Värde Partners is foreclosing on the owner of a Coral Gables office complex for allegedly defaulting on a $68.9 million mortgage. Since August, the amount owed ballooned to $77.4 million, including accrued interest and late fees, according to a foreclosure complaint filed this week in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court.
The allegedly defaulted loan is secured by Columbus Center, a 2.5-acre site with two buildings at 1 Alhambra Plaza. It is owned by an affiliate of San Antonio, Texas-based Affinius Capital, led by CEO Len O’Donnell.
Anne Marie Gamez, Värde’s lawyer, declined comment. Affinius and its lawyer, Conor Shary, did not respond to voicemails and emails seeking comment.
Värde, a Minneapolis-based global investment firm led by co-CEOs Ilfryn Carstairs and Brad Bauer, alleges Affinius defaulted on the note in March by failing to obtain a “rate cap agreement,” the lawsuit states. Such agreements protect borrowers from unexpected payment increases from rising floating interest rates that would negatively impact a property’s net operating income.
Värde played hardball, rejecting Affinius’ request to restructure the loan, and accelerated the maturity date to March 15, the lawsuit shows. Affinius was unable to come up with a $2.4 million payment, plus $2.5 million to be placed in a reserve account to cover new accrued interest, the complaint alleges. By August, Affinius allegedly had stopped making monthly payments.
The loan dates back to the late 20th Century. In 1989, Affinius obtained a $10.6 million loan that financed its purchase of Columbus Center, which was completed that year, records show. The complex consists of a 14-story mid-rise building and an eight-story low-rise building.
Over the next three decades, the loan amount was increased four times. The most recent increase occurred in 2020, when the mortgage grew to $71.5 million, records show. A Värde affiliate acquired the loan a year later.
Värde and its subsidiary, Atlanta-based lender Trimont, have been involved in a handful of notable foreclosure actions this year.
In August, a Trimont affiliate sued the owner of One Financial Plaza, a 28-story office tower in Fort Lauderdale, for allegedly defaulting on a $59.2 million mortgage. The foreclosure complaint, filed in Broward County Circuit Court, alleged that an affiliate of Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania-based Alliance HP failed to repay the loan when it matured on July 29 after granting the borrower two extensions.
Trimont acquired the mortgage from a Värde affiliate in 2021, records show.
In April, Trimont acquired the Kayak Miami Beach hotel in South Beach for $13.6 million in a deed in lieu of foreclosure sale. Trimont paid roughly $260,000 less than the outstanding mortgage that the seller owed Värde, which had filed a foreclosure lawsuit last year.
Trimont sold the 51-key hotel in May for $12.8 million to New York-based Blue Suede Hospitality.
