Northland Investment Corp.’s shrunken downtown Hartford office-tower portfolio lost its last major trophy – CityPlace II.
For the third time in less than two years the Massachusetts real estate firm has lost another major office building to foreclosure, sources familiar with the matter confirmed Wednesday to HartfordBusiness.com.
LNR Property took title to the 18-story complex on Tuesday after trying to foreclose on the office building for almost three years, sources said.
For Northland, the loss of CityPlace II represents one of the last signature office towers the company owned in Hartford. The real estate empire Northland amassed over the last decade in the city has officially been toppled.
Earlier this year, Northland lost its Goodwin Square office tower, which also included the Goodwin Hotel, to foreclosure. In 2011, lenders seized Northland’s Class A Metro Center office tower.
Northland’s remaining Hartford portfolio consists of two smaller office buildings–the 309,686 square foot Standard Building at 242 Trumbull St. and 30,647 square foot Crosthwaite building at 100 Allyn St.—and the Hartford 21 mixed-use residential/retail tower.
Northland did not immediately respond to a request Wednesday for comment. The company has made very little public comment about its financial difficulties in Hartford over the last few years. In the limited prepared statements the company has issued through a public relations firm, company officials have complained about their inability to renegotiate mortgage loans on their properties that were coming due.
The loans on all three Northland properties lost to foreclosure were securitized and sold to the secondary market, which makes it difficult for borrowers to renegotiate terms when a loan reaches maturity.
Making matters more difficult for Northland was the fact that the mortgages were all underwater, meaning Northland owed more on their loans than their properties were worth. That makes renegotiating the loans even more difficult.
