The shuttered former Boyle Street Community Services building sits on land just northeast of Rogers Place. The Katz Group, which has led development of Edmonton's Rogers Place and the surrounding Ice District, bought the property and is now suing Boyle Street Community Services over breach of contract. A subsidiary company of the Katz Group is suing a local agency that provides services to the city's homeless population for breach of contract.
Meanwhile, Boyle Street argues in its own filings that the Katz Group is trying to get out of its commitment to help with the relocation now that it has acquired the downtown property it repeatedly offered to buy from the social agency.Katz Group Real Estate is part of the Katz Group, a private conglomerate founded by Daryl Katz, the billionaire owner of the Edmonton Oilers.
OEG Inc., formerly known as Oilers Entertainment Group, is another part of the Katz Group enterprise. Along with the construction of Rogers Place, the downtown arena where the Edmonton Oilers play, the Katz Group has led development of the surrounding area, which is now known as the Ice District. The sale and donation were publicly announced, and a capital campaign was launched to fundraise $28.5 million for the project — with at least $8.5 million needed at a minimum to move ahead.But according to court documents, Katz Group and Boyle Street also signed an agreement for a "backstop gift," agreeing that if Boyle Street was unable to meet its fundraising goal on its own during the campaign, the Katz Group would give it an extra $5 million.
It's also alleged that Boyle Street failed to provide regular updates on the status of the fundraising efforts.