On March 6, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice appointed a receiver over 3775-4005 Dundas Street West, a 1.28-acre property owned by Toronto-based real estate developer and asset manager TAS. The appointment order stems from an application made by Cameron Stephens Mortgage Capital on December 11, 2024, which describes indebtedness exceeding $17.5 million and a failed attempt to sell.
Founded in the 1980s, TAS is well known for its work on high-profile residential projects like 2 Tecumseth Street and 880 Eastern Avenue, however, early last year, the company opted to put more focus on its urban industrial portfolio, citing more opportunity and less competition in that area.
According to the company’s website, TAS still has eight residential projects in various stages of the development pipeline, the development at 3775-4005 Dundas Street West being one of them. The most recent rendition of the proposal from 2021 calls for a 13- storey, mixed-use building designed by SvN, with 297 rental apartment units, 16,721 sq. ft of commercial space at grade, and 228 parking stalls in a three-level underground parkade.
According to the December 11 document, Cameron Stephens entered into a conditional loan agreement on April 19, 2021, which contemplated a loan facility up to $22,500,000. The total loan amount consisted of a $16,262,500 tier I land loan and a $6,237,500 tier II pre-development loan. Repayment of the loan facility was forecasted within 12 months and was secured against a $27,000,000 first-ranking mortgage against the Dundas West property.
Cameron Stephens’ first advance came ten days later, on April 29, 2021, however, TAS “subsequently” opted to cease the redevelopment in an effort to sell the property instead. As such, the property was listed for sale by Colliers that December, and an offer from an undisclosed purchaser for $38,000,000 was accepted, with a closing date set for July 5, 2022. That arrangement ended up falling through.
In the meantime, Cameron Stephens extended the loan repayment deadline to August 1, 2022, with the first purchase offer in mind, and then ended up extending it again to February 1, 2023, to give the borrower more time to secure a sale.
This was followed by third and fourth amendments to the commitment agreement to renew the loan further, one of the conditions of which was that TAS sell its stake in the 299 Campbell Avenue project, which is a completed and occupied 14-storey purpose-built rental, and use the proceeds to provide a $3,000,000 paydown ($2,000,000 per the third amendment and $1,000,000 per the fourth) on the outstanding loan. Efforts to sell the Campbell Avenue property were ultimately unsuccessful.
On October 29, 2024, TAS advised that it was not in the position to make its payments, and on November 18, 2024, Cameron Stephens issued a demand for payment, which stated the total amount of indebtedness as $17,017,038, together with any additional costs and with additional interest accruing at $4,328.69 per diem. By March 6, the indebtedness had climbed to $17,505,744.
Meanwhile, a March 6, 2025, endorsement from Justice Cavanagh makes note of the fact that the Dundas West property has not been listed for sale since the failed sale transaction in 2022. This is despite the fact that TAS retained Cushman & Wakefield in November 2024.
When pressed about the matter, TAS’s Chief Investment Officer Khan Tran, who is also the sole shareholder of the general partner of two of the borrowers, told the courts that, “Given the market turbulence over the last two years, there has been very limited transactions generally in the market, so having a structured sale process within that context would likely result in effectively failed processes.”
In response, Justice Cavanagh concluded that, “This is the failure of the borrower to make diligent efforts since 2022 to sell the Property by publicly listing it for sale.”
TDB Restructuring Limited was appointed receiver of the property at 3775-4005 Dundas Street West on March 6, 2025. TAS has been contacted by STOREYS for comment on the proceedings, but did not respond by the time of publishing.
