City wins court battle over idle condo site
CALGARY - Owners of a Calgary condo project could be found in contempt of court if a Beltline hole isn't built to grade after the City of Calgary won a court injunction Wednesday.


Citing growing concerns about the safety of the Astoria on Tenth site, city lawyers earned a judge's order demanding the hole that's around five storeys deep be filled with a concrete structure.


"We have some depressions that could turn into sinkholes," said Marco Civitarese, the city's acting chief building inspector.


"We just hope to get it to grade."


The Astoria site, run by Arcus Developments and owned by Arcus Condo Corp. and Alcondo Property Inc., made headlines last year for touting a $10-million luxury penthouse that spanned two storeys and 4,400 square feet.


But since the economic downturn and the real estate sag that came with it, the project slated to have 225 units has instead made it on to the city's list of sites that have halted construction and are being watched for safety concerns.


Civitarese said the site's temporary shoring was failing and some of the earth beneath the shoring had started to come through.


"They've been able to alleviate some of the concerns, but not all of them," Civitarese said of the developer's efforts.


Gerry Mendyk, president and director of Arcus Developments, could not be reached for comment.


Remedial work could start within weeks after Court of Queen's Bench Justice Gerard Hawco also approved a plan by Garadex Inc.--which holds two mortgages on the site--to have the partially-started underground parkade finished and the site built to grade.


That plan was estimated to cost $6 million but won't be paid for by Astoria's owners because they swore an affidavit saying they didn't have the necessary cash, court heard. Instead, Garadex will lend cash to other companies doing the work and then recoup the money when the project is sold.


"They'll start taking more urgent steps ... to hire trades and get the work done," said Russell Avery, Garadex's lawyer.


Wednesday's court order was the latest chapter in the city's attempts to deal with abandoned sites, all of which are a by-product of the global financial crisis.


It's only the second time the city has won a court injunction against a project's developer since the downturn began. The first came earlier this year against the owners of Sky Tower, a proposed highrise condo building at 201 10th Ave. S. W.


Both orders are the same: they compel the site's owners to draw up a remedial plan for the city's approval before the holes get filled.


Ald. John Mar, whose ward includes many of the stalled projects, said the city looks first to collaborate with developers.


"For the most part, that's been very successful," he said. "If that doesn't work, we're left with no other alternative (than to go to court)."