Aurora Mills: a Starbucks plaza and one condo unit, at sealed prices

The Aurora Mills Business Park at 175 Melvin Robson Avenue in Aurora, Ontario was built in phases. The first includes a retail plaza leased to Starbucks Coffee Canada, Inc., a DQ Grill & Chill and Carbone Pizza, and two blocks holding 24 industrial condominium units, 20 of which were sold before the receivership. The second is approximately 11.35 acres of development land, per the Third Report of the Receiver, Sept. 8, 2026, para. 2. The registered owner, 2352107 Ontario Inc., holds the land as nominee for its beneficial owners.

On January 23, 2026, Justice Jana Steele appointed Albert Gelman Inc. receiver on the application of Windsor Private Capital Limited Partnership and Windsor II Limited Partnership. "The Debtor owes Windsor approx. $75 million," she wrote. It was in default, construction liens were registered, and Windsor would advance nothing more without a receivership, per the Endorsement of Steele J., Jan. 23, 2026, paras. 13–15. By the charges' agreed priority, the stack runs: a $110,000,000 National Bank of Canada charge, since assigned to Windsor II; Westmount Guarantee Services Inc. at $40,000,000; Windsor I at $25,000,000; and Olympia Trust Company and Belmont Mortgage Administration Limited at $16,000,000, per the Third Report of the Receiver, Sept. 8, 2026, para. 14. In January the receiver reported that Windsor "is expected to suffer a significant shortfall on its secured indebtedness" and that no distributions were expected for subordinate secured or unsecured creditors, per the First Supplement to the First Report of the Receiver, Jan. 31, 2026, paras. 28–30.

"A do-over on Groundhog Day"

The receivership started with a rebuke. Six days after the appointment, the receiver asked Justice F.L. Myers for vesting orders to close the pre-sold condo units. The appointment order allows the receiver to use Chaitons LLP, Windsor's lawyers, where there is no conflict, and it did. "That is not at all problematic absent conflict. But it does not diminish the court's need to rely upon its officer's business judgment," Justice Myers wrote. "The Receiver's First Report provides no rationale for the recommendation to approve the orders sought. It leaves the court effectively in the position of being asked to rubber stamp the applicants' wishes." He did not know who among the lien claimants sat at the Plimsoll line, or whether they had notice; he noted that "the Receiver's officer arrived on Zoom as the hearing was ending"; and he adjourned the motion to February 2 "as a do-over on Groundhog Day," per the Endorsement of Myers J., Jan. 29, 2026, paras. 1–3, 6–7. The receiver came back with a supplementary report explaining its business judgment, and on February 2 Justice Myers signed twelve vesting orders, while declining to deem any lien perfected that had not been perfected under the Construction Act: "The liens are creatures of statute," per the Endorsement of Myers J., Feb. 2, 2026, paras. 1–2.

On March 31, Justice Steele approved a sale process for the retail plaza and authorized interim distributions to Windsor II, over the objection of McQueen Maintenance Inc., a lien claimant, reducing the amount to the funds then available and noting the receiver's plan to set aside $250,000 against possible holdback obligations, per the Third Report of the Receiver, Sept. 8, 2026, paras. 5, 18.

The plaza

A pre-receivership sale of the plaza to 2753991 Ontario Inc. was to close on January 15, 2026. It did not, and the buyer later terminated. The receiver relisted it with Jones Lang LaSalle on April 17 at $4,590,000, a figure set above an appraisal that had been obtained in February. Over about seven weeks of marketing it drew twelve offers and expressions of interest by the May 21 bid deadline and six improved offers by June 4. The receiver chose Lucky Line Ltd. and accepted its agreement on July 2. The buyer has paid a $200,000 deposit; it takes the plaza with the three tenants' leases on an "as is, where is" basis; closing is seven business days after the vesting order, which the receiver expects by September 30, per the Third Report of the Receiver, Sept. 8, 2026, paras. 41–47.

The price is not in the public record. The report says only that it "exceeds the appraised value in the Retail Appraisal," and the receiver asks the court to seal the unredacted agreement, the appraisal and both rounds of offer summaries until the sale closes.

