Westbank & Peterson Alberni Project Sued By Graham For $2.8M Unpaid Since July 2023

A project from prominent Vancouver-based developers Westbank and Peterson – Alberni by Kengo Kuma – is being sued by the construction manager that was hired to build the West End residential tower, according to a Notice of Civil Claim filed in the Supreme Court of British Columbia that was obtained by STOREYS.

The Alberni project is located at 1550 Alberni Street — 1568 Alberni Street, legally — and is a 43-storey high-rise tower designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma that the developers describe on the project website as "amongst the most artistic and resolved residential buildings ever built."

According to the civil claim, Graham Construction was retained by the developer/owner — 1550 Alberni Property Inc, legally — as the construction manager (oftentimes also called the general contractor) for the Alberni project around June 1, 2017. Graham's website lists the contract value at $200M.

As the Alberni project neared completion last year, several liens — a legal claim for unpaid amounts — were registered on the land title, including one by Graham Construction. It was one of many liens against Westbank at the time across its various projects in Vancouver, Toronto, and Seattle, as first reported by STOREYS.

In real estate, property owners often try to remove liens and other encumbrances from land titles as quickly as possible, because they can negatively impact their agreements with lenders. These encumbrances are often removed via a payment or a security agreement, which allows the lien to be removed from the title and the outstanding amount to be resolved independently of the construction project.

According to Graham's civil claim, dated July 24, 2024, it registered a lien on the land title around July 26, 2023 for non-payment, which was subsequently removed via "a combination of funds and a lien bond totalling the amount of $2,824,900.72" that was held in trust.

The $2,824,900 total comprised of a remaining fixed fee of $1,159,200, an April 2023 progress invoice for $755,736, a May 2023 progress invoice for $866,165, and a second May 2023 progress invoice for $43,799, according to Graham.

However, although the lien was removed from the land title, the outstanding amount remains unpaid and Graham is now seeking judgement for debt in the amount of $2,824,900, general damages for breach of contract, and interest as outlined in the original construction management contract — the RBC prime rate + 2%. Furthermore, Graham is also seeking a declaration allowing it to register a lien on the land title, once more, that would be a first-ranking charge ahead of all over encumbrances.

"In breach of the CM Contract, the Developer has refused or neglected to pay to Graham Construction the Outstanding Amount, despite demand," said Graham in its civil claim. "As a result of the foregoing breaches of the CM Contract, Graham Construction has suffered loss, damage and expense."

Westbank, Peterson, and Graham Construction have all not responded to inquiries by STOREYS submitted earlier this week.

1550 Alberni and Westbank

Since last year, many have had their eyes on the Alberni project and whether presale buyers on the project would complete their purchases, as a result of the units being worth less than the high prices they were sold at years ago.

In November, Westbank confirmed to STOREYS that 122 of the 188 units had closed. There does not appear to have been much more movement since then.

In Graham Construction's civil claim, it noted that the developers — 1550 Alberni Property Inc. — remain the owners of 31 units, and provided a complete list of the building's strata lots and their registered owners. Some of the units still owned by the developers include Units 403, 1104, 1902, 2002, 2304, and 2402, according to the list of Parcel IDs in Graham's civil claim that STOREYS matched to BC Assessment records.

The interior of PH1-1568 Alberni Street, which is currently listed for $21.9 million.(Zolo)

Aside from the 31 units still owned by the developers, 29 units within the Alberni tower are currently listed for sale on Zolo, including a penthouse that was listed in mid-August for $21.9M. Of the 29 units, 21 have been listed with asking prices over $2 million — some of which have had prices reduced already.

For Westbank, they have spent a large part of this year securing capital and reducing their debt through sales.

In July, they sold The Pendrell, a 21-storey luxury rental tower in the West End of Vancouver, to CAPREIT for $137M, with CAPREIT assuming the existing $64.1M mortgage.

In March, Westbank also sold nearly all of its ownership stake in the 24-storey Deloitte Summit office tower in Vancouver and 19 Duncan Street mixed-use tower in Toronto. That sale was made to Allied Properties REIT, who already had stakes in both projects, by converting a $198M loan Allied provided Westbank into equity.

Looking forward, Westbank is currently deep into construction on 5055 Joyce Street, Sen̓áḵw, and Oakridge Park.