A prominent downtown Calgary office tower is facing a court-ordered sale for the second time in two years, marking another turbulent chapter for the property. Stephen Avenue Place, a 40-storey skyscraper at 700 2nd Street S.W., will be listed for sale in January with an asking price of $60 million.
Second Receivership in Two Years
The upcoming sale is the direct result of the property being placed into receivership by the Court of King's Bench in mid-October. This is the second receivership for the tower in a short period; it was first placed under receivership in October 2023 over defaulted loan payments. The same firm, MNP Ltd., has been appointed as receiver and manager in both instances.
The court action was initiated by Timbercreek Mortgage Servicing, the property's mortgage lender, which is owed approximately $139 million. According to an October news release from Timbercreek Financial, the decision to seek receivership was made after a forbearance period for payments ended, aiming to protect the interests of the property's stakeholders.
Property Details and Recent History
Originally built in 1976 and formerly known as Scotia Centre, the building boasts over 620,000 square feet of rentable commercial space. This includes roughly 125,000 square feet of retail space. The tower, located next to the CORE Shopping Centre, has been owned by Slate Asset Management since 2018.
Under Slate's ownership, the property underwent a significant $30-million renovation project on its bottom three floors, which was completed in 2022. Despite this investment, the property has struggled financially, leading to the current receivership proceedings.
Financial Exposure and Market Context
Timbercreek Financial disclosed that its gross exposure to the loan, after accounting for syndicated portions, is $15 million. This represents 10.8 per cent of the total loan and approximately 1.3 per cent of its net mortgage portfolio.
In the October release, Blair Tamblyn, CEO of Timbercreek Financial, noted that the Stephen Avenue Place loan is "one of the few investments remaining in the portfolio that were originated prior to the rate hike cycle." He emphasized the company's focus on navigating the situation to preserve investors' capital.
The real estate brokerage Avison Young has been tasked with listing the property for the court-ordered sale next month. The fate of the $60 million listing will be closely watched as a indicator of the health of Calgary's downtown commercial real estate market.
