TerraBona 7115 Yonge: a dollar listing, seven offers, and no discharge yet

The land is 0.95 of an acre on Yonge Street in Markham, just north of Steeles Avenue East: a vacant parcel at 7115 Yonge Street and four detached houses behind it at 8 to 14 Grandview Avenue. TerraBona 7115 Yonge Ltd. was a single-purpose company set up to hold it for a high-density mixed-use condominium building with a proposed gross floor area of up to 755,000 square feet, according to the affidavit of Abraham Strahl, president of the lender, per the Affidavit of Abraham Strahl, Jan. 6, 2025, paras. 4–6. Majid Tavakoli is its director and, with his holding company, a guarantor of its debt.

On September 22, 2026, Justice J. Dietrich of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Commercial List) approved the sale of all of it by the court-appointed receiver, msi Spergel inc., to 2158046 Ontario Inc. The price is sealed. The debt the land secured stood at $39,167,304.23 on August 24, and the receiver told the court it expects the lender to take a shortfall and every other stakeholder to take nothing, per the Endorsement of Justice Dietrich, Sept. 22, 2026, paras. 1, 8.

Fifteen months from demand to receiver

Empirical Capital Corp. made a $31 million facility available under a commitment letter dated October 17, 2022, secured by a first charge registered on title on November 25, 2022, a general security agreement and an assignment of rents. Interest ran at the greater of 10.25% a year and RBC prime plus 4.80%, with maturity on July 2, 2024. The borrower missed the interest payment due May 2, 2024. A July 25, 2024 amendment pushed maturity to August 2, 2025 on the promise of a paydown from a subordinate lender by September 2, 2024; that financing did not arrive, the payments kept being missed and property taxes fell into arrears, per the Affidavit of Abraham Strahl, Jan. 6, 2025, paras. 7–15. Empirical demanded payment and served a notice of intention to enforce security under s. 244 of the BIA on September 5, 2024, and the application for a receiver issued on November 25, 2024, per the same affidavit, para. 16, and Notice of Application, Nov. 25, 2024.

The hearing, set for February 10, 2025, did not proceed. On January 21, 2025 the parties signed an accommodation agreement under which the lender would forbear until June 15, 2025, per the Aide Memoire of the Applicant, Jan. 23, 2025, paras. 2–3. The agreement's recitals set out what the borrower was counting on. Metrolinx, which needed access to the property for a project in Markham, had offered $1,196,000 for a temporary easement for sidewalk construction, and two more easements were under negotiation; and a thirteen-day hearing before the Ontario Land Tribunal on the site's zoning was to begin on or after May 21, 2025. The first easement payment was to go through the borrower's counsel's trust account to legal fees, the tax arrears and interest; the others to interest and an interest reserve; and the forbearance was conditional on "receipt of a positive decision by the Obligors at the OLT Hearing by June 15, 2025," per the Accommodation Agreement, Jan. 2025, recitals I–K and s. 4.1(c)–(e). The borrower acknowledged $33,419,371.06 owing at January 1, 2025, confirmed it had no set-off or counterclaim, and acknowledged that a statement of claim it had issued against the lender and Mr. Strahl in July 2024 had been discontinued with prejudice, per the Accommodation Agreement, ss. 2.2–2.3.

By July the conditions had not been met. At a scheduling appointment before Justice Cavanagh on July 7, 2025, Empirical asked for a hearing after September 15, "as the Respondents have indicated that they expect to receive re-zoning approval from the Ontario Land Tribunal at a hearing scheduled for September 3, 2025," per the Aide Memoire of Empirical Capital Corp., July 3, 2025, paras. 3–5. Mr. Strahl swore in August that no payment had been made on account and the whole of the debt, by then $35,521,718.71 on the lender's statement, remained outstanding, per the Supplementary Affidavit of Abraham Strahl, Aug. 6, 2025, paras. 5–7 and Ex. "B".

A further forbearance followed, and as part of it the debtor signed a consent, dated September 17, 2025, to a receiver's appointment if the lender was not paid by December 1; the debt was still outstanding on that date, and the application proceeded on consent. Justice Dietrich found the lender "has not acted precipitously," with default more than 18 months old and demand more than 14 months old, and appointed msi Spergel under s. 243(1) of the BIA and s. 101 of the Courts of Justice Act, per the Endorsement of Justice Dietrich, Dec. 1, 2025, paras. 3–8, 13–20. Lender's counsel put the debt at approximately $36 million that day. The appointment order allowed the receiver to borrow up to $750,000 under a priority charge, per the Appointment Order, Dec. 1, 2025, para. 22; it drew $40,000, from Empirical, per the First Report, Sept. 10, 2026, para. 33.

A listing at $1.00

The receiver took possession, insured the property, redirected the rent from the tenants at 10, 12 and 14 Grandview, and ordered two full narrative appraisals, from Colliers International Realty Advisors on January 12, 2026 and from Altus Group on January 30. It asked Cushman & Wakefield, CBRE, Lennard Commercial Realty and Colliers for listing proposals and chose Lennard, "as their commission structure was lower and they were familiar with the market area," per the First Report of the Receiver, Sept. 10, 2026, paras. 10, 13–14. The MLS listing agreement with Lennard, dated January 22, 2026, carried a nominal list price of $1.00, per the First Report, para. 15.

Lennard's marketing summary, filed in redacted form, logs a LinkedIn post on February 12, an advertisement in NRU on February 25 and one in the Globe and Mail on March 10, and email campaigns reaching 474 recipients. Twenty-eight groups signed confidentiality agreements and all 28 downloaded the full data room; the signatories included Tridel, Broccolini, Fengate, Urban Capital, Empire Developments and Starwood Acquisitions. Six offers came in on the June 11 bid date and a seventh after the deadline. "Two of the offers were at a level where we could proceed with negotiations," Lennard wrote, calling the result "encouraging … given the very challenging land market," and the top two were invited to resubmit by 5:00 p.m. on June 17, per the Motion Record, App. 6 (Lennard Weekly Marketing Report, June 8–12), pp. 115–117.