Original Coverage & Source Attribution: howardchai.substack.com
After becoming insolvent earlier this year, a plan has been outlined for the Moonlight Sonata project in Burnaby to be completed while under creditor protection, according to filings in the Supreme Court of British Columbia.
Moonlight Sonata is a 130-unit townhouse project set for 3588 Wayburne Drive, between the Forest Lawn Cemetary and Canada Way near BCIT.
The 130 units are split between 90 for-sale units and 40 rental units that would be delivered in two phases. The first phase would deliver 51 for-sale units (Phase 1A) and the 40 rental units (Phase 1B), while the second phase would deliver the remaining 39 for-sale units. According to court documents, of the 51 units in Phase 1A, 26 units have been pre-sold for a total value of $35,580,500, while 25 units with a value of around $33,000,000 have not.
Construction is underway and Phase 1A is approximately 78% complete, although construction has been mostly inactive since Q4 2025, according to court documents. The City of Burnaby also holds a covenent requiring Phase 1B (the rental units) to be completed prior to occupancy for Phase 1A.
The project was being developed by Burnaby-based Symphony Homes, a developer of low-density projects that has won several awards, according to its corporate website. They acquired the 2.87-acre property in June 2023. The 3588 Wayburne Drive property is legally owned by Symphony Homes (Moonlight Sonata) Limited and beneficially owned by 1168386 BC Ltd., 1197030 BC Ltd., 1197062 BC Ltd.
According to an affidavit, Gurdeep Singh Kainth and his father Gurmel Singh Kainth are the principals of Symphony Homes.
The lender on the project is private equity real estate investment firm KingSett Capital, which entered into a loan agreement with Symphony Homes in September 2024 for the principal amount of $95,300,000, split between a construction loan of $75,100,000 for Phase One and a construction loan of $20,200,000 for Phase Two.
Construction began in 2024 and KingSett had advanced $52,542,533 by December 16, 2025, before it ceased funding. Symphony says KingSett issued a formal demand for payment in May 2026 claiming a debt of over $59 million, and advised later that month that they intended to place the project under creditor protection.
Both Symphony Homes and KingSett Capital filed dueling applications seeking creditor protection under the federal Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), with differing degrees of power that the court-appointed Monitor would have. After Symphony agreed to cooperate, KingSett consented to the application filed by Symphony and the application was granted by the court on June 19.
In July, KingSett Capital then filed an affidavit saying that there had been discrepancies regarding both the presale deposits and number of presale agreements that Symphony had reported to them.
Note: The second half of this article, which is exclusive to paid subscribers, details the disputes between Symphony and KingSett as well as the RFP process that resulted in Townline being selected to complete the project, including the other bidders and their proposals. Annual paid subscriptions are currently 20% off.
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