Squamish won’t see much of an impact from the recent bankruptcy of Sechelt-based Wakefield Construction Inc.
The company was one of the recommended builders for the single-family home development Crumpit Woods in The Plateau area of Squamish but went bankrupt on Jan. 20.
The company had purchased five lots at Crumpit Woods and started to build on one, according to Lisa Bjornson, of Royal LePage Black Tusk Realty, which handles marketing and sales for the developer of Crumpit Woods and works with many of the project’s home builders.
“How that will play out during the bankruptcy proceedings, we don’t know yet,” she said of the lots and partially built home.
Some small contractors may have issues if they were owed money on that build, but the bankruptcy will have no impact on the development as a whole, Bjornson said.
“So, if for any reason the lots come back in to the developers’ hands, it is not an issue. They will just be resold and move forward,” she said, adding that Crumpit Woods has sold out phase one and is 70 per cent sold out in phase two.
Crumpit Woods Developments Squamish is a partnership between Bethelcorp and Diamond Head Land Company.
According to Bjornson, the development has a handful of other reliable corridor-based builders. “So no issues there,” Bjornson said.
Other areas in the province have felt the impact of the bankruptcy much more.
Wakefield was the largest building contractor on the Sunshine Coast, so the collapse of the company left about 40 projects unfinished and some 450 creditors who are owed almost $10 million in unverified claims.
Many of the Wakefield’s approximate 100 employees were laid off after it filed a notice of intention (NOI) under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act on Jan. 9, according to The Coast Reporter. There is no word on how many workers were based in Squamish.
Representatives from Wakefield Construction Inc. and the Squamish developers of Crumpit Woods did not respond to a request for comments by press time.
– With files from John Gleeson/Glacier Media
