A proposed Vancouver tower marketed for years as the world's tallest ultra energy-efficient building faces uncertainty after lenders foreclosed on the developer's $91 million construction loan.
Royal Bank of Canada filed receivership proceedings against Brivia Group, the Montreal-based developer of the planned 60-storey Curv condominium project at Nelson and Thurlow streets on the city's West End, according to documents filed July 11 with the Supreme Court of British Columbia.
Brivia did not respond to requests for comment. It bought the Curv project, originally planned for 480 condominium, rental and social housing units, from Vancouver-based Henson Developments in 2021. Condo presales stalled in early 2023 before Brivia could break ground, just as high inflation and rising interest rates forced many builders to cancel or delay projects across North America.
Now, project sites in Vancouver and across the country are being sold by court order as distressed owners — unable to pay loans due to high interest rates and falling property values — struggle.
Brivia's project website has ethereal renderings of Curv, billed by the developer as the world's tallest so-called passive house. At 586 feet, the luxury tower would also be among the tallest buildings in greater Vancouver.
Passive house developments focus on using design and construction principles to reduce reliance on mechanical heating and cooling, with heightened requirements for insulation and air sealing.
The project's architect compared the flowing, feminine lines of the planned luxury tower to "a fresh green sprout breaking through fertile earth," according to the Curv website.
To help make Curv pencil out financially, Brivia in 2023 asked the city to waive a requirement that the project include 102 units of affordable social housing. The developer proposed increasing the number of for-sale condo units to 357 from the previous 328 units.
The city council approved the removal of the social housing in exchange for a $55 million cash payment to the city last March.
However, Brivia's loan became due on April 30, and the developer failed to pay a $225,000 fee to the lenders to extend the payment deadline to July 31, causing the loan to be in default, according to the court filings.
The B.C. Supreme Court has scheduled a July 25 hearing on the receivership application filed by Royal Bank on behalf of lenders that also include Meridian Credit Union and the Bank of Montreal.