Timbercreek credit bids to take over Calgary office tower

SCREO I Gill Inc. and SCREO I Gill L.P., the owners of the Life Plaza office building in downtown Calgary, had certain property including the plaza placed into receivership on June 9, 2026, on application secured lender Timbercreek Mortgage Servicing Inc. and Computershare Trust Company of Canada, acting solely as Timbercreek’s bare trustee, owed approximately $27.3 million. The Court also approved a purchase agreement under which Timbercreek, or a permitted assignee, will acquire Life Plaza through a combination of cash and a reduction of the secured debt.

The receivership covers Life Plaza, a multi-tenant office building at 734 7th Avenue SW in downtown Calgary, together with rents, leases, bank accounts and personal property located on or used in conjunction with the building. Life Plaza is a Class B office property with 17 storeys, approximately 225,983 square feet of office space and 10,331 square feet of retail space. The building was constructed in 1980, renovated in 2018 and approximately 66% occupied when the receivership application was brought. The property is controlled indirectly by Slate Canadian Real Estate Opportunity Fund I L.P.

Timbercreek’s lending relationship with the Life Plaza entities arose under a November 9, 2018 loan agreement. The agreement was amended on March 31, 2022 and December 1, 2022, followed by a forbearance and loan amending agreement dated April 19, 2024 and a second forbearance and loan amending agreement dated December 12, 2025.

Before the receivership, the owners retained CBRE to market Life Plaza with four other downtown Calgary office buildings. The process began March 6, 2026 and allowed bidders to acquire individual properties, selected combinations or the portfolio as a whole.

CBRE distributed the opportunity to 1,243 prospects. A total of 31 interested parties signed non-disclosure agreements and received data-room access, five engaged further regarding Life Plaza and four attended escorted property tours. The process generated two letters of intent for Life Plaza, but the owners, after consulting Timbercreek, declined to pursue them because the proposed prices were not acceptable.

Transactions were reached for the other marketed properties, leaving Life Plaza as the only asset in the portfolio without a third-party sale. The receiver identified several obstacles. Life Plaza’s occupancy had fallen from 74% to 66% during the process. CBRE also cited security concerns linked to the building’s location along Calgary’s C-Train route and limited flexibility for residential conversion because certain leases lacked termination rights and a conversion could displace numerous tenants.

Timbercreek elected to acquire the property after concluding that the debtors no longer wished to operate it. The receiver said Timbercreek was the only stakeholder with an economic interest in Life Plaza and could seek to improve its recovery over time through revised capital investment, property management and leasing strategies.

The sale is scheduled to close 45 days after the June 9 sale approval and vesting order, subject to any written extension agreed by the parties. The receiver supported the transaction after concluding that the CBRE process provided sufficient market exposure and that the purchase price represented the best available value. The receiver also said the price was consistent with an October 2025 appraisal prepared by Cushman & Wakefield, exceeded an amended appraisal value and was higher than the values reflected in the two letters of intent.

MNP is the receiver. Counsel is Lawson Lundell for Timbercreek and Computershare, Cassels for the receiver, McCarthy Tétrault for the debtors, and Code Hunter for Colliers Macaulay Nicolls as property manager.