Judge orders winery returned to previous owner
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The Chinese industrialists who purchased the Eagle Point Winery and its luxurious modern castle on the river less than three years ago have defaulted on their loan and the ownership of the properties has reverted to the former owner.
In a foreclosure judgment issued Oct. 14, Ontario Superior Court Justice Paul Kane ordered that ownership of the winery near Escott, the mansion at 697 Thousand Islands Parkway and seven related properties return to Terry S. Dixon.
The court also ordered the Chinese interests, which operate under the name of CN-CA Cultural Centre Inc., to pay Dixon $13.54 million, which is the balance of the loan, interest and costs.
Reached at his home in Morriston, Fla., Dixon, 77, was reluctant to talk about the foreclosure, saying "it's our private lives" but he confirmed the properties are back in his hands.
"We just took the property back and we're going to resume operations as previously planned," Dixon said.
Asked whether he planned to put the properties back on the market, Dixon said plans are still up in the air.
"We really don't know what we're going to do yet," said Dixon, a multi-millionaire who made his money with a string of car dealerships in the Western United States.
Tom Lawler, operations manager of the Eagle Point properties, was equally tight-lipped, insisting that any transactions between the Chinese and the Dixons were their business, and nobody else's.
"It's no one's concern. It's between two individuals so it's not something for the public," he said in an interview in October, shortly before the foreclosure.
On Thursday, the winery was vacant with no cars in the lot or signs of activity. Telephone callers to the Eagle Point winery are greeted by a recorded message saying the winery is closed and referring callers for CN-CA Cultural Centre to an Ottawa number. That number is a voicemail inviting callers to leave a message. Messages were not returned Thursday.
The Eagle Point properties include the mansion on the St. Lawrence River, which was listed for sale at $18 million before Dixon sold the properties to the Chinese interests. The house, hailed as the "grandest of modern-day mansions in the Thousand Islands," features six bedrooms, all with ensuites, three kitchens and such touches as a Portuguese marble bath tub, a custom sink shaped like a golf club and a Mexican chandelier. The 13,700-sq.-ft. house sits with a 7,000 sq. ft. house for visitors, all on a 14-acre riverfront property with five man-made waterfalls. It took five years to build.
The winery on the Escott-Rockport Road is 600 acres with other farm property nearby.
When Chinese industrialist Du Zhongyi of Wuhai, China, purchased the mansion and winery in March, 2012, the transaction was heralded as the start of Chinese cash flowing into the Thousand Islands.
Du announced plans for a 80-home subdivision on the winery property, which would be marketed to Chinese millionaries who wanted a place in Canada. The luxury subdivision was to be next to an "exclusive, high-end" golf course.
At the time, Lawler estimated the subdivision and golf course would be worth "upwards of $130 million."
Du, a Chinese coal producer, was rumoured to have paid $20 million for the Eagle Point properties. If accurate, that means that Du left about $6 million on the table when he walked away from the deal with Dixon.