Sue Potter said after the mortgage lender took over, it offered to resell her the condo unit for $200,000 more than she originally paid, but she refused. (Steve Fischer/CBC)

People who bought condominium units in a new Glebe "green" building are taking the developer to court after the project was seized by a mortgage lender.

The buyers hope that will help them recover the thousands of dollars spent on upgrades that they stand to lose after their purchase agreements were cancelled in August.

"This is about the only avenue it seems we have," said Sue Potter, who bought one of 25 units in the EcoCité on the Canal development on Bank Street across from Lansdowne Park almost five years ago. The building had been marketed as a green development featuring geothermal heating, rooftop gardens, low-flow toilets and sustainably harvested building materials.

EcoCité Developments announced in August that all purchase agreements were being cancelled after the debt-ridden project was taken over by the mortgage lender just as it was nearing completion.

Potter said after the mortgage lender took over, it offered to resell her condo unit for $200,000 more than she originally paid, but she refused.

She believes that given all the headaches that the building has given purchasers, most of the other buyers will walk away too.

The buyers expect to get back the deposit they paid, but not thousands of dollars they spent to upgrade features such as flooring.

In order to recover that money, Potter said, they have decided to go collectively to small claims court in January.

Christopher Sweetnam-Holmes, founder and principal of EcoCité Developments, said the situation is "an unfortunate legal and financial problem" that the company will do whatever it can to resolve in an amicable way.

He added that he doesn't think there will be any trouble re-selling the condo units.

The project's completion date had been delayed several times before the building was seized and owners had most recently been told they could move in on Labour Day weekend.

In August, Sweetnam-Holmes blamed the credit crisis for the situation and assured owners they wouldn't lose any money. At that point, seven of the 25 units in the EcoCité building remained unsold. Their prices were listed between $450,000 and $675,000.