Condo owners consider bankruptcy as
lawsuits plague one of Fort McMurray's largest rebuilds
CBC News
By David Thurton
16 March 2016
The Hillview
Park condos as of March 13. Owners thought they were supposed to be in
their homes by now. Instead, their condos remain part of a construction
site. (David Thurton/ CBC)
Some condo owners in Fort McMurray thought they would have been back in
their rebuilt units by now.
Instead, some residents of a 214-unit townhouse-style condo complex
called Hillview Park, one of the biggest Fort McMurray wildfire
rebuilds, are booking appointments with lawyers or considering
foreclosure and bankruptcy.
Some told CBC News they haven't been getting clear answers from the
condo board since builder Viceroy Construction was removed from the
project.
Sheila Champion and her husband say they can't afford to live in Fort
McMurray anymore, with mortgage payments on a condo that hasn't been
rebuilt.
The couple and their son moved to Yellowknife, N.W.T., where they were
able to find better paying jobs after low oil prices sent Fort
McMurray's economy into a tailspin.
The couple says they are barely keeping their heads above water.
"We were all left in the dark," said Sheila Champion. "There was very
little transfer of information from the board to the ownership."
When concerns were first raised about the construction project in May
2017, condo board member Charles Scott agreed to an interview with CBC.
Scott said the board planned to do a phased re-entry and planned to
have the last homeowner in by mid-February 2018.
CBC has tried to do follow-up interviews with Scott and other Hillview
Park Condominium corporation board members to ask about the apparent
delays and allegations that condo members have not been kept informed.
CBC has not received a response.
It's unclear how far along the rebuild has progressed. A March visit to
the site showed foundations had been poured and wood framing of future
townhouses was taking shape.
Legal limbo
Viceroy Construction declined to do an interview. But the company filed
a lawsuit in December alleging its $63,921,387 contract was wrongfully
terminated on August 31, 2017.
The lawsuit names Hillview Park Condo, Scott and Specialized Property
Evaluation Control Services, better known as SPECs, as defendants.
Among the claims, Viceroy alleges Hillview ordered extra work outside
the contract scope and did not pay for it.
Viceroy also alleges Scott was negligent because he said he would
negotiate on the builder's behalf to ensure the company would be paid
for their extra work.
Viceroy claimed in the lawsuit the condo corporation and SPECs failed
to approve the extra costs.
The builder is suing for a total of $54,575,305.
Hillview Condo Corporation and SPECs denied the allegations in
statements of defence. Scott is yet to file a legal document responding
to the allegations.
The condo corporation said it denies it demanded Viceroy to perform
work outside of the contract. SPECs says it was not negligent in the
matter.
Hillview Park
The Hillview Park wildfire rebuild is mired in lawsuits. (David
Thurton/ CBC)
The condo corporation has filed a counter lawsuit that blames Viceroy
for "numerous issues" that arose during the construction process. It
alleges Viceroy was negligent in ensuring work was free from defects,
was completed on time and that subcontractors were paid on deadline.
Viceroy's negligence, the lawsuit alleges, has caused the condo
corporation to do substantial rework and repairs on the project. The
condo corporation is suing for $9.3 million and other additional costs.
Viceroy responded by denying the counter-suit allegations and said the
defects and delays, if true, were caused because Hillview breached the
contract in the first place.
None of the allegations in either lawsuit have been proven in court.
Owners bearing
the costs
While the condo board has not responded to CBC's recent requests for
comment, a message on the condominium's internal website said that
owners will have to bear the costs to fix the alleged problems left in
the wake of Viceroy's departure.
The condo board has told owners its insurance won't cover additional
rework costs. So owners like Melissa Van Den Broek will have to bear
the burden.
A board statement on the internal website to Van Den Broek and others
said that in order for the rebuild to proceed they must borrow $6
million for address repairs. The board has levied a special assessment
on each homeowner.
Van Den Broek and her husband now live in London, Ont. They were
renting out their condo at the time of the wildfire.
Melissa Jacob Van Den Broek
Melissa Van Den Broek poses with her sons and husband Jacob. Condo
owners like her say they will have to bear the burden of the extra
costs of rebuilding their condo. (Submitted)
Once rebuilt, they had hoped to sell it and pay off the $315,000
remaining on their mortgage, then buy a new home for their growing
family.
But with no hope for selling anytime soon, and with the need to come up
with $32,000 under the special assessment, Van Den Broek said she fears
her family and others might have to walk away.
"We are nervous about all the owners going bankrupt and foreclosing,"
Van Den Broek said.
'Rats in a maze'
Rebekah Benoit and her husband have already seen a lawyer and are
considering their options. Benoit said her family has spent their
savings and used up credit to the point where they don't think they can
spend another year paying a mortgage and condo fees.
Benoit, her husband and two children left Alberta for Montana and
rented their Fort McMurray condo. But now, on the hook for mortgage
payments and unable to sell, Benoit said she wonders if it's cheaper to
just walk away.
"We worked our entire lives for this," Benoit said. "We feel like rats
in a maze and there is no cheese."
Benoit and others hope going public in the media draws attention to
their plight and will bring some transparency to their condo rebuild
process.
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