A receiver has been appointed to oversee Downtown’s troubled KeyBank building after its owner failed to repay its loan, according to court documents.
The move is in response to a suit filed by The Ardent Companies of Atlanta against Baruch Broad Street LLC, which borrowed $11.8 million on Jan. 21, 2022, to buy the 21-story tower at 88 E. Broad St.
Ardent claimed in the suit that Baruch Broad Street, affiliated with the New York investment firm Zamir Equities, failed to repay the loan in its entirety by its due date on Jan. 21, 2024. Ardent claims Zamir owed $9.3 million on the loan when Ardent filed the suit on April 19.
More: Do KeyBank tower problems spell trouble for Downtown offices?
Franklin County Judge Bill Sperlazza on Tuesday appointed Columbus attorney Myron Terlecky as receiver of the property.
The appointment follows the departure of many of the building’s tenants including the offices of its namesake, KeyBank, and the building’s largest tenant, the Ohio Auditor’s Office.
Tenants complained that heating and cooling have been inconsistent, the building has been plagued with water leaks and janitorial services have been spotty.
In a document filed with the court this week, Michelle Fowler, a managing director at Ardent, said she found the property in an “abysmal state” on a recent visit. Fowler said one elevator was stuck, vendors refuse checks from Zamir because they bounce, and the city of Columbus threatened to turn off water to the building because the bills hadn’t been paid.
Fowler said Ardent paid $69,000 to cover unpaid bills and “to keep the Property from falling into further disrepair.”
Fowler told the court that Ardent gets “only sporadic and incomplete information from the Borrower, who has demonstrated, repeatedly, its disinterest in properly caring for the Property.”
jweiker@dispatch.com
@JimWeiker
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Franklin County names receiver for KeyBank building after unpaid loan