Architect suing Summerside mall developer

The architect who designed the Summerside Waterfront Mall redevelopment is suing the mall's Irish owner for almost $1 million.

Coles Associates filed its lawsuit against the Oran Group in June after filing a lien on the mall for $934,000last November to force payment for work Coles said it did on the $20-million project.

Court documents show how a positive business relationship deteriorated as the bills started to mount.

Oran Group's involvement with the Summerside Mall began almost two years ago.

The Irish company announced it was buying the shopping centre and plans were unveiled that would see 100 condominiums built on top of the extensively renovated mall.

Coles Associates,aCharlottetown-based firm,was hired to draw up plans for the redevelopment.

Coles said by the summer of 2006, it was owed $400,000 for work done for the Oran Group.

In an e-mail to Oran, now in the court file, Douglas Coles, a corporate officer with architecture firm,said his bank was getting "skittish" about the large bill owed by Oran Group.

Eoin Little of the Oran Group wrote back to say he would be working on that over the coming days.

Coles said his company continued to work on the mall and the bills kept piling up.

In court documents, the Oran Group disputes the $934,000, saying Coles went ahead on various phases of the project without prior authorization.

The Irish company said it looks forward to proving its case in court. A one-week trial is scheduled for February.

Neither side was prepared to discuss the case with CBC News.

The mall development is now on hold and the Oran Group refuses to discuss the future of the mall project.