Hamilton landlord owes $27M, loses control over building where tenants faced water shut-off for 3 months

A Hamilton apartment building where tenants had no access to running water for three months in 2023 is now in the hands of a court-appointed firm as the landlord faces possible bankruptcy. 

Dylan Suitor has failed to pay back about $27 million in bank and private loans he used to buy and renovate the 63-unit building at 1083 Main St. E. in 2021, according to applications and affidavits filed by lenders in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice last fall. 

The renovations have yet to be completed and Suitor has run out of money to finish "winterization efforts to preserve and protect the property," Equitable Bank, which gave Suitor a $17-million mortgage in 2021, says in a court document.

On Dec. 10, a judge ordered MNP Ltd. to take over managing the property — which is now called The Deltonia Building — and completing the work so it can be sold to recoup as much money as possible.

It's the latest controversy involving Suitor, who, along with three other Ontario landlords, faced civil action for alleged misappropriation of millions of dollars in a case that doesn't involve 1083 Main St. E. 

David Galvin, a tenant who moved into his unit at 1083 Main St. E. years before Suitor bought it, successfully fought Suitor's attempt to evict him in a case that went before the Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board in 2023.

He told CBC Hamilton in an interview that he doesn't hold any bitterness towards his former landlord, but is glad MNP is taking over managing and wrapping up renovations, which have been years in the works. 

"I feel a bit of a relief that Dylan Suitor is not in charge of the building because he's quite capricious and unpredictable in his behaviour," said Galvin. 

"We never really knew his ultimate plans for the building." 

He isn't sure how many tenants live in the building, but said he has noticed in recent months that more have moved into newly renovated units. 

Suitor bought the building across from Gage Park in Hamilton's lower east end using $10 million borrowed from the family trust of the late Leonard Stuart — Emmy-winning co-owner of comedy club Second City — and the Equitable Bank mortgage, according to financial documents filed with the court.

In June 2024, the loan was transferred to a Cayman Islands-based company, Paradise Media Ltd., run by Stuart's son, D'Arcy Stuart, said a loan agreement form. 

As tenants of 1083 Main St. E. moved out, Suitor kept the units empty for renovations while unsuccessfully attempting to evict the others, as previously reported by CBC Hamilton. 

The building made local headlines when tenants were left without running water for months.