Digram Facing Receivership On 55-Acre Barrie Fairgrounds Redevelopment

Digram Developments, working through its Green World Construction unit, is facing serious trouble. The company planned to turn Barrie’s old fairgrounds—about 55 acres at Essa Road and Wood Street near Highway 400—into a major mixed-use community. This project was to include up to nine towers reaching 40 storeys, almost 3,000 condo units, nearly 300 townhomes, shops, and even a school. But now, the whole project is under receivership, putting that vision in doubt.

Digram acquired part of the site in April 2022, borrowing more than $48 million from the seller, Osmington Capital Partners, through a vendor take-back mortgage. The money was supposed to fuel the huge build-out. Before that, Osmington had been working on the plan since 2020 and had held discussions with the city and public in 2023. They had hoped to use special tools to speed things up but hit delays after provincial rules changed.

By spring 2024, Digram had struggled to make loan payments on time. The lenders issued a demand in April and gave the company just a month to sort out another funding source. Digram managed to make some weekly payments through early 2025 but stopped paying in late February. A second formal demand followed on April 4.

On May 20, the Ontario Superior Court granted the receivership application. As of April, Digram owed roughly $31.7 million to the main lenders. In addition, MarshallZehr, another lender, held a $13.3 million mortgage on the site. The company also fell behind on property taxes to the City of Barrie, and MarshallZehr agreed to forward interest it received to cover those taxes.

With receivership in place, a court-ordered sale is likely. The project has not begun construction, so the court could invite other developers to take over the site. The future now depends on whether a new buyer steps forward to revive or reshape the plan.

Digram Developments did not respond to media inquiries. As the sale process moves forward, the Barrie community will be watching closely to see if the project lives on—or if the fairgrounds’ long-held hopes fade away.