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BC Tree Fruits facility sells

Properties owned by the failed BC Tree Fruit Co-op are starting to change hands. Photo / MYRNA STARK LEADER

BC Supreme Court approved the sale of two more properties last week as BC Tree Fruits Co-op moved closer to being wound down.

The orders, dated November 27, approved the sale of the co-op’s Kelowna warehouse at 880 Vaughan Avenue to the Mark Anthony Group for $17.5 million. A smaller facility on Bottom Lake Road in Lake Country sold to the District of Lake Country for $9.1 million.

Both properties sold for less than asking. In the case of the Kelowna warehouse, the discount was $4.5 million on a property listed at $22 million but valued earlier this year at $23.7 million. Mark Anthony’s offer was the best of any received since the property was listed this past February.

The warehouse in Lake Country, retained when the co-op shut its packinghouse in the community in 2022 as when the decision was made to consolidate packing operations in Oliver, was listed for just short of $11 million. The district initially offered $8.7 million, but ultimately raised its offer to $9.1 million.

The facility sits on 8.43 acres, and the district effectively purchased it for its future benefit to the broader community for recreational or police use.

The latest report from the court-appointed monitor, Alvarez & Marsal, noted that nine bids for the co-op’s assets had been received by the deadline of Nov. 8. None of the bids offered to buy the co-op’s assets as a whole. The co-op’s newly renovated Oliver packinghouse was notable for being passed over by all bidders.

Just one bid, related to cider-making equipment, was recommended for approval and did not require court approval.

The lack of offers for the Oliver packinghouse prompted Alvarez & Marsal to refrain from presenting the other eight bids for court approval as they would leave any buyer of the packinghouse without associated controlled atmosphere storage.

Novem Pharmaceutical’s deal for the controlled atmosphere facility on Sexsmith Road in Kelowna is due to close later this month. Details of the transaction, which hinges on government financing, have yet to be disclosed.