Construction of Barrie project remains in financial limbo

Charles Mady says he will seek alternative financing for his downtown Barrie residential/commercial development after its major lender declined to fund the project's completion.

The Laurentian Bank of Canada, through a court-appointed monitor, made that decision public this week about Lakeview Condominiums and Collier Centre, which sits unfinished at 90 Collier/55 Mulcaster streets.

They (Laurentian) want to see if there is someone who will take over their debt, said Mady, CEO of Mady Development, and we're working with two people who have expressed an interest in doing so.

Not banks. Two private equity sources, he said. We're making a few calls. I have a few people working with me.

Jonathan Kreiger, of monitor Grant Thornton Ltd., said this means the project could go forward in one of two ways.

The options are that he (Mady) is going to secure some alternate financing to complete the project, or the project is going to be sold to another developer to complete, Kreiger said.

Laurentian has decided it's not going to fund the balance of construction to completion, but that doesn't mean that the project will not proceed. So what that means is the bank (Laurentian) will consider some further interim financing, to advance the project, but the ultimate full financing for the project is not going to come from Laurentian.

According to Ontario Superior Court of Justice documents, more than $50 million in debt is owed on this project.

Approximately $30 million is owed to Laurentian, $20 million to other creditors and there are $12 million in liens claims registered against the project.

Laurentian Bank could not be reached for comment by the Examiner.

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Construction of Barrie project remains in financial limbo