Courtesy of ctvbc.ca

Thanks to a clause in their contracts, the people who have already paid to live in a huge Surrey condominium that was engulfed by fire won't be getting their money back, the developer said Sunday.

Instead they'll have to hold tight while the damage is assessed and Phase Two of the Quattro buildings in Whalley is rebuilt -- or sell their stake to someone else, said developer Charan Sethi.

"If you want to assign the contract to someone else, you can do that," said Sethi at a town hall meeting for Quattro buyers. "We'll put a system in places so you can do so."

The building was fully insured, and unlike other pre-sale projects that have hit bumps, any extra costs won't be passed on to the buyer, he said.

Surrey hinged the promise of revitalizing the neighbourhood on the $625-million condominium project, the largest-ever commercial and residential development the city had ever seen.

More than 100 units had sold out within hours when the project went on the market. Some 116 buyers were planning to move into their units in the spring.

Instead, a fire broke out on Phase Two of Quattro on October 2, sending massive plumes of smoke into the sky and threatening to engulf nearby buildings as well.

The three-alarm fire knocked out power to over 4,000 people and threatened to topple a large construction crane.

Investigators are still trying to determine what caused the blaze, which they're saying was suspicious.

The contract clause allows for an extension beyond the initial completion date that is equal to the time it takes to repair or rebuild the building in the case of a fire. It also allows the developer a period of 120 days if there is a fire.

Other Surrey developments have had trouble not because of the fire, but because of a global credit freeze.

The developer of the Infinity project near King George SkyTrain Station filed for bankruptcy protection after one of its financial backers, Lehman Bros., went under.

The developer, Jung Developments says it's in negotiations with three local big name developers, and says it's confident that it will find the $100 million extra needed to finish the project.

Other pre-sale condominiums have run out of money as well, leaving some buyers in the lurch.

Vancouver-based Eden group canceled two condo projects due to projected cost overruns before they reached construction. Another of its condos, The Sophia, is nearing completion in the hands of a receiver.