Ashcroft Homes: the Abbey, the City of Ottawa and a $750,000 price cut

On February 4, 2010, Les Soeurs de la Visitation d'Ottawa transferred their property at 114 Richmond Road, Ottawa, for $12,700,000 to 2218388 Ontario Inc., a numbered company that later amalgamated into Ashcroft Homes – 108 Richmond Road Inc. In the receiver's description the property comprised "vacant land for development and a vacant building known as the 'Abbey' located on the northwest corner of the property," per the First Report of the Receiver, Jan. 21, 2026, paras. 2, 19–20. A CBC News article of April 16, 2025, which the receiver attached to that report, dates the convent to the 1910s, with parts built before Confederation, and says it housed an order of cloistered nuns for a century; in 2018, it says, city council approved plans for another nine-storey apartment building linked to the convent, "which would be retained and preserved," per the Motion Record, June 11, 2026, Tab 3, App. 7, p. 315.

The receiver, MNP Ltd., listed the property with Lennard Commercial Realty on January 14, 2025 at $1, with a bid date of May 28. The one other brokerage it invited to pitch had declined, "given the uncertainty relating to the historical nature of the Abbey," and the bid date passed "with no viable offers," per the First Report of the Receiver, Jan. 21, 2026, paras. 24–27. On January 30, 2026, Regional Senior Justice C. MacLeod approved a sale to 1001311448 Ontario Inc., which closed on April 9, per the Notice of Motion, June 11, 2026, paras. 4–5. The receiver's final statement of receipts and disbursements records the sale of the building at $8,750,000, per the Final Statement of Receipts and Disbursements, Motion Record, June 11, 2026, Tab 2, App. 17, p. 142. On the way the buyer had taken $750,000 off its price. In the receiver's account, the City of Ottawa signed on to the sale process as a potential purchaser while its officials issued orders against the Abbey and spoke to the press about its condition, per the First Report of the Receiver, Jan. 21, 2026, paras. 36–59. The buyer and the receiver agreed that steps taken by the City had diminished the property's value. The City told the court it disputes the receiver's account, and the judge made no finding, per the Endorsement of MacLeod RSJ, Jan. 30, 2026, paras. 2–4.

A first mortgage and a carve-out

RBC lent to the company under a February 2021 credit agreement, secured by a first mortgage in the principal amount of $7,000,000, registered on March 18, 2021, and a site-specific security agreement. The company "was managed and controlled by David Choo," its principal, who personally guaranteed its debt to RBC, per the Second and Final Report, June 11, 2026, paras. 3–5, 37. RBC's affiant swore that the company owed $7,000,000 of principal and $511,787.67 of interest, fees and costs at August 2, 2024, had missed interest payments, and owed $582,682.68 in overdue property taxes at June 10, 2024; it was "apparent," the affidavit says, that its parent, Ashcroft Homes Inc., "is unable to fund its projects, and is in significant arrears in property taxes," per the Affidavit of Sylvia Kovesdi, Aug. 14, 2024, paras. 5, 15–18, 24.

In May 2024 the company and related companies holding adjacent properties had been put into a BDO Canada Limited receivership that excluded 114 Richmond Road. BDO, as receiver, agreed to lift its stay, and on October 17, 2024 Justice Rees appointed MNP receiver, without security, over the real property, per the Second and Final Report, June 11, 2026, paras. 10–12 and the Order (appointing Receiver), Oct. 17, 2024, recitals, para. 2.

One dollar, then $14.5 million

Lennard's campaign drew approximately 17,584 views on TREB Deal Share and 6,667 unique prospects; 30 parties signed the receiver's non-disclosure agreement, and three submitted offers. Lennard told the receiver that softness in the Ottawa market and the uncertain outlook for the Canadian economy were "leading to higher borrowing costs and adversely impacting the appeal of the Property," and that the City's registration of a building standards order on title "also negatively impacted the interest of various parties." After the bid date, on June 2, 2025, Lennard recommended amending the listing to $14,500,000. The receiver signed a conditional agreement with 1001311448 Ontario Inc. on July 29, with conditions running 60 days for the purchaser's sole benefit, later extended twice. The public copy has its deposit and prices redacted, per the First Report of the Receiver, Jan. 21, 2026, paras. 28–31, 35.

The City as regulator and as prospect

On February 20, 2025, by the receiver's account, the City "identified itself as a potential purchaser of the Property" by signing the receiver's NDA to reach Lennard's data room, per the First Report of the Receiver, Jan. 21, 2026, para. 36(c). The City's property standards order, issued under s. 15.2(2) of the Building Code Act and dated February 24, 2025, notes that the building is a designated heritage property and lists among its observed conditions "Large lateral deflection and fractures at one storey church addition" and a wall that "is outwardly displaced." It required a comprehensive condition assessment by a certified engineer with Ontario Heritage Act experience. The City registered the order on title on March 3, per the Motion Record, June 11, 2026, Tab 3, App. 8, pp. 322–323, 326, 331.

The building then reached the press. A CBC article of April 16, 2025 quoted the interim City solicitor as saying the Abbey suffers from "significant structural cracks," and a city councillor as saying the "building has been allowed to degrade to this point where there are fundamental questions around its structural integrity." The receiver's property manager reported break-ins on April 17, 21 and 29, and, the receiver says, on April 23 the City attended the property and told Lennard it was interested in the potential to purchase it. The receiver wrote that it "is concerned that the comments of City officials served as an invitation for wrongdoers to trespass and vandalize the Abbey." It puts its monthly cost of managing and repairing the property at approximately $3,000 to $4,000 after the April statements, against approximately $1,000 for site inspections before them, per the First Report of the Receiver, Jan. 21, 2026, paras. 36(d)–(h), 37, 59.

Lennard told the receiver on May 26, with bids due on the 28th, that interested parties had found the City's order in title searches; the registration, the receiver says, came after the City signed the NDA and without notice to the receiver, per the First Report of the Receiver, Jan. 21, 2026, para. 38. Receiver's counsel called it "a flagrant breach of the stay of proceedings." The City's legal counsel replied on June 4 that the order "was made in accordance with applicable statute relating to safety" and so, in the City's view, complied with the receivership order under the exception in its paragraph 9, which does not exempt the receiver or the debtor from statutory or regulatory provisions relating to health, safety or the environment, per the Motion Record, June 11, 2026, Tab 3, App. 9, pp. 334, 350. Receiver's counsel answered on July 2 that nothing in the receivership order authorized registration on title, while confirming that the receiver "does not dispute the City's authority to issue the PSO" and intended a sale "in a manner that results in the eventual purchaser being subject to the requirements of the PSO," per the Motion Record, June 11, 2026, Tab 3, App. 12, pp. 365–366.