Developer puts Icona condos property up for sale

450 buyers seek damages from Gupta Group in axed Vaughan project

A developer that twice planned to build condos at the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre has put the three acres at Highway 7 West and Edgeley Boulevard up for sale for an undisclosed price.

The property is owned by 1966711 Ontario Inc. It was originally marketed by the Gupta Group, Steve Gupta and Icona Developments as the Icona condos.

That project, which sold out in 2017, was cancelled the following year.

It remains the subject of a legal application by about 450 condo purchasers. Although they had their deposits refunded, they say Gupta had no right to sell condos on that land in the first place.

On Friday, a lawyer for Gupta, Icona and the numbered company told an Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Newmarket that the buyers will be informed of any agreement to sell the property and advised of the closing date on such an agreement.

John DeVellis, the lawyer who represented the condo buyers, would not comment on what happens to their legal application if the property is sold. But he pointed out that the numbered company is only one of four parties named in the purchasers’ court application.

After the Icona project was cancelled, the city of Vaughan gave the developer permission to proceed with another application to build 1,649 homes and a 260-room hotel in three towers with a convention facility and underground parking on the same site.

That application was approved by Vaughan council in June 2018, “and the applicant continues to work with the city to clear conditions of approval,” the city said on Friday.

A flyer by commercial realtor CBRE called the land an “approved skyline-defining development opportunity.” It refers to “a spectacular 3-tower concept,” with 1.6 million sq. ft. of mixed-use density. It “is set to redefine luxury living in the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre.”

A CBRE spokesperson said the company would not comment on interest in the property.

In their court application, the Icona buyers claim that Steve Gupta, the Gupta Group, Icona and 1966711 Ontario Inc. breached their contract when it cancelled the condos.

The buyers also argue that the developer had no right to sell condos on that site because it was subject to a restrictive covenant preventing Gupta from building homes on the property. That covenant has since been removed.

Gupta’s lawyer Andrew Parley told the Star he would not comment on a case before the courts.

Icona purchasers say they don’t know why the property has gone on the market.

“(Gupta) is in line to develop it. He applied to the city twice … so it sounds like a good investment to hold on to. Why he would sell it at this point while the market is hot, I don’t know,” said Patricia DeBartolo, who learned about the sale at the end of April through a letter to the buyers’ group lawyer.

It is unclear, she said, whether the purchasers can continue to pursue Gupta in court if he no longer owns the property.

“Once we found out about it we wanted to be sure we did whatever we could to make sure we weren’t just dismissed by circumstance of sale,” said DeBartolo.

Another buyer, Melissa Jardim, said she has faith in the justice system.

“In my opinion, the decision to sell was made with little to no regard to our legal dispute. It makes no sense to me how the Gupta Group approached the city of Vaughan twice for plan approvals and then all of a sudden makes the decision to sell,” she said.

The buyers’ application to proceed to a claim for damages will be heard Sept. 7 and 8.