Fortress Collier Centre, an affiliate of Fortress Real Developments Inc., has acquired the Collier Centre, a mixed-use development in downtown Barrie, Ontario, for an undisclosed amount.

“This acquisition was made possible through the incredibly talented Fortress team who brings expertise from multiple disciplines to assess, process, plan and execute on the many facets of this transaction,” said Vince Petrozza, chief operating officer at Fortress. “Financing, construction and legal were all integral parts of helping win and close this bid.”

Construction on the project began in September 2012 and is now 65 per cent complete. The project came under distress in November 2014. After what Frank Margani, executive vice-president at Fortress, calls “an incredibly challenging process,” the team executed a plan to protect and improve this asset on behalf of all stakeholders.

Fortress plans to restart construction immediately and have trades people and suppliers back on site starting this week. Full financing for the project is in place from Morrison Financial Mortgage Corporation with the timeline to complete the building on a planned construction schedule of about 12 to 14 months.

“We are thrilled to have awarded the contract to complete Collier Centre and LakeView Condominiums to EllisDon, one of Canada’s top builders,” added Jawad Rathore, president and chief executive officer of Fortress. “This project needs to be finished in a timely fashion with quality workmanship and EllisDon can deliver exactly that,”