A newly-formed company has acquired 65 rental properties in Sault Ste. Marie nearly a year after a group of out-of-town landlords entered into insolvency proceedings after going $144 million in debt.
The move is part of a broader effort to help numerous lenders recover financially after dumping their money into a high-profile real estate empire that’s now being investigated for fraud.
BIG North Capital Inc. finalized the purchase of 189 properties in Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury, Timmins, and Kirkland Lake last month as part of insolvency proceedings involving nearly a dozen corporations closely linked to SID Developments.
The new company, composed of 177 investors that helped bankroll former YTV child actor Robby Clark’s real estate empire, now lays claim to a portfolio of property holdings in northern Ontario with an estimated value of $44 million.
“We’re a group of everyday Canadians who have been through a lot,” BIG North Capital spokesperson Rob Morrell told SooToday.
“We have decided to take control of our destiny, and are working to make lemonade out of the lemons that we were dealt. We look forward to partnering with the communities.
“I believe a lot of the tenants have had a challenging time under previous management, and we look forward to helping those tenants rebuild trusting relationships — and ultimately, a long-term positive relationship with Sault Ste. Marie.”
The former owners of the properties — Dylan Suitor, Ryan Molony, former YTV child actor Robby Clark and his wife, Aruba Butt — collectively owned more than 600 rental units across Ontario, including Sudbury, Timmins, and Sault Ste. Marie.
They filed for court-ordered protection from numerous lenders in January 2024, claiming that 11 of their corporations linked to SID Developments had accrued tens of millions of dollars in debt and had less than $100,000 in the bank.
The insolvency proceedings resulted in more than 300 properties being liquidated by several of SID’s lenders in Ontario Superior Court last month.
Ontario Provincial Police has since confirmed that SID Developments is the subject of an “ongoing and active investigation” by the Anti-Rackets Branch of its Economic Crimes and Corruption Unit, after an investigation into the dealings of the insolvent landlords launched during insolvency proceedings claimed they had “diverted, misused or misappropriated funds” borrowed from lenders to cover a number of extravagant purchases such as private jets, luxury hotels and a $5,000 tab at a Miami strip club.
Morrell says a number of BIG North investors have since been interviewed by the lead detective as part of the ongoing fraud investigation involving the SID landlords.
“Our investors were, to put it kindly, misled — and whether or not we’ve been defrauded is currently under investigation,” said Morrell.
“But our investor group have all gotten into this with the intention of making what were our original investments really positive, both in economic terms and also in community terms.”
In a news release issued Tuesday, BIG North Capital Inc. said that initial inspections have shown the rental units it has acquired range from “high quality, tenanted housing to empty structures at risk of being demolished.”
Of the 65 properties acquired in the Sault, there are 30 currently sitting vacant — nearly a third of the 96 vacant properties that it has purchased in northern Ontario through insolvency proceedings.
“Our immediate priorities have been to ensure the smooth transition from the previous property management company for current tenants and to inspect our 96 vacant units to form renovation plans so we can put them up for rent,” said John Alegrias, vice-president of real estate operations at BIG North Capital, in the news release.
“We have a lot of work to do and look forward to a long-term, positive partnership with the local government, contractors, and other local stakeholders to ensure our projects align with the needs of our community partners.”
Avanew, a subsidiary of Core Development Group, has already assumed the role of property manager for all 189 rental properties in northern Ontario.
“They already have an existing property management team on the ground, so that is allowing us to get moving quickly — we’re transitioning away from the previous property managers who were associated with the previous ownership group,” Morrell said.
BIG North Capital is making Canadian business history, Morrell says, by being the “only organization to enter into CCAA (Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act) proceedings as a group of individuals, and exit as a syndicated investment powerhouse.”
“I think it’s really important to note that all the investors involved — all 177 shareholders — have just been through a really traumatic experience,” Morrell said.
“Part of forming Big North has been a real act of courage and trust, to trust a group of individuals to lead them through to economic recovery.”
Morrell anticipates that BIG North Capital president Dan Uszynski will be in Sault Ste. Marie sometime this spring in order to meet with local stakeholders.
Current listings for available rental properties in the Sault can be found on the Avanew website.