One unit of four

Four condo units were never pre-sold: Units 4, 5, 14 and 16. Colliers listed them in April at $1,698,125 each, or $475 a square foot, set with reference to a March appraisal, recent sales in the complex and competing listings in Aurora and Newmarket. Nine prospective purchasers or their agents inquired. One offer proposed to buy all four together; the receiver declined it in favour of a standalone deal for Unit 4 with 2810517 Ontario Inc., dated July 20, with a $100,000 deposit, a repair undertaking by the receiver after closing, and a price that also "exceeds the appraised value," per the Third Report of the Receiver, Sept. 8, 2026, paras. 32–39. The condo appraisal is to stay sealed until all the unsold units are sold.

The pre-sales themselves were struck mostly in 2022. The receiver reported in January that 16 of the 20 were signed that year, three in 2024 and one in 2025, and that the 2024 and 2025 sales averaged 16.7% and 4.5% less per square foot than the 2022 sales, per the First Supplement to the First Report of the Receiver, Jan. 31, 2026, para. 22.

Two purchasers who want out

Two of the pre-sale purchasers did not close and want their deposits back. Each says the units were built differently from what was sold — among other things, with demising walls of drywall and metal studs rather than concrete block — and that this is a "material change" under s. 74 of the Condominium Act, 1998. The purchaser of Unit 6 purported to terminate in December 2025. The purchaser of Units 22, 23 and 24, under a January 24, 2022 agreement at $5,100,000, purported to rescind in August 2025 and has approximately $1.024 million in deposits held in trust by Torkin Manes. On April 17, 2026, "without first obtaining the consent of the Receiver or an order of the Court lifting the stay of proceedings," it commenced an application in Newmarket for rescission and its deposits with interest. The receiver disputes both positions; talks have not settled either, and it intends to ask for a case conference to set a timetable for motions on whether the purchasers breached and whether the receiver may keep the deposits, per the Third Report of the Receiver, Sept. 8, 2026, paras. 25–31.

The holdback, recalculated

Three construction liens remain: Elements Air Systems Inc. at $826,518 and Paul Marques Architect Inc. at $141,978 against the condo units, and McQueen at $98,762 against the whole property. The receiver has now fixed its reserves, relying on KingSett Mortgage Corporation v. Mapleview Developments Ltd., 2026 ONCA 512, in which, the receiver says, the Court of Appeal held that for s. 78(2) of the Construction Act, where there are no subcontractors, the holdback is 10% of the contractor's unpaid invoices. That puts Elements' holdback priority at approximately $83,000 and Paul Marques' at approximately $14,000, per the Third Report of the Receiver, Sept. 8, 2026, paras. 17, 21–22.

McQueen's lien took more work. McQueen supplied labour as a subcontractor to Division 1 Services Inc., which the receiver describes as an affiliate of the owner, with no written contract at either level. Division 1 invoiced the owner approximately $978,000, including HST and a 15% administration fee, and was paid approximately $645,000; about $426,000 of its billings reimbursed McQueen's invoices, with about $49,000 of administration fees on top. The receiver caps the Division 1 holdback at no more than $98,000. Reserves total $200,000 — $100,000 for McQueen, $85,000 for Elements, $15,000 for Paul Marques — down from the $250,000 set aside in March, and the receiver seeks no ruling on the validity, priority or amount of any lien, per the Third Report of the Receiver, Sept. 8, 2026, paras. 20, 23–24.

The land, and the lender

The 11.35 acres went to market through Lennard Commercial Realty on June 29, unpriced, before the municipal works are finished; servicing is complete to base asphalt and a certificate of substantial completion has gone to the Town of Aurora. Offers were due September 11. By September 3 there had been 513 views of the Realtor.ca listing, 22 inquiries, 11 signed confidentiality agreements and ten parties in the data room. The receiver asks only for approval of the process and will return with any deal, per the Third Report of the Receiver, Sept. 8, 2026, paras. 55–59.

After the plaza and Unit 4 close, and after its reserves, the receiver expects to be able to pay Windsor II a further distribution of up to what it is owed on the interest assigned from National Bank — $13,841,292 in principal and interest as of September 8. It also asks the court to approve fees for March through August: $259,580.73 for the receiver, $204,988.37 for Chaitons and $24,415.25 for Torkin Manes, all inclusive of tax, per the Third Report of the Receiver, Sept. 8, 2026, paras. 61, 65, 69–73. The motion was returnable September 14. No order on it is in the record read for this piece.