Fortress Real Developments has acquired a struggling full-block mixed-use development on Avenue Road and will move forward with the already approved project with partners Fernbrook Homes and Cityzen Development Group. Branded Brookdale on Avenue Road, the site—one acre on the west side of Avenue from Brookdale to Fairlawn avenues—had been owned by Mady Development. Fortress said it acquired it after the builder “began to suffer financial strain" and the property went into a power of sale. The project includes 147k SF of condos (with a small rental component) and 20k SF of at-grade commercial space.
Fortress has three other projects with Mady, which sought creditor protection earlier this year. Fortress CEO Jawad Rathore noted his firm has exited its interest in a JV with Mady in Burlington (Bridgewater); that it’s the lead developer of another site they're developing in Winnipeg; and “has an excellent bid ready” for Mady’s troubled Collier Centre project in Barrie (above). As for Brookdale, Jawad said the site was “hotly contested” by developers seeking to outbid one another. Half the units have been pre-sold, and Cityzen president Sam Crignano said construction on the building is slated to begin in the “next few months.”
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