Lower Mainland Court-Ordered Sales Spike: Distressed Land Sells Below Debt as Developers Scoop Up Bargains

Court-ordered sales are rapidly reshaping the Lower Mainland development landscape as over-leveraged projects collapse under debt pressure. In Port Coquitlam, NorthStar Developments—led by Gordon Wylie and Jeff Brown—acquired the stalled "The Met" site from Quarry Rock Development for $11.6 million in November 2024, a figure below assessed value and far short of the $23 million owed to 57 creditors. The site, where construction had only reached the parkade level, has been rebranded as Livy and is now marketing studios starting at $299,000 with shared amenities like co-working pods and a golf simulator. Meanwhile, Landa Global Properties, led by CEO Kevin Cheung, has picked up three distressed assets in the past year: the 38-unit Siena in Burnaby Heights, the 17-unit Park & Granville townhouse project in South Vancouver, and the long-vacant Theodore lot in Kerrisdale.