Liens and lawsuits dating back to early 2023 have stalled construction of a mixed-use apartment building in the heart of Hespeler, leaving many in the community wondering if and when work might pick up again.
Demolition of the old stores and apartments that made up Glick's Block happened in 2020. It cleared the way for the mixed-use five-storey building on the corner of Queen and Adam streets, which has inched toward completion over the last three years.
When complete it promises 58 residential units and retail space facing Queen Street.
On the website for Mill Run Suites, pre-leasing is open to anyone interested in one- and-two-bedroom apartments going for $1,695 and $2,345 a month respectively.
A call to the number advertised on the side of the building leads to a looping message asking callers to leave a voicemail. A Facebook page for the suites hasn't been updated since December 2023.
As the Queen Street closure welcomed hundreds to the core for weekend events this summer, the building sat empty and quiet. Half of the project remains covered in insulation board and plywood. Wind whipped polyurethane covers window holes above steel fencing bordering the sidewalk. Steel beams are beginning to rust and building wrap waves in the wind beneath a half-completed stone facade.
Paul Leullier lives next door to the project. He said back in April he'd been trying to get information from the city about what was happening with it.
As summer approached, he was hoping work would resume so he could at least reclaim the part of his backyard taken over by a contractor for construction of a retaining wall. But three years after the corner lot was cleared and a year after project delays began, he's still waiting for answers.
"I was hoping this gets done before winter," he said, shaking his head in disbelief.
Statements of claim filed with the Kitchener courthouse shed light on the project's financial troubles over the last year and a half.
Early into the project, two companies hired for site excavation and concrete work, Delve Contracting and Doka Canada Ltd., terminated work in January 2023. They placed construction liens on the property and in February of last year launched lien claims against the owners in a bid to recoup more than $1.3 million in unpaid debts.
In a motion to vacate the liens, Steve Schwartzentruber, a partner in 16 Queen Street West GP and owner at Concept Development Group, pleaded for relief in an affidavit.
He said the liens prevented the project's lender from releasing funds to pay other contractors and could have the potential of creating a cascade effect, "stopping the flow of money permanently and leaving the project to fail."
The developers launched a $1.1 million counterclaim against the owner of Delve Contracting, calling its lien "grossly excessive."
Court orders giving direction on those claims appear to have allowed the project to resume last year.
But then Coreslab Structures, another contractor hired in 2021 to provide labour, supervision, equipment and materials necessary to complete the project placed another lien on the property.
Coreslab worked at 16 Queen St. W. from August of last year to March 11 of this year and says it's owed $468,499.
In April, it registered a lien, and in June filed a claim to collect on that lien, naming the owners and mortgage holders.
The mortgage was registered with Equitable Bank in June of 2021 for $21.5 million.
Things appear to have unravelled quickly after that. Work on the site was sporadic.
- Jantzi Plumbing filed a lien in April. It seeks $1.6 million.
- JM Electrical was next. It says invoices went unpaid starting last December. In its statement of claim the company says it's owed more than $394,000.
- Black and White Roofing has also filed a lien claim, citing breach of contract. It seeks over $200,000.
- Klass Drywall is the latest local contractor to demand payment, filing a lien claim last month for $500,000.
Contacted in July about the stalled project, deputy city manager Hardy Bromberg acknowledged the build hasn't been a smooth one but he remained hopeful it would be completed.
“We recognize that this project is taking longer to progress than originally anticipated. We continue to work with the developer and are hopeful that they will be able to bring this project to completion,” he wrote in an email to CambridgeToday.
In the wake of additional lawsuits filed against the developers, the city has declined further comment.
Chair of the Hespeler Business Improvement Area Cory de Villiers also declined to comment, as did city councillor Mike Devine. He urged CambridgeToday to "leave it alone," and to give the owners a chance to make things right with its contractors.
All de Villiers would say back in July is the BIA is looking forward to welcoming new businesses to the core which will benefit from people moving into the new apartment.
Adding insult to injury for the beleaguered project, a few weeks into the latest pause, Waterloo regional police were called to 16 Queen for a break-in. Police later confirmed tools and materials were stolen from inside the building sometime around the end of July.
CambridgeToday spoke to a site manager on scene at that time. He acknowledged the work stoppage but said he was confident it would start up again soon. He wouldn't comment further.
Multiple attempts to reach the principle partners of Concept Development Group Inc., Steven Schwartzentruber and Mike Ulmer, went unanswered.
An attempt to reach an investment company behind the project, Smycorp, was also unsuccessful.
