Editor's Note: The original version of this story stated that the Stanley District Project had been sold through receivership. Although the court approved the sale on June 21, the buyer did not meet the conditions, leading the receiver to terminate the transaction. According to La Pue International Inc., the company is working closely with financial institutions in an effort to continue construction and complete the project on schedule.
A 2.71-acre parcel of land in Niagara Falls formerly owned by La Pue International Inc. was recently sold to Lakeshore Luxe Design & Build Group after being placed under receivership with KSV Advisory in October 2023, according to filings in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
The lands are located on a corner lot at the intersection of Ferry Street and Stanley Avenue in the Niagara Falls tourist district and were set to be the site of three new buildings, including two mixed-use and one residential tower at 16, 14 and 30 storeys, respectively. When completed, the development would offer a total of 889 residential units and 20,210 sq. ft of commercial space.
According to La Pue International's website, the project is callled The Stanley District.
The project's primary lender was Waterloo-based commercial construction and development financer MarshallZehr Group Inc.
The Receivership
In June 2023, MarshallZehr submitted an application to appoint a Receiver over the 5528 Ferry Street property.
Pursuant to a loan agreement reached in November 2021, MarshallZehr agreed to provide a loan in the principal amount of $18M, "for the purpose of refinancing an existing mortgage on the Property and to provide working capital to the Debtor," according to court documents.
The loan with MarshallZehr matured in April 2023 and MarshallZehr issued a demand for payment in the amount of $12,975,281 the following month, before then initiating the receivership in June after La Pue was still unable to pay.
MarshallZehr's charge is first-ranking, with the second-ranking charge holder being Sovereign General Insurance Company (SGIC) for $12M.
The Stanley District Tower site at 5528 Ferry Street.(La Pue International)
In addition to the debts accrued by La Pue, five construction liens totalling $12,867,788 were registered against the property between February and May 2023, at least one of which issued a claim for full priority over MarshallZehr for its lien in the amount of $3,673,337.
According to MarshallZehr, La Pue did not disclose the registration of the construction liens against the property and MarshallZehr did not learn of the liens until it began preparing its receivership application.
Following the receivership, the court than approved the sales process for the property on December 20 and the property was listed by Jeremiah Shamess and Victor Cotic of Colliers without an asking price.
According to KSV, Colliers marketed the property to over 4,700 parties, with 22 progressing to the point of signing confidentiality agreements. In the end, only two submitted official offers, however, and the selected bid was that of Lakeshore Luxe Design & Build Group. The purchase price was not disclosed and the transaction was approved by the court on June 21.
