyregistry.com identifies its director as Tamer Abaza of Ottawa. Kuzminski said the current ownership group âis being supported and representedâ by a Toronto-based developer as it navigates âan increasingly challenging and volatile real estate environment.â Kuzminski said developers face a growing list of hurdles as they try to get projects off the ground, including tighter lending practices, rising construction costs and dampened demand for condos. She said developers are also grappling with âhigh development fees and lengthy, costly approval timelinesâ that further stymie construction in Ottawa. âAs a result, lenders are often compelled to seek repayment or initiate sale processes in order to recoup their investments, particularly in cases involving land or early development,â Kuzminski added. âIn the current climate, most lenders are not prepared to advance additional funds, especially for ground-up construction, given the elevated risks and uncertain timelines associated with project completion.â She said the Bank Street ownership group is considering a number of options, âincluding a potential acquisition of the property by existing investors or proceeding with a sale in a market where transactions are limited and pricing remains under pressure.â Another Ottawa firm, Smart Living Properties, was also involved in the project. But Kuzminski said Thursday the company âhas no ownership interest, financial stake, or decision-making authorityâ in the proposal.
Smart Living âwas engaged solely in a consulting capacity to assist in advancing the project through the site plan approval process,â she said, adding the company âhas had no involvement with the project for over a year.â
The developers planned to tear the two- and three-storey buildings down to make way for a nine-storey complex featuring 263 rental suites and nearly 11,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. The project has been approved, but its fate is now uncertain as the site moves through the power of sale process. âThat is very disappointing to hear, but Iâm also not terribly surprised,â Somerset Coun. Ariel Troster, whose ward includes the property, told OBJ Wednesday after being informed it was for sale.
Troster said it was âfrustratingâ that the project is not going ahead âgiven the incredible strife that those tenants had to go through.â Smart Living Properties specialized in building and managing âall-inclusiveâ apartments â fully furnished and decorated suites in which all utilities, including heat, hydro, water and air conditioning, as well as other amenities such as high-speed internet and smart TVs, are included in the rental price. Rowland Gordon, then the firmâs vice-president of asset management, told OBJ two years ago the developers bought the three parcels of land on Bank and Nepean streets from a private family in the fall of 2021 with the goal of turning the area into a âtrue community space.â Gordon described the neighbourhood as a haven for artists thanks to the long-standing presence of Wallackâs Art Supplies and Framing Store, which previously occupied the three-storey building at the corner of Bank and Lisgar streets.
He said then that Smart Living planned to construct a two-floor facility in the former Wallack Building, which was slated to be part of the redevelopment, where artists could work together on projects and host exhibitions. âWe want to maintain that artsy feel,â said Gordon. âWhatever we can (do to) help bring back some life on that block, basically.â The low-rise red-brick buildings that now line the street were built between the 1880s and early 1900s and are designated as âcontributingâ to the character of the Centretown Heritage Conservation District. Smart Living said it intended to retain the existing buildingsâ exterior facades, which were to be âconserved and restoredâ and integrated into the new structure designed by Woodman Associates Architects. Gordon told OBJ in 2024 the new buildingâs units were expected to range from bachelor suites to three-bedroom units aimed at professionals in various income brackets. But Troster, who opposed the development application, said Wednesday the proposal ânever seemed viableâ given the areaâs demographics. âI was always very concerned about that project because it was going to be a very large tower of fully furnished apartments,â she said. âI wasnât sure what the market demand was there.â
OBJâs attempts to contact the owners of Smart Living Properties this week were unsuccessful. The Argyle Street building listed as both companyâs headquarters is now closed and up for sale, while its website has been taken down and its phone is no longer in service. A search of filings under Canadaâs Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act showed no listings for 211-231 Bank Street Holdings.
Smart Living Properties, meanwhile, was named in Ontario Superior Court documents as manager of a development in Hintonburg that was previously owned by ECRE Smart Living, which lost ownership of the project in 2024 when it was forced into receivership.
Ottawa Prime Properties CEO Andrew Youssef, whose company manages the Bank Street property, said he had no information about the sale or the events that prompted it. Brokerage firm Avison Young, which is marketing the site, declined comment on the sale process when reached by OBJ on Thursday morning.
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