An Ottawa office building already stripped down for conversion into 143 rental units has been placed into receivership, putting an unusually advanced office-to-residential project into court-supervised restructuring.

The seven-storey, 106K-SF building at 495 Richmond Rd. is owned by DOV (495 Richmond) Limited. The Ontario Superior Court appointed Goldhar & Associates as receiver Sept. 17 on an application from secured lender Addenda Capital.

According to the court endorsement, about $25.6M in principal remained outstanding in March, and DOV later missed monthly interest payments in June, July and August.

The dispute goes beyond the debt. Addenda said it learned after inspecting the property that DOV had begun converting the building to rental housing around October 2025 without the lender’s consent. The interior had been substantially demolished, leaving primarily the concrete structure and building envelope.

A City of Ottawa application filed in November 2025 proposed converting the existing building into 143 residential units without expanding its footprint.

DOV did not oppose the receivership, although its lawyer told the court the company disputes some allegations in Addenda’s materials.

The receivership order gives Goldhar authority to market the property and solicit offers, although no formal sale process has yet been launched.

Across Canada, office conversions have become a more common response to stubborn vacancy and housing shortages, particularly in older buildings that are increasingly difficult to lease. Calgary has been the most aggressive market, using incentives to remove obsolete downtown office space.