Kingston developer fined for illegally selling pre-construction condominiums; project in site plan review now

0
3581

Ontario Construction News staff writer

Admiral’s Walk Residences Inc. and its director Sandro Sordi have been convicted for selling 80 pre-construction condominium units without being registered under the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act, Tarion reported in a news release issued last Wednesday. The company was fined $50,000 by the Ontario Court of Justice.

An investigation was first launched in 2017 when Tarion was alerted that Admiral’s Walk Residences Inc. was marketing new condominium units at 1106 and 1110 King St. W. in Kingston.

Under the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act, new home builders and vendors must be registered with Tarion and enrol their homes in the new home warranty program.

In May 2017, Tarion investigators executed search warrants and obtained 80 agreements of purchase and sale for new condominium units which had been sold by the vendor, Admirals Walk Residences Inc.

While Admirals Walk Residences Inc. had previously been registered with Tarion, the company’s registration had expired in August 2008 which meant it could not legally enter into purchase agreements after that date. In addition, the proposed condominium units were not enrolled in the new home warranty program.

As a result, the corporation and officer/director, Sandro Sordi, were each charged with 80 counts of failing to be registered as a vendor and illegally entering into agreements to sell new condominium units.

Tarion says that Justice of the Peace Justice Jack Chiang accepted the guilty pleas of Admiral’s Walk Residences Inc. and Sandro Sordi on April 9.

Chiang imposed a fine on the company of $500 per count plus victim surcharge fees, for a total of $50,000. Sandro Sordi received a suspended sentence.

The Kingston-Whig Standard reports that, in 2017, he condos were being sold for prices between the $300,000s and $1.3 million.

An artist’s rendering depicts two high-rise buildings with penthouses to be built on a pier where a grain elevator once stood in Elevator Bay across from the Cataraqui Golf and Country Club.

While units in the project are not currently for sale, interested buyers can register in a priority reservation system with realtor Re/Max Rise Executives to be contacted once the project gets under-way.

“We are looking forward to this project re-launching as it will truly be a landmark development for the city,” Patrick Hulley representing the real estate brokerage, wrote in an email to the Whig-Standard.

“We are pleased to hear that the matter between the developer and Tarion has been settled,” he wrote. “In the interim, the developer has been working through site plan for this development with the City of Kingston.”

The city’s DASH (Development and Services Hub) website records the developer is proposing to build a commercial building as well as the two apartment structures. There also would be a three-storey parking garage north of the pier, along with a two-storey parking garage at the base of the proposed apartment towers.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

I accept the Privacy Policy

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.