Hay River highrise no longer for sale in tax auction

Hay River's Mackenzie Place highrise is no longer set to be sold in a town tax auction today.

The property at 3 Capital Drive was set to be auctioned off Thursday morning but by 2 p.m. Wednesday, the town of Hay River posted to Facebook that the property was removed from the auction.

"Multiple registrations against the property have been identified," the statement reads.

The town's legal counsel, the statement continued, will have to provide "appropriate notice" of their intent to auction. That means the property's sale will be scheduled for a "future date."

The town originally asked for a $1.45 million minimum bid on the building.

Glenn Smith, Hay River's senior administrative officer,was not immediately available for an interview.But he told Cabin Radio that the outstanding arrears on the property amount to $170,000.

A tax auction, according to the N.W.T.'s Property Assessment and Taxation Act, is a public auction for all properties that are in arrears.

Closed since 2019

In 2019, one of the units in the upper floors of the highrise caught fire, displacing over 150 people. The building, with plywood covering both entrances, has been not been open to residents since then.

Most former residents found housing, but some are still couch surfing or homeless. Five people left the territory altogether after the fire, because of the lack of affordable housing.

In March, RCMP called off the investigation into the origins of the Hay River highrise fire even though, days after the fire started, officers concluded the fire was set deliberately.

After the fire, the N.W.T. government issued a public health order to keep the highrise closed due to asbestos and mould found in the building. Other security issues, like unsafe balconies and a damaged fire alarm system, were also identified.

Harry Satdeo, the owner of the Mackenzie Place highrise, could not be reached for comment.

He told NNSLMedia in March he was optimistic the highrise would reopenafter asking for federal funding.