Creditors of a local development firm are seeking to foreclose on an iconic Langley building that currently houses the RCMP Community Police Office (CPO).
On Feb. 27, VWR Capital Corp. and Overland Capital Canada Inc. petitioned the B.C. courts, asking that the owners of the building either pay them the $3.9 million owing on a mortgage on the Federal Building, or that the property be sold to pay back the debt.
The Federal Building is the two-storey brick building at the corner of Douglas Crescent and 204th Street. For many years, it served as Langley’s main post office.
More recently, it has hosted the Langley City CPO for the local RCMP detachment, with officers working out of the main floor. A martial arts studio and other businesses have also occupied parts of the building.
The targets of the court petition are two individuals and a number of related companies including Quarry Rock Developments and QRD (Douglas) Holdings Inc.
The papers filed with the court say that the mortgage on the property has a 12 per cent interest rate, compounded monthly.
QRD filed a response on March 6, reserving the right to oppose “any order that may jeopardize the petition respondents’ interest in the lands.”
The response also said that they had an appraisal of the property dating back to March 30, 2023 that valued the site at $7.8 million.
Their legal argument is that the court must give them a six-month redemption period, during which they can pay off the mortgage, unless the court finds a shorter or longer period is justified.
None of the arguments in the petition or response have been tested in court.
A representative of Quarry Rock said that there was interest in the property from a local businessperson, and the company hoped to sell the building in the near future, which would enable them to pay off the mortgage without going through foreclosure.
According to Langley City chief administrative officer Francis Cheung, they have not been contacted by Quarry Rock about any need to relocate the CPO.
“Our current lease runs until the end of 2025 with an option for renewal for another five years,” Cheung told the Langley Advance Times. “At this time, we do not foresee any impact to the CPO operations at this location.”
An online listing for the site shows it has been for sale for more than three months, and is currently listed with an asking price of $5.9 million.
According to BC Assessment’s website, the site last changed hands in April, 2022 when it was part of a multi-property deal. No sale price was available. Prior to that, it sold for $4.4 million in February, 2022.
BC Assessment listed its value last year at $4.6 million, including the buildings.
When the Federal Building was first constructed in 1949, it cost $127,000, and was the first ever masonry structure built in Langley.
The Quarry Rock website appears to have been reduced to a single page with an email address. A phone number for the company is no longer in service.
Quarry Rock has been involved in a number of projects around Langley in recent years.
A townhouse project dubbed The Willoughby in the 20300 block of 70A Ave., was to have built 87 units, but went into receivership on Nov. 8, 2023, owing $39.9 million to five creditors.
The creditors including lenders and Steelcrest Construction, which had a builders lien on the development for more than $2.8 million.
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