$2.2M tentative deal reached to sell Capital Pointe land in downtown Regina
Regina-based Royalty Developments Ltd. is the prospective buyer
A tentative deal has been inked to sell the land in downtown Regina connected to the ill-fated Capital Pointe project.
Regina-based Royalty Developments Ltd. put forward an offer of $2.2 million in addition to the assumption of certain property taxes, documents from a mortgage trustee say.
The president of Royalty Developments is Anthony Marquart, who is also known as one of the co-owners of the Regina Pats.
Troubled history at site
The land in question is at a key intersection in the downtown — the corner of Albert Street and Victoria Avenue.
When developers unveiled the Capital Pointe project earlier in the decade, it was envisioned as a multi-million-dollar, 27-storey condo and hotel complex.
However, it never got past the stage of being a hole in the ground. Critics said it was an eyesore.
The city eventually moved to have the hole filled in for safety reasons.
When the land was first posted for sale in April of this year, the asking price for the 1971 Albert St. location was $8.5 million.
The price of the property was lowered in August but no offers were received until Nov. 7.
According to FAAN Mortgage Administrators, the company acting as a trustee in the case, only two offers were made on the property and the owner chose to accept the offer from Royalty.
Over $2 million in property taxes and other costs are owed to the city by the Capital Pointe owner. That includes the cost of backfilling the hole.
Deal headed to court
The hearing to approve the sale will be held on Dec. 12 at 10 a.m. CST at the Court of Queen's Bench in Regina.
It's not clear yet if the sale will be opposed.
According to a FAAN Mortgage document published on Nov. 22, if the $2.2 million figure is approved, there won't be enough of a profit from the sale to pay back everyone who was an investor in the project.
with files from Alec Salloum