looks like before the Holborne group got involved in the Hills, the eldorado site was previously owned by the Chandler group now involved in pending legal law suit, according to the article below...
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Court takes action against Mark Chandler
Susan Lazaruk, The Province
Published: Tuesday, October 16, 2007
B.C. Supreme Court has frozen $35 million of a developer's assets after investors alleged he misrepresented real-estate deals and forged a multimillion-dollar mortgage document.
Mark Chandler, whose developments include the second phase of the Garden City complex about to go on sale in Richmond, the sold-out Tribeca Lofts in Yaletown and the Homer and Helmcken development in Vancouver, is being sued by investors Theodore "Ted" and Susan Freeman.
They and their company, Susan Richards Investments, are suing for a return of their investments and a share of ownership and profits from the residential complexes or compensation up to $35 million.
The freeze order prohibits Chandler from selling or diminishing the value of $35 million of his assets.
The Freemans' lawyer, Katherine Ducey, said if units are still being sold, "we certainly don't want [the lawsuit or court order] to prejudice any of the sales of the unsold units."
She agreed it is a buyer-beware situation.
Ken Fraser of B.C.'s superintendent of real estate, which regulates the industry, said developers are required to amend disclosure statements if material changes are made.
"A lawsuit may affect the financial stability of the property," he said, adding it is up to buyers and their lawyers to check for liens.
Earlier this year, the superintendent scheduled a hearing into Chandler's developments after Vancouver condo marketing king Bob Rennie complained about improper disclosure statements on some of the same properties. That complaint came after a separate lawsuit from a former investor.
It was settled out of court and the superintendent's hearing was cancelled after Chandler agreed to amend the disclosure statements.
The Freemans' writ says Chandler told Ted Freeman in May 2004 he was expecting to make a $30-million profit on Homer and Helmcken and he needed an equity partner.
Freeman invested $12.3 million for a 40-per-cent interest and Susan Richards Investments made a $6-million investment.
Two years later, Freeman invested $4 million in another joint-venture partnership with Chandler for, in part, 50 per cent of a development on the yet-to-be-developed 1000-block Richards Street, on which Chandler said he expected to make a $40-million profit. SRI contributed about $2 million for the other half.
The lawsuit details other deals involving the Richmond Garden City project and the Eldorado property on Kingsway at the site of the Eldorado Hotel in Vancouver.
The writ alleges Chandler made the representations regarding the deals "knowing they were not true or were made recklessly."
It claims Chandler gave Freeman a written mortgage for $19 million registered against the Eldorado property that "was in fact a forgery and has never been registered against the Eldorado property."
It also alleges Chandler sold two Tribeca units to the Freemans for $800,000 but the title documents were forgeries.
The plaintiffs allege breach of contract, saying Chandler failed to provide accurate financial information and his representations were "designed to deceive."
The allegations have not been proven in court. Chandler has yet to file a statement of defence. Calls to his office weren't returned and yesterday an employee answering the phone said he had just stepped out.
slazaruk@png.canwest.com
© The Vancouver Province 2007