St. Stephen might need a new developer to build a hotel. Local businessman Tom McFarlane announced more than a decade ago that his company, Spur Line Properties Inc., would build a Best Western hotel with restaurant and other amenities on the St. Croix riverbank on land diagonally across from the Garcelon Civic Center. Today, snow covers the site, while contractors and investors have filed legal action to recover more than $2 million they say that Spur Line owes them.
      Nelkor Holdings Inc. of Chatham, Ont., filed an application in Saint John Court of King's Bench to appoint a receiver, a step towards bankruptcy, in an attempt to recover $927,593 it claims that Spur Line still owes on loans totalling $1.2 million advanced in 2019 and 2020. The aggregate loan matured October 22, 2020, but Nelkor contends, according to documents filed with the court clerk, that Spur Line had made no payments since September 4, 2021.
      In October, Justice Darrell Stephenson issued judgments of $725,489 in favor of Bird Construction Group of Saint John and $618,049 in favor of Celtic Construction Inc. of British Columbia. Spur Line named Bird Construction general contractor at the beginning of the hotel project. Celtic Construction claims that Spur Line engaged the company for mechanical, electrical and site services and for infrastructure. According to documents filed by counsel for Celtic Construction, "McFarlane negligently or fraudulently misrepresented to Celtic the true state of the financing of the project." Celtic and Bird registered liens against Spur Line on September 22, 2022, according to documents filed at the court clerk's office.
      Counsel for Ocean Steel Rebar Limited of Saint John filed documents on February 2 this year claiming $108,680 still owed for materials and work completed by May 30, 2022, at the proposed hotel site in St. Stephen. On October 25 this year, the court extended the time to serve the notice of action and statement of claim related to this suit to March 31, 2024. According to legal filings, McFarlane, sole director of Spur Line Properties, advised that he was "out of town" and said that he would not cooperate with attempts to serve documents. "The evidence indicates that the defendant is intentionally evading service," counsel for Ocean Steel contends.
      Fundy Contractors Limited, a Charlotte County company, filed suit last year claiming $646,184 from August 24, 2021, to October 5, 2021. The documents filed by late November did not indicate the disposition of this action.
      Seaside Plumbing and Mechanical Inc. of Saint John filed a suit for $34,011 including harmonized sales tax (HST) it claims that Spur Line Properties failed to pay. Spur Line was noted in default on December 22, 2022, and McFarlane on January 5, 2023, according to court documents.
      On January 5 this year, the local company Southwest Electric & Security Inc. filed a small claim against Spur Line Properties. Details were not immediately available.
     

Lawyers busier than contractors
      Depending on how the dust settles, it could be a sad end to a dream for downtown St. Stephen: a top line hotel to leverage economic opportunities connected to the shiny and new Garcelon Civic Center.
      The project seemed to get off to a slow start, with construction not starting in earnest till 2022 when a pile driver, finally, started putting the underground footings into place. Some concrete was poured - and then it stopped. Security fencing still surrounds the site but it looks forlorn, with lawyers apparently busier than construction crews.
      McFarlane did not respond to an inquiry sent via the email address listed on Spur Line Properties' website.
      In an interview, Mayor Allan MacEachern did not wish to say much about the status of the hotel project. Ian Williams, president of the Future St. Stephen development agency, makes brief references in monthly reports to the municipal district council. Williams reported on November 29 that he "and a group of investors and developers continue to have ongoing discussions on hotel and housing projects." Responding to a question from Councillor Marg Harding, Williams said it was "public knowledge" that a trustee was appointed. "I don't know how much I'm allowed to disclose," Williams said, but added, "I'm bugging the guy enough to make sure that we are up to date constantly on what's going on."
      "I think it's really, really important that we have a hotel in this town," Harding says, adding that she sees "a missed opportunity" every time she drives past the Garcelon Civic Center.