More coverage about the 1 Bloor development. Today, Bazi’s issued a news release that clarified their position on the legal battle that is taking place between them and their loan holders. What’s surprising is the news release leaked out the name of their hotel partner – Sofitel.

More information is found at the Toronto Star, including Bazi’s press release.

Given the recent financing, legal and public relations challenges currently affecting Bazi’s, I would not be surprised if some of their retailers and even Sofitel pull their support if a resolution is not found quickly.

I’ve noticed for quite some time that this is one of my most read posts on my blog. It seems there is a lot of pent-up interest in the status of this condo development project. The 1 Bloor East, or 1BE as it’s known on the forums, is a large, luxury development at the corner of Yonge and Bloor. The developer is Bazis from Kazakhstan.The original buildings have been demolished and the grounds have been leveled and cleared before the winter. However, the lot has remained dormant of construction activity for quite some time.

Two articles have recently commented on the lack of building activity on the site. Toronto Life published a long article that confirms a lot of the Urban Toronto rumors – the financing of the building and ownership of the laneway is tied up with Lehman Brothers. Lehman went bankrupt last year and the ownership rights are being fought out in US courts. This is also apparent from the City of Toronto filing and an article from Global News.

The latest information is always available at the Urban Toronto forum, be sure to navigate to the last page of the thread – it’s 250 pages at last count.