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Outside the La Crosse County Sheriff’s office at the courthouse Tuesday, Madison attorney Mary Turke put in the high bid on behalf of a real estate investment trust.
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Tom Sherwin , and Kathy Scott of the LaCrosse Sheriff's department auction off River Center Plaza Apartments in a hallway in the LaCrosse County Law Enforcement Building to the highest bidder . Dick Riniker photo |
The only other bidder, local developer Bob Thorud, went to $3.75 million before conceding. After the sale, Thorud and Eugene Shumann, another local developer, exchanged contact information with Turke. Thorud, Shumann and Turke declined to comment after the sale.
The apartments and retail space at the ramp, which opened in 1999, went on the auction block after developer Market Square Housing LLC defaulted on its loan and failed to pay it off in the six months granted from the Jan. 9 foreclosure judgment.
According to court documents, Market Square Housing owes more than $5 million, including almost $4 million on unpaid principal on a $4.2 million loan, plus recent interest and attorneys’ fees.
Turke is an attorney for Michael Best and Friedrich law firm, which is representing U.S. Bank N.A., trustee for registered certificate holders of JP Morgan Commercial Mortgage Finance Corp. mortgage pass-through certificates.
The sale won’t be complete until a judge confirms the results of Tuesday’s auction, which is expected to happen by the end of the month. The lender then will be free to sell the property.
According to the La Crosse Assessor’s Office, the development is assessed at $4,562,000.
The 62 apartments are 100 percent rented, with a waiting list until mid-January, said John Unnasch, on-site property manager for court-appointed receiver Peter Ogden of Milwaukee. Four of the eight retail plaza spaces are occupied, he said.
In February, the estimated cost to repair the apartments was between $2 million and $3 million, including between $1.8 million and $2.6 million to fix the windows and brick exterior, and about $250,000 to replace the roof. Additional studies have indicated those repairs might not be as costly, Unnasch said.
Thorud, Shumann and William Kratt bought the former Ridgeview Inn property in 2003, and Thorud formerly was an owner of Cedar Creek Country Club in Onalaska, Wis. His other projects have included Cedar Meadows in Holmen, which he developed with Don Zietlow, condominiums at 4828 Mormon Coulee Road and Countryside Park in Holmen, Wis.
Shumann owns Shumann & Associates in Stoddard, Wis., and is among the owners of Tarkman Associates Inc., which makes vinyl boots in part of the former LaCrosse Footwear factory.
The purchase will have no bearing on a possible suit by U.S. Bank N.A. against the city of La Crosse, said City Attorney Pat Houlihan. Last November, U.S. Bank N.A. filed a claim against La Crosse, contending the city did not ensure the apartments were constructed according to city codes and ordinances.
U.S. Bank N.A. has six months from April 3, when it received the city’s letter denying the claim, to file suit. The local