Metro Square foreclosure auction canceled

Office park on Philips Highway in Jacksonville now up for bid on Dec. 18. manager says.


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  • | 5:10 a.m. December 10, 2018
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The Metro Square office park along Philips Highway at Emerson Street.
The Metro Square office park along Philips Highway at Emerson Street.
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The Duval County foreclosure auction scheduled Thursday of the Metro Square office park along Philips Highway at Emerson Street in Jacksonville was canceled.

It’s the second time the auction has been canceled. The first was Aug. 30.

No information about a new auction date is on the clerk of courts website, but Craig Meek of The Meek Companies, the firm that manages the center, said the auction is rescheduled for Dec. 18.

According to Duval court filings, co-defendants Metro Park Holdings LLC, Hart Advisors Group LLC, Michael Fischer and unknown tenants failed to make payments on a $48 million mortgage secured in 2007.
Court documents show the loan’s maturity date, March 11, 2017, passed without it being paid off. As of May, the claim increased to $57 million because of interest, late fees, attorney’s fees and other costs.

The case is being heard by Circuit Judge Kevin Blazs, who ordered the property foreclosed May 14.

The seven buildings at the site total about 375,000 square feet on four parcels.

Current tenants include office users, an ice rink, a climbing gym, a nondenominational church and more.

Metro Park Holdings LLC, whose address is the same as the office park, is directed by Fischer, one of the co-defendants.

Meek said previously that Fischer, president of Montreal, Canada-based Moteli Property Group, is one of several Canadian investors who purchased the property in 2007 for $56 million.

The plaintiffs in the case include U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee of the original commercial mortgage acquired through Bank of America and Torchlight Loan Services.

The attorney for the defendants, Murray Silverstein of Tampa, did not return calls or emails.

 

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