The Blubber

Toronto skyscraper with $1.2 billion of debt has been put in receivership, per Bloomberg.

A prominent condominium development in Toronto, known as "The One," has been mired in setbacks and delays for nearly a decade. Recently, the project faced a major setback when its primary lender took action by placing it into receivership. The financial institution, a division of South Korean bank KEB Hana Bank, decided to take this step because the project's developers defaulted on over $1.2 billion in loans. This action also came after the developers missed payments totaling more than $1.23 billion, with additional large sums becoming due shortly.

To address these financial issues and facilitate the project's completion, the bank sought a court-appointed receiver to take control. The One was envisioned as a grand mixed-use development featuring retail, a hotel, and residential spaces, including an 85-story tower with 416 residential units. This ambitious project was initiated nearly ten years ago when developer Sam Mizrahi acquired the property at Yonge and Bloor for $300 million.

However, the project's timeline, originally targeting a 2018 completion date for the retail section and a 2022 deadline for the hotel and condominiums, has faced numerous obstacles and extensive delays.

In addition to KEB Hana Bank, other creditors, including Canadian insurer Aviva and China-East Resources Import & Export Corporation, are awaiting resolution on debts totaling millions of dollars. The situation has prompted legal actions, casting a shadow of uncertainty over the development.