Many people around here did the happy dance back around September when it was announced that the Centerpoint Condominium tower had been sold. The talk of bringing luxury rentals to the Mill Avenue District was welcomed with open arms by business owners, city leaders and just about anyone else watching this failed project.
It is being reported that the deal Centerpoint Tower deal has hit a snag and that there is an issue with approximately $20 million in liens on the property.
According to the Business Journal article, “the question surfaces about whether any viable deal is possible given the title issues.”
This has to be a huge bummer to MANY people on the developers side, the side of the title company ( not) insuring the transaction and to the many people looking forward to the completion of Centerpoint.
The story says the developer is upset with Fidelity National Title for not allowing them to proceed. Apparently, there are claims of numerous contractors and subcontractors having filed more than $21 million in mechanics liens against the Centerpoint project.
Obviously, there are two sides to every story. I sincerely doubt that Fidelity doesn’t want to close this deal and I am pretty sure Zaremba wants it to close. I spoke with a hotdog at Fidelity today and was told they don’t have a comment at this time. Once that changes, I’ll try to update the information. Interestingly enough, There is a great view of Centerpoint from the Fidelity corporate offices at Hayden Ferry. I’m sure they will be keeping a very close eye on the situation.
For now, we can continue to see a vacant Centerpoint Tower. Hopefully, the lawyers figure out exactly what is next and there is a resolution to this mess soon. Anyone got an extra $20 million laying around to help get er’ done?
As someone who walks by these buildings every day, it’s frustrating that they are being grossly under utilized. Of course, why didn’t any one mention the title problems when they were going out of business? It’s likely the cash infusion has sussed out people who have already written off these monstrosities as a loss, and are looking for a pay day. I’m confident capitalism will work everything out in due time.
I agree, capitalism should work everything out… After the lawyers have their say.
The liens / title issues are probably from people that are owed money for work and they would not have been a problem when the last title insurance was issued.
This is going to be very interesting to watch. It might be painful for some but it is sure to be interesting.