Church corruption, or just very unfortunate circumstances? The Trinity Ravine Towers debacle

BY MICHAEL THOMAS

Information has reached Toronto Caribbean Newspaper that a huge number of seniors 279 and counting, who thought that they were investing in a condominium project have found out that there is no condo and no down payment refund. Sadly after a long time these seniors are still waiting.

Here is what TCN has learned so far.

According to a senior who is currently awaiting her refund (who we choose to call Dee) the people behind the so-called condo project are not forthcoming about handing over the refunds as promised to the aging would-be homeowners.

Documents received by TCN revealed that Global Kingdom Ministries who sponsored this venture in combination with Trinity Ravine Community Inc. (changed from Trinity Ravine Towers) are both named in this complaint.

This condominium and building complex has attracted many seniors because they also GUARANTEED that if the condominiums were not built, then all deposits would be returned since the church had an asset base of 30 million dollars.

The offer, sponsorship, and guarantee were so compelling that all units were sold out even though they were not built as yet, and still have not been built at present.

According to documents received, the reason for the stalling in terms of constructing the condos was because Trinity Ravine Towers could not get approval from the City of Toronto for various reasons.

Condo purchasers were told that the project may have to be restructured and they could call the office and apply for refunds, the purchasers are still waiting for their refunds, and Trinity Ravine Community Inc has filed for bankruptcy. This hearing will take place in early November 2022.

As we speak now 279 seniors are on the verge of losing their deposits totalling over 17 million dollars.

It was again brought to TCN’s attention that these are seniors, many of whom are: handicapped, suffering from anxiety, stress, and unable to sleep, new immigrants not able to communicate effectively in English, and who have no knowledge of how the legal system works.

Seniors thought that they could buy into a condominium that offered: support services, amenities and programs, service packages, and health and wellness. They thought that by having these services available they would be able to live independently and not have to rely on, or compete for long-term care spaces provided by the government.

Dee said, it is all so confusing, “My understanding is Global Kingdom Ministries launched this real estate project called Trinity Ravine Towers initially, but along the way it changed, there was a name change, it became Trinity Ravine Community.”

“This was a separate entity, not just a name-change and we were not aware of this, so as stakeholders we were not advised that all this was happening behind the scenes which ultimately resulted in the situation we are in now.

This separate entity is going bankrupt, and the church is no longer involved, or so it claims. They are claiming to be victims. Global Kingdom Ministries went from running the show to all of a sudden becoming a separate entity.”

I reached out to one of the pastors of Global Kingdom Ministries, Pastor Kern Kalideen. He was listed in the document as the pastor, so in all fairness, I wanted his side of the story, and this is what Kalideen revealed via email.

“I am not employed by Global Kingdom Ministries. I will have someone send you a statement.” 

That statement came from another Pastor, Bob Johnson, who sent an email that read like this.

“The project you are referencing was under the purview of the Trinity Ravine Community Inc. The following statement is attributable to Global Kingdom Ministries: We were deeply disappointed that Trinity Ravine Community Inc entered into the CCAA process. When this project was first imagined years ago, we were hopeful that it would be beneficial to our community.

Many in our church community invested in this project including: parishioners, pastors, and directors within the church. The unfortunate outcome has resulted in many people suffering personal and financial loss. The church is among those that have incurred significant financial losses as well. The church will be conducting an internal review of the decisions leading up to the CCAA process.”

Toronto Caribbean Newspaper will be following this outcome closely to keep the community informed.