The bank that holds the $21.5 million mortgage on Chase Tower South downtown is asking a U.S. District Court to foreclose on the 21-story high-rise, arguing that the owners of the building at 451 Florida St. have not paid their monthly note since Oct. 1, 2015.
In court documents filed April 19, U.S. Bank National Association says Florida Street Holdings—the New York limited liability company that has owned the building since 2007—has defaulted on its loan agreement and owes the bank more than $22 million, including interest payments at a rate of 6.5%, but not including attorney’s fees.
“Borrower has made a partial payment subsequent to March 1, 2016,” court documents filed by the bank say. “However, the loan remains in default.”
Court documents, though heavy on technical details of the nine-year-old mortgage agreement, do not offer any insight into dealings between the borrower or the lenders. Nor do they shed any light on why Florida Street Holdings has allegedly failed to pay its note. The firm has yet to file a legal response to the foreclosure motion and could not be reached for comment this morning.
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 LLC acquired the 333,000-square-foot building in Dec. 2007, financing the purchase with a $21.5 million loan now held by U.S. Bank N.A.
Chase Tower South, though a Class A property in the heart of downtown, is only about 76% occupied 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 Tower North is separately owned by Wampold Companies.
—Stephanie Riegel
