Sprucewood Plaza and Thorncliffe: two sales, and ten days to redeem one

Both shopping centres went up in 1979, according to the listing brochures the receiver filed with its reports, and both sit on land zoned CB – Business Commercial. Sprucewood Plaza, at 211 Calahoo Road in Spruce Grove, has about 12,840 square feet of leasable space on 1.99 acres, occupied by three commercial retail tenants, per the Receiver's First Report to Court, July 13, 2026, paras. 6, 9, App. D. The Thorncliffe Shopping Centre, at 8202 – 175 Street NW in Edmonton, is larger: about 54,700 square feet on 3.9 acres, per the Receiver's First Report to Court, July 13, 2026, paras. 6, 9, App. D. In January, Servus Credit Union Ltd.'s affiant described it as a retail complex on two levels with approximately thirteen tenants, among them a Mac's convenience store, a taekwondo studio, a community league, a daycare, a golf range and one venue listed as an indoor playground, daycare, karaoke, restaurant and bar, per the Affidavit of Chris Millar, Jan. 8, 2026, para. 8.

Each plaza was its owner's principal asset: 1043569 Alberta Ltd., incorporated in 2003, held Sprucewood, and 1109079 Alberta Inc., incorporated in 2004, held Thorncliffe. Jarnail Singh Sihota was the sole director of the first and one of three directors of the second, and he had guaranteed both companies' debts to Servus, per the Sprucewood First Report, July 13, 2026, paras. 6–7, 11, 15 and the Thorncliffe First Report, July 13, 2026, paras. 6–7, 11, 15. On January 23, 2026, on Servus's applications, Justice J.T. Neilson of the Court of King's Bench of Alberta appointed MNP Ltd. receiver and manager of both companies under s. 243(1) of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and s. 13(2) of the Judicature Act, in court files 2503 23336 and 2503 23334, per the Receivership Order, Jan. 23, 2026, para. 2 and the Receivership Order, Jan. 23, 2026, para. 2.

On the afternoon of July 20, Justice J.S. Little had the receiver's two sale applications scheduled an hour apart, Thorncliffe at 2:00 p.m. and Sprucewood at 3:00, per the receiver's counsel's letters to the commercial coordinator (Letter to Commercial Coordinator, July 13, 2026; Letter to Commercial Coordinator, July 13, 2026). Both sales were approved, each to a company named Gravity Centre, and both sets of confidential appendices, the purchase agreements among them, were sealed until January 20, 2027. Only the Sprucewood order carries a stay: its operation was stayed until 5:00 p.m. on July 30, "solely to permit the Debtor and/or Jarnail Sihota to deliver payment to the Receiver" in an amount sufficient to pay in full what was owed to Servus and under the receivership order, per the Approval and Vesting Order, July 20, 2026, paras. 2, 19 and the Restricted Court Access Order, July 20, 2026, para. 2. Paragraph 19 of the Thorncliffe order authorizes the receiver to assign 1109079 Alberta Inc. into bankruptcy, per the Approval and Vesting Order, July 20, 2026, paras. 2, 19.

Two loans, one affiant

Servus put its case for both receiverships through the same officer, Chris Millar, a senior commercial special loans manager, who swore both affidavits on January 8, 2026. At Sprucewood, a mortgage dated June 1, 2021 secured up to $3,038,750 in principal; on December 30, 2025 the mortgage loan stood at $2,638,508.92, with a further $272,038.58 on a cost account. The last payment had come on November 1, 2025, and the arrears were $45,660. The company had also failed to pay its municipal property taxes: the city registered a tax notification against the lands, and on October 15, 2025 Servus paid the outstanding $262,388.53 itself, per the Affidavit of Chris Millar, Jan. 8, 2026, paras. 11, 14, 20–22.

