CURV, set to be the tallest passive house structure in the world and the pinnacle of luxury real estate in Vancouver, is facing insolvency, according to filings in the Supreme Court of British Columbia obtained by STOREYS, throwing the future of the high-profile project into jeopardy.
Set for 1075 Nelson Street (formerly 1059-1075 Nelson Street) in the West End of Vancouver, near Thurlow Street, the 60-storey CURV was originally proposed to consist of 328 strata units, 50 market rental units, and 102 social housing units. The project was being developed by Montreal-based Brivia Group as the lead developer, with Vancouver-based Henson Group as a silent partner, and WKA Studio's Tom Wright — the architect of the Burj Al Arab — as the architect.
The property currently consists of two vacant apartment buildings that BC Assessment values at $38,140,100.
The project was approved by the City of Vancouver in 2022, but it has yet to reach the construction stage. Earlier this year, the developers secured approval to cut the planned social housing units in exchange for a $55 million cash-in-lieu payment. The City had previously amended the West End Rezoning Policy to allow for cash-in-lieu payments and Brivia Group is replacing the social housing units with market rental units. The change does not appear to have been enough, however.
The Receivership
The receivership against CURV was initiated on Friday, July 11 by the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) on behalf of a lender syndicate that also includes the Bank of Montreal (BMO) and Meridian Credit Union.
According to court documents, the two sides entered into a mortgage agreement in May 2023 — and later amended several times — for the principal amount of $90,000,000 with a loan maturity date of April 30, 2025. Under the loan agreement, the developers could extend the maturity date to July 31, 2025 if they paid an extension fee of $225,500 before April 30, 2025.
A rendering of the 60-storey CURV in Vancouver. / Brivia Group
The extension fee was not paid, the loan matured, and Brivia Group thus defaulted on the loan agreement — which had Brivia Group's Founder, President, and CEO Kheng Ly serving as the guarantor. The lenders then made a formal demand for payment on June 11 and gave the developers until June 23 to repay the loan. That date came and went, the loan was not repaid, thus the lenders initiated the receivership proceedings.
According to RBC, the outstanding debt owed as of July 10 is $91,204,611.06, not including interest that continues to accrue. RBC notes that there are several other mortgages and charges registered on the land title, but the exact amounts were not provided.
The receivership application has yet to be approved, but is set to be heard by the Supreme Court on Friday, July 25.
CURV
CURV launched presales in March 2023, at a time when the market was questionable at best. Since then, the real estate sector have has only gotten worse and the project was likely significantly affected by market conditions — made worse by CURV's ambitious prices that resulted in only a small pool of potential buyers. Prices for one-bedroom units started at $1,000,000 and reportedly went as high as $60 million for the penthouse.
As first reported by STOREYS in December, CURV failed to hit its presale target and obtain a building permit during the provincially-mandated 12-month timeline and the development team filed a new disclosure statement in order to try again, giving them until May 2025. Earlier this year, the Province and the BC Financial Services Authority then launched a new pilot program that extended the mandated timeline to 18 months and CURV was able to secure that extension, according to BCFSA records.
At one point last year, realtors even offered a "Car + Condo" promotion where buyers of CURV units would receive a Porsche for free. More recently, CURV has offered a guaranteed buyback program, among other incentives.
Last year, as first reported by STOREYS, one buyer who purchased four units in CURV was sued by the developer after the buyer paid the initial deposits for all of the units but then stopped making subsequent deposit payments. It's unclear if the lawsuit was resolved, but more details about the project and the amount of units that have been sold will likely become known if the receivership application is approved.
The insolvency of the project is a blow to both the market and the City of Vancouver as CURV was set to become the tallest structure in the world to meet the high passive house sustainability standards. If the receivership application is approved, the project will likely go through a court-ordered sales process. Considering the size of the project and the current state of the presale market, finding a new developer to take it over will likely be yet another in a long line of challenges for CURV.
