Almost exactly a year after the project was put on the market as part of a court-ordered sale, the rental project known as The Sophia has found a buyer: Nicola Wealth Real Estate, the real estate division of Vancouver-based wealth management firm Nicola Wealth.
The project was set for 304 and 316 E 1st Avenue in Vancouver at the intersection with Scotia Street, about one block west from the future Great Northern Way-Emily Carr Station that's currently being constructed as part of the Broadway Subway Project.
The site is currently occupied by two warehouses that were originally constructed in 1939 and 1974, which BC Assessment values at $11,466,000 and $4,971,400, for a total assessed value — dated to July 1, 2024 — of $16,437,400 (down from $19,398,600 as of July 1, 2023).
The properties were beneficially owned by a group of private investors and held under 0793231 BC Ltd. For the site, the developers were planning a nine-storey rental building with 112 market rental units, a daycare, and an artist studio. The development application for the project was approved by the City of Vancouver in November 2021, but the project never progressed to the construction stage.
The Foreclosure
The foreclosure proceedings were initiated in July 2023 by the Gulf and Fraser Fishermen's Credit Union — who merged with Interior Savings last year to become Beem Credit Union — pertaining to a first-ranking mortgage the two sides entered into in March 2020 for the principal amount of $11,500,000, with interest accruing at the greater of 10.20% per annum or the petitioner's prime rate + 3.50%.
The lender did not detail how the borrowers defaulted on the loan agreement, but the order nisi of foreclosure issued by the Supreme Court of British Columbia on September 21, 2023, confirmed the outstanding debt at $11,314,786.87 as of that day, with interest accruing at a daily rate of $3,296.65.
The 304 and 316 E 1st Avenue site in Vancouver and its surrounding context. / Colliers
The court order also set the redemption date — the day by which the borrowers can pay the outstanding amount to redeem the mortgage and halt the foreclosure — at March 21, 2024.
That day came and passed, the debtors were unable to redeem the mortgage, and the lender was granted conduct of sale on April 4, 2024, to sell the property in order to recover the debt, as first reported by STOREYS in May 2024. The 304 and 316 E 1st Avenue property was subsequently listed for sale by Hart Buck, Jennifer Darling, and Dylan Sohi of Colliers for $16,900,000.
Notably, the listing points out that although the previously-proposed project has been approved, transit-oriented development policies introduced since then means the site would likely be permitted to go up to 20 storeys now, suggesting the project may be revised.
The Sale
On April 3, 2025, almost exactly a year after being granted conduct of sale, the lender and Colliers returned to court seeking approval for a proposed sale.
According to court documents, Colliers received a "strong response from the market," with 19 prospective purchasers progressing to the point of signing confidentiality agreements. Those 19 parties were: Nicola Wealth Real Estate, Seville Investments, Milori Homes, Vittori Developments, Upfield Capital, Search Property Group, Cressey Development Group, J&J Nada Holdings, Fasken, PR Acquisitions (Canada) LP, Panatch Group, Forum Asset Management, Westland Living, Pacific Reach, ESAA Property, Symphony Homes, Ivan Nincic, Locarno, and Edgar Developments.
Ultimately, it was Nicola Wealth Real Estate's offer of $13,000,000 that was accepted on November 26, 2024. Both deposits totalling $1,000,000 have been paid and the offer became unconditional as of April 3.
Nicola Wealth Real Estate's bid, however, also required a break fee of $50,000 to mitigate their costs if the transaction falls through. In effect, the break free means that any last-minute bid that is made would have to beat their offer by $50,000. This particular aspect of the offer was contested by the borrowers, who claimed that this is not common practice in foreclosure proceedings and would reduce recovery.
However, on April 24, Nicola Wealth Real Estate's $13-million bid was successfully approved by the court. The transaction is expected to close in 30 days.
According to Nicola Wealth's website, it had $10.5 billion in real estate assets under management as of December 31, 2024, including 341 properties across Canada and the United States. Elsewhere in Vancouver, the company is developing twin rental towers at 2111 Main Street and a 30-storey mixed-use tower at 2219-2285 Cambie Street.
