The validity of Core Urban’s decision to end the lease of Zen Lounge at 69 John Street South, and immediate eviction of the notorious nightclub will be decided by an arbitrator, following the decision of The Superior Court of Ontario to decline to intervene.
Justice Byrdena MacNeil declined to intervene, ruling that the dispute must proceed to arbitration as stipulated in the commercial lease agreement. The judge cited the seriousness of the allegations involved, noting the risk to the safety of other tenants as a result of the alleged actions.
Zen Lounge was evicted following a massive shooting incident involving club patrons on August 30, 2025, with Core Urban initially citing outstanding rent arrears.
In the days that followed, evidence revealed individuals involved in the shooting was allowed into the nightclub through a rear door without being checked for weapons, and that Zen was allegedly operating as an illegal strip club.
The shooting occurred at approximately 12:50 a.m. at the rear entrance of the nightclub, located on the corner of Bowen Street and Jackson Street East.
The incident resulted in three people wounded and caused significant damage to the four-storey structure at 69 John Street South, with bullets also striking nearby residential buildings, including the Royal Connaught condos and the Landmark Place apartments.
Hamilton Police estimated that between 80 and 100 bullets were discharged, and that at least one assault rifle was among the weapons used.
In the week that followed the shooting, the landlord, Core Urban LP, evicted Zen Lounge citing outstanding rent arrears.
On September 5, Core Urban posted the following notice to the other tenants of the building.
“To the people and companies that enjoy 69 John,
The events of the past weekend that took place from Zen’s operation are shocking. A downtown in fear is not the Hamilton we know, or one we want to foster. Like you, we want the downtown to feel and be safe.
Our (Core Urban) goal is to promote downtown and provide opportunities through spaces for people and businesses to thrive in our community.
Zen is not building our community up; it is bringing it down.
Zen is now closed.
Thank you for continuing to support the downtown. Your commitment to our community makes a material difference in our City.
Sincerely,“
Zen Lounge retained legal counsel and applied to the Superior Court for relief, arguing they should be permitted to continue operating pending a full dispute resolution.
In a 58-paragraph decision declining to exercise the Court’s equitable jurisdiction to relieve against forfeiture, Justice MacNeil emphasized that the alleged breaches were substantial enough to allow the forfeiture to stand pending arbitration.
Core Urban produced surveillance video that revealed the nightclub permitted three individuals to bypass security and enter through the rear entrance. The video showed the shooting occurred when those individuals exited the rear entrance.
Justice MacNeil wrote that allowing persons to enter the premises with firearms unchecked “appears to have led to the [shooting] Incident, thereby putting the personal safety of patrons and others at risk and causing damage to the Landlord’s building.”
At the same time as the nightclub was seeking a Court order, the City of Hamilton delivered an Administrative Penalty Notice in the amount of $300.00 “on the grounds that the Tenant had been operating a strip club out of the Premises without a license to operate an adult entertainment facility.”
“Further, if the Tenant was operating an unlicensed strip club after hours, that would also constitute a very substantial breach of the Lease,” Justice MacNeil wrote. “Accordingly, I decline to exercise the Court’s equitable jurisdiction and relieve against forfeiture.”
The Hamilton Police investigation of the shooting and the City of Hamilton investigations of alleged bylaw breaches are both ongoing.
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Published: October 15, 2025
Last updated: October 15, 2025
Author: Joey Coleman
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