Northern Development Initiative Trust's effort to foreclose on a loan to Commonwealth Campus Corp. will go to trial without first going to a hearing, according to a consent order filed this week at the Prince George courthouse.
The development comes after a hearing that had been scheduled for April 8 was adjourned.
NDIT is seeking repayment of $1.45 million in unpaid principal and interest for money it had lent to Commonwealth to pay for land assembly in the 400 block of George Street primarily for the Wood Innovation and Design Centre but also for development of the adjacent area.
Commonwealth is fighting NDIT's legal action.
In an affidavit, Commonealth president Dan McLaren alleges NDIT misled Commonwealth with assurances it would purchase the land or find another buyer and has left the company with land worth significantly less than the price Commonwealth paid.
McLaren also alleges Prince George MLA Pat Bell urged him to secure the entire 400 block to prevent speculation that would increase the cost of acquiring the land. The intent was to use the WIDC to anchor a downtown campus for UNBC.
McLaren is claiming damage to reputation and asserted a deal to develop a project in Trail was recently scuttled because of the controversy surrounding the loan and the way the WIDC project has been handled.
None of the allegations have yet been proven in court. A date for trial is still to be set.
