Developer fights foreclosure at Vancouver site of proposed Filipino cultural centre

A Vancouver developer who has the support of Mayor Ken Sim to build a new Filipino cultural centre is in court Friday.

The owner of a Mount Pleasant development lot where Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim and his ABC majority on council would like to see a new Filipino cultural centre is fighting in court to pause foreclosure proceedings so that vision can be realized.

The site at East 4^th Avenue and Main Street is currently home to a number of auto businesses but Tobi Reyes envisions a multi-use tower anchored by the cultural centre.

The property has been in foreclosure proceedings since early 2021.

Last summer a B.C. Supreme Court judge issued an Order of Absolute Foreclosure, but Reyes has filed an affidavit listing several reasons why he would like that order set aside.

He mentions a motion brought to council by Sim directing city staff to “prioritize and expedite the review of the project.”

Reyes also lists additional investors willing to bail him out on the project, and a memorandum of understanding with the Filipino Legacy Society of Canada about the proposed cultural centre.

The affidavit goes on to discuss ongoing conversations with the provincial and federal governments to secure additional funding.

In a separate affidavit filed as a response, petitioner Altin Capital claims Reyes and his associated companies owe more than $47 million on the site, which is assessed at just under $24 million.

Altin Capital argues there are no signed deals for additional funding, and the company urges the judge to enforce the foreclosure order.

“In the case at bar, there is no reliable evidence of either a pending sale or of any potential refinancing,” the company writes. “Any evidence tendered by the respondents regarding reasonable prospect of payment is speculative at best.”

Filipino BC, which has been lobbying for a cultural hub, has never been on board with the proposal for this particular location and has called the plan “risky.”

Both sides in the foreclosure proceedings will be in B.C. Supreme Court for a hearing on Friday morning.