547 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

It would be helpful if we knew what’s wrong with the building.

[spanky123]

It would be helpful if we knew what’s wrong with the building.

If it could be repaired it would have been by now.

[Victoria Watcher]

So you anticipate it’ll be knocked down?

[JohnsonStBridge]

Deferred revenue suggests that they have booked revenue for work but not completed it yet. Sounds like they don’t feel as though they can collect on that bill however.

 

Deferred revenue is the opposite of what you have described. It is when the company has issued an invoice (and presumably collected cash) for a deposit or progress invoice but cannot book revenue since they have not completed the contract. Any work-in-progress will be recorded as inventory (listed at $39.5M in the bankruptcy filings). Only once the project is complete (or certain milestones are met) is the revenue recognized (and the associated inventory recognized as a cost of goods sold). So in this case, the $41.9M in deferred revenue relates to contracts that still need to be completed for the customer (but have already been collected).

[spanky123]

^We are saying the same thing. The only thing I questioned was whether they had collected on the original work. I missed that they had a substantial amount of assets.

[spanky123]

So you anticipate it’ll be knocked down?

Centurion claims that they are losing $400K a month in rent. If the building was repairable that $5M a year goes a long way in repairs.

Just my opinion though. For most stuff in Victoria there are a handful of people you can ask for details. If they don’t know they each have a handful of people they can ask.

Details on this project are tighter than I have ever found.

[Mike K.]

It’s all quiet because Victoria is a rumour town, but when it comes to stuff like this, nobody wants to spread a falsehood because they wanted to sound like they knew what they were talking about.

Having personally talked to someone who was involved in the repair work, all we can do is wait for this matter to progress at whatever speed it’ll progress at. What we do know is the building was deemed unsafe to be around initially. Now it’s safe to be around, going by the thrift store’s return to its building next door.

[spanky123]

^ True but that is why I said even the people who know or who can find out are quiet. These folks don’t share info to look smart, they share info because they can benefit from it.

[Mike K.]

I suspect that just implies they don’t know, but know, that they probably should sit this one out, if they don’t know. We will hear all sorts of theories as facts in Victoria but here the process will eventually reveal the facts.

The sad part is a lot of businesses will be heavily impacted by all of this, starting with the DBS bankruptcy and all those accounts left unpaid.

[spanky123]

Agreed. What I found interesting though was not who is owed money but who is not.

With the industry struggling I think that a lot of those debts would be very painful if left unpaid. Sounds like there is a fair amount of assets which hopefully the receiver will collect and distribute.

Edited by spanky123, 11 August 2023 - 05:25 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Maybe just nobody knows how to fix it.  Sure, you can add a whole bunch more steel and concrete, but now it weights too much for the foundation.  I suppose it can be complex, and at some point costs more than a new one done properly.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 11 August 2023 - 05:19 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Little money left to pay creditors of Langford developer DB Services, meeting hears

 

 

 

An early assessment of DB ­Services, the company that built RidgeView Place in ­Langford, indicates that under the best-case scenario, $126,019 would be available to unsecured creditors while the worst case could put that figure at zero, the ­bankruptcy trustee says.

 

The Grant Thornton trustee Mark Wentzell said at the first creditors’ meeting this week that this projection was largely influenced by the current lack of information about inter-company accounts.

 

 

https://www.timescol...g-hears-7418181

[spanky123]

^ What initially looked like assets were accounting entries offset by liabilities. Probably not unexpected but it looks like there was a fair amount of money owed from related accounts. 

 

A comment I found interesting is in the reasons why the receiver states DB Services filed for bankruptcy. I think that problems with Danbrook are obvious but less so (to me at least) is the claim that as interest rates increase, developers are getting doubled whammied. Not only are they paying more to borrow money, pay staff and purchase materials, but the assets they are using as collateral are being devalued as the number of firms acquiring development projects has dropped.

Edited by spanky123, 19 August 2023 - 09:31 AM.

[Mike K.]

The banks are also calling for equity pads as the ratio of the mortgages amount grows.

It’s a tough time to be in the development industry. If the situation with interest rates doesn’t improve soon, we could see more projects sidelined.

[Victoria Watcher]

Ashley MacDonald has as many questions today as she had eight months ago when she was told to urgently vacate her apartment in a Langford highrise due to safety concerns. “No one has said anything to us despite a number of attempts,” she said.

 

MacDonald was one of many residents of the 11-storey RidgeView Place, formerly called Danbrook One, who had to move out in a rush in late April.

 

________________________

 

MacDonald wants to know what went wrong with the building. She said she has left messages with the city and Centurion, but hasn’t received any response. “Personally I would like to know how much danger I was in and why nothing has been done,” she said.

 

There was initially talk of needing to reinforce the building, but MacDonald said it looks unchanged.

 

She moved into an apartment in Royal Bay with her father and young son, spending about $10,000 in the two weeks after leaving RidgeView. That money went to hotels, eating out, movers, and first and last month’s rent at her new place.

 

She has filed a complaint with the tenancy board to ask Centurion to pay some of that money back.

 

Centurion gave each resident $2,500 in assistance after asking people to move out, as well as refunding damage and pet deposits and the last week of rent in April.

But MacDonald said she has suffered more than a financial loss.

 

“A day doesn’t go by that I don’t think about it. My sense of safety is still not back,” she said.

 

Every time she sees a notice posted on her door, she flashes back to the notice telling her to move out of RidgeView immediately.

 

 

 

https://www.timescol...cuation-8029166

 

 

Ashley MacDonald needs mental health help.  And its unrelated to her living situation.     

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 27 December 2023 - 06:43 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

moved into an apartment in Royal Bay with her father and young son, spending about $10,000 in the two weeks after leaving RidgeView. That money went to hotels, eating out, movers, and first and last month’s rent at her new place

 

 

Not accurate.  She might have had to pay a pet deposit maybe.

[HarrisonGreene]

The building should be imploded.

[spanky123]

Given the amounts of money at stake you would think that if the building could be repaired it would have been by now.

 

With DB Services bankrupt and the engineering off the hook legally, it leaves very few people holding the potential bag.

[Victoria Watcher]

Given the amounts of money at stake you would think that if the building could be repaired it would have been by now.

 

Indeed.   The company (Centurion) has 146 buildings, including 11 in Langford.

 

https://centurion.ca...erly Report.pdf

 

So they are not probably at huge financial risk here, but yes also at the same time, if it could be fixed they likely would have by now, they also have the finances to do it.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 27 December 2023 - 09:13 AM.

[spanky123]

^ They have the money but nobody wants to see $35M-$40M tied up with no return.