A federal district judge has foreclosed on the Chase South Tower building at 451 Florida St. downtown.
In a ruling signed April 29, U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick ordered the U.S. Marshals service for the Middle District of Louisiana to seize and sell the 21-story high-rise in order to satisfy some $22 million owed to lenders.
Corporate Realty has been appointed as the keeper of the property for the time being. Reached by phone this afternoon, property manager Michelle Casi declined to comment on the situation.
The bank that holds the mortgage on the building, U.S. Bank National Association, filed suit earlier this spring against the building’s owners—a New York-based investment group, Florida Street Holdings—for defaulting on their loan agreement. According to court documents, Florida Street Holdings stopped paying its note in October 2015 and owes the bank $22 million, including interest though not counting attorney’s fees.
Court documents, though heavy on technical details of the nine-year-old mortgage agreement, did not offer any insight into dealings between the borrower or the lenders. Nor did they shed any light on why Florida Street Holdings failed to pay its note.
Florida Street Holdings was formed by a group of New York investors, including Sam Weiss, Mayer Steg, Toby Mandel, Abraham Schwartz and Joseph Brunner. The limited liability company acquired the 333,000-square-foot building in December 2007, financing the purchase with a $21.5 million loan now held by U.S. Bank National Association.
Chase South Tower, though a Class A property in the heart of downtown with average lease rates of $20 per square foot, is only about 79% occupied—far below average for the downtown submarket—and is currently advertising some 84,000 square feet of available space. Until recently, the Camelot Club occupied nearly 20% of that space. The long-time private dining club closed in March.
The adjoining Chase North Tower, which now is known as Riverside North Tower, is separately owned by Wampold Companies.
—Stephanie Riegel
