09-05-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Harry Stinson's latest school-to-condo conversion in receivership
Embattled developer Harry Stinson's latest school conversion project,
the Gibson School Lofts
, is in receivership due to missed mortgage payments.
But Stinson said in an interview he is seeking a new partnership to help pay out his lender and allow him to finish the redevelopment at
601 Barton St. E.
'The best way for both of us, for all of us, including the (condo) buyers … is to come to an agreement that the construction gets completed,' said the longtime Hamilton developer. 'We could have people in (the building) this year, occupied.'
Harry Stinson in his Stinson School condo redevelopment more than a decade ago.
The colourful builder — known for the successful condo conversion of
Stinson school
, as well as famous failed pitches like a proposal to
build Canada's tallest tower downtown
— has battled a string of recent project and legal woes.
In late 2023, Stinson was ordered to
pay a $600,000 fine and repay $13 million to investors
in a planned Buffalo hotel redevelopment after a tribunal ruled Stinson broke Ontario securities law. That same project also suffered a serious fire during the pandemic and remains badly damaged.
In Hamilton, the 72-year-old's most advanced project looked to be the Gibson School Lofts, a condo conversion of the former Barton Street East school that would see two storeys added to the historic building and townhouses built in the old schoolyard. Stinson's company bought the building in 2014 and restoration, including replacing most windows, has been underway for years.
But in January, a Superior court judge signed off on an order to appoint a receiver for the property, assets and projects owned by Gibson Lofts Inc.
Court documents viewed by The Spectator show the lender is seeking more than $4 million in repayment on two separate loans. The documents also noted past lender concerns about contractor liens and tax arrears that totalled hundreds of thousands of dollars in 2022. The current status of those previously cited liens and arrears was unclear Thursday.
The Spectator reached out to the receiver, B. Riley Farber Inc., on Thursday to seek clarity on plans for the property, but has yet to hear back.
Stinson confirmed he 'fell behind' on payments to the lender. 'There's no question it has been a rough year,' he said.
But the developer also stressed he hopes to maintain control of the project, noting the land has not been put up for sale and he continues to maintain the building. Some would-be condo buyers have left deposits in trust with an independent lawyer during the receivership, he added.
'Discussions between myself and the mortgage holder are ongoing daily. There is really no animosity,' he said. 'We're trying to get a sufficient amount (of money) to pay them out.'
The proposed Gibson Lofts would be in the old school on Barton Street East owned by Harry Stinson.
Stinson said he is talking to prospective 'joint venture' partners to help the project emerge from receivership — and also to land construction financing, which he described as 'extremely difficult' to find in the current 'appalling market.' Late Thursday, he said he has a 'new lender on board' for construction on the project.
The developer also acknowledged his own finances have been squeezed — first by the fire at his ambitious Buffalo project, then by the fines and investor repayment ordered by the provincial Capital Markets Tribunal following a probe by Ontario's securities regulator.
Stinson said he has made a 'settlement proposal' to the regulator that is lower — 'on a completely different planet' — than the ordered fine and repayment amount that totalled nearly $14 million.
The Spectator sought an update from the regulator Thursday, but did not hear back.
Despite those challenges, Stinson said he has no plans to sell local projects like Gibson or a long-delayed condo proposal at the
Cannon Knitting Mill.
'Selling any project in this market would be delusional,' he said, adding he hopes to go ahead later this year with new marketing for the project at the former knitting mill near Beasley Park, which the city recently decided to designate as a heritage building.
If Stinson retains ownership and management of the Gibson project, he suggested construction could soon begin on one and two-bedroom units, making use of the old classrooms in the former school.
'We have buyers who want to be there,' Stinson said. 'We think this will be (back) on the rails and under construction this summer.'
