Foreclosed Coromandel Properties Site In Cambie Corridor Sold For $11.2M

One more development site that was formerly owned by Coromandel Properties has now completed its court-ordered sales process, as the embattled developer's portfolio of assets continues to get smaller with each passing month.

This latest property is a small land assembly that consists of 5188 Ash Street and 5210 Ash Street, which sit one block west of Cambie Street in Vancouver and two blocks west of Queen Elizabeth Park.

Both parcels are currently occupied by single-family homes originally constructed in the 1950s, with BC Assessment valuing them at $5,517,000 and $6,235,000, respectively, for a total of $11,752,000.

According to Coromandel Properties' February 2023 petition to the court seeking creditor protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act, they acquired the site for a total of $10.95M and the site received an appraisal of $17.4M in August 2020.

The final sale price that was achieved was $11.2M — lower than the appraised value but around the BC Assessment valuation.

Debt and Disposition

According to filings in the Supreme Court obtained by STOREYS, the foreclosure proceedings were initiated by the Gulf and Fraser Fishermen's Credit Union in May 2023 against the owners of the property and the guarantors of the loan. The property is legally owned by Coromandel Ash 37 Development BT and beneficially owned by Coromandel Ash 37 Limited Partnership, with Coromandel Ash 37 Developments Ltd. as the general partner.

At the centre of the case was a first-ranking loan agreement for the principal amount of $9M. In July, the Supreme Court granted an order nisi that confirmed that outstanding debt at $9,189,584.84 as of July 17, 2023, plus interest. A second-ranking mortgage was held by Dong Sheng Capital Management Ltd.

Simultaneously, the Supreme Court also granted an order for conduct of sale, allowing Gulf and Fraser to sell the property to recover their debt.

Commercial real estate brokerage Colliers was retained to list and market the property, with the listing team consisting of Hart Buck, Dylan Sohi, Randy Heed, and Jennifer Darling.

According to Colliers, a total of 13 prospective buyers showed serious interest, with six of them progressing to the stage of signing confidentiality agreements.

Four offers were ultimately made. Those included an offer by Lotus Living Holdings Ltd. and Terra Blanka Development Corp. for $7M, an offer by ZJ Holdings Ltd. for $6.5M, an offer by 1452085 BC Ltd. for $11.2M, and an offer by S&J Capital Group for $8.3M.

In early-March, Gulf and Fraser, who merged with Interior Savings on January 1, 2024 to become Beem Credit Union, returned to the court seeking approval for the $11.2M offer made by 1452085 BC Ltd. The sale was approved by the court on March 25 and closed earlier this month on April 8.

The Property

The 5188 and 5210 Ash Street property near Cambie Street in Vancouver.(Colliers)

For the 5188 and 5210 Ash Street site, Coromandel Properties was planning a four-storey condo project, according to its petition the court seeking creditor protection.

In its listing, Colliers notes that the 19,770-sq. ft site is "designated in the Cambie Corridor Plan as low-to-medium density residential allowing up to 2.0 or 2.5 FSR, up to 4/6 storeys strata or 6/8 storeys rental."

In the application to the Court seeking approval of the sale, however, it was noted that during the 29-week marketing period, Colliers heard various concerns about the development potential of the site.

Those concerns included "the feasibility of development on the lands, comprising only two assembled lots, given the City of Vancouver's requirement, outlined in the Cambie Corridor Plan, to consolidate three lots prior to rezoning to higher density use." Another concern was regarding "the feasibility of maximizing density if the lands were approved for development by the City given potential massing challenges and limitations on underground parking on the smaller site size."

It's unclear who is behind 1452085 BC Ltd. and what their plans are for the site.