Lender interested in lauderdale site
By Sarah Talalay |
South Florida
Sun-Sentinel
August 6, 2008
A foreclosure auction for Las Olas Riverfront was put on hold Tuesday, when an interested lender reached a last-minute agreement to take over the troubled retail and restaurant complex.
A lender of the Fort Lauderdale retail complex, Madeleine L.L.C., filed an emergency motion late Monday in Broward County Circuit Court to postpone the auction so it could exercise its right to purchase the loan on the property. Madeleine, an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management in New York, agreed to buy the loan for $21.8 million from senior lender, ACF Riverfront, which took over the debt on the property after foreclosure proceedings began earlier this year.
If the sale closes within 10 days, the complex's owner, Las Olas Riverfront Holdings, agreed to transfer the property to Madeleine in exchange for being released from any further liability.
"It was a fair outcome for all parties involved," said Richard E. Berman, a Fort Lauderdale attorney representing Boca Developers and its founders Brian Street and James Cohen.
Boca Developers of Deerfield Beach bought the 10-year-old complex in 2005 for $31.9 million from developer Michael Swerdlow, with the intention of turning it into three towers that would include a hotel, offices and condos.
But with the real estate downturn, the plans were halted. Wachovia Bank sued Las Olas Riverfront Holdings in March to begin foreclosure proceedings. The bank claimed the company defaulted on a $22 million mortgage taken last September. ACF Riverfront subsequently took over the debt and replaced the bank in the foreclosure suit.
In a statement released on behalf of ACF and Madeleine, Marc J. Gurell, a partner with the law firm Seyfarth Shaw, declined to comment beyond acknowledging that the auction was postponed because of the pending agreement.
It's unclear what will happen with the property. The complex has drawn the interest of developer Terry Stiles.
"We're trying to be involved," Stiles said. "Because we own the property across the street, we've had interest in the property for three years."
Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle said the owner is obligated to operate it as a retail complex through 2011. He said he is pleased the property has attracted the interest of Stiles and others. "Somebody will probably try to reconfigure it," he said.
Original tenant, Argenti Designer Jewelers owner Mark Silver, said he looks forward to a new owner maintaining the complex.
"I can only hope that whoever buys it has a vision of what's right to do," Silver said. "Whoever buys it or develops it, I'm praying they do the right thing for the community."
Copyright © 2008, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
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