As it filed foreclosure lawsuits against office buildings in downtown Miami and Pompano Beach, the Miami commercial real estate meltdown continued to hit Bank of America hard in South Florida this month.
According to Miami-Dade County Circuit Court records, Bank of America filed a $59.1 million foreclosure action on Wednesday against Rivergate Investors, Sergio Socolsky, Allen Olazarra and Rodolfo Touzet.
The Miami commercial real estate properties it targets the Rivergate Plaza at 444 Brickell Ave., home to The Capital Grille, and the adjoining building at 77 S.E. 5th St.
The 10-story building at 444 Brickell contains 342,978 square feet. It was built in 1972. Rivergate Investors’ building on Southeast 5th Street has 168,101 square feet in three stories and was built in 1976.
Rivergate Investors bought the buildings for $30 million in 1998. It refinanced the original loan into a $58.5 million mortgage in 2006.
Fort Lauderdale attorney Jeffrey Gilbert, who represents BofA against Rivergate Investors, didn’t return a call seeking comment.
In Broward County Circuit Court, BofA filed a foreclosure action on October 19 against A 4 Holdings and Dr. Steven Gelbard. It targets the 22,320-square-foot office building at 911 E. Atlantic Blvd. in Pompano Beach.
The building was built in 1986; most of the tenants are medical providers and health care companies.
In February 2008, A 4 Holdings bought the building for $4 million and acquired a $3.6 million loan from BofA. It increased that loan to $6.2 million four months later and started renovations. However, construction contractors filed numerous claims against A4 Holdings alleging nonpayment.
Miami attorney Juan A. Gonzalez, who represents BofA against A 4 Holdings, didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment.
Contributed by MLR Realty
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