Thorncliffe's mortgage, dated October 22, 2021, secured up to $7,670,000, and the loan stood at $6,868,218.44 on December 30, 2025. The last payment there was made on July 6, 2025; the arrears were $342,976.77. Servus demanded payment on September 23, 2025, with a notice of intention to enforce security under s. 244 of the BIA, per the Affidavit of Chris Millar, Jan. 8, 2026, paras. 11, 14, 18, 20–21. Its Sprucewood demand followed on October 20. The Canada Revenue Agency had registered writs against both titles, for $32,847 at Sprucewood in December 2024 and $147,078 at Thorncliffe in August 2025, per the Sprucewood affidavit of Chris Millar, Jan. 8, 2026, paras. 18, 23 and the Thorncliffe affidavit of Chris Millar, Jan. 8, 2026, para. 21.

Mr. Millar swore that his last communication with the guarantor about his banking relationship with Servus was on November 18, 2025, "notwithstanding Servus' demand for repayment and numerous requests made of him by me to provide certain information regarding the financial and other circumstances of the Borrower." Servus, he swore, had "no confidence that the Borrower will be able to obtain refinancing to repay the Indebtedness," and "Servus' patience has now been exhausted," per the Affidavit of Chris Millar, Jan. 8, 2026, paras. 27–28, 32.

By the receiver's count, Servus was owed $2,934,575.06 on the Sprucewood loans and $6,937,903.95 on Thorncliffe's as at February 24, 2026, exclusive of interest, legal fees and enforcement costs, and the receiver's counsel had given opinions that Servus's security was valid and enforceable, per the Sprucewood First Report, July 13, 2026, paras. 51–52 and the Thorncliffe First Report, July 13, 2026, paras. 63–64. The Thorncliffe report records that "[t]he former anchor tenant vacated the premises prior to the Receivership which contributed to various operational and leasing challenges," per the Thorncliffe First Report, July 13, 2026, para. 9. Its listing brochure put the centre at 54,723 square feet, 38,175 of them leased and 16,548 vacant (App. D).

One buyer, twice

The receiver ran one process for both. It took listing proposals from five brokerages, engaged Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services Canada Inc. to sell each plaza on an "as is, where is" basis, and entered into both exclusive listing agreements on or about March 18, 2026, asking $5,250,000 for Sprucewood and $12,125,000 for Thorncliffe. The broker marketed each listing electronically to 1,622 prospective purchasers. At Sprucewood 995 opened the materials, the brochure had 154 unique views and downloads, and the broker entered into 30 confidentiality agreements; at Thorncliffe the figures were 939, 130 and 25, per the Sprucewood First Report, July 13, 2026, paras. 25, 28–29, 36 and the Thorncliffe First Report, July 13, 2026, paras. 25, 28–29, 36.

Thorncliffe drew three offers (para. 41). Sprucewood drew one formal written offer, and the receiver gave a reason: "numerous prospective purchasers conducted due diligence but elected not to proceed due primarily to environmental concerns affecting the Property and, in some cases, financing considerations," per the Sprucewood First Report, July 13, 2026, para. 41. The report does not describe the concerns. The broker's final marketing report, which the receiver cites for them, is a sealed appendix.

Both purchase agreements are dated June 1, 2026, and both were made with the same company, 2760305 Alberta Ltd. On June 11 it assigned them, with the receiver's consent, to Gravity Centre Sprucewood Ltd. and Gravity Centre Thorncliffe Ltd. Each agreement was unconditional on the purchaser's side, leaving only court approval, and each includes the assumption of leases: the three current leases at Sprucewood and all active leases at Thorncliffe, per the two reports (paras. 37–40). At Thorncliffe the purchaser asked for more. Based on the company's records and discussions with former management, the receiver reported, businesses that had vacated before its appointment left restaurant equipment, golf simulator equipment, furniture and other chattels in vacant premises, and at the purchaser's request the agreement was structured to include them, per the Thorncliffe First Report, July 13, 2026, paras. 47–50. Servus supported both sales (para. 45 of each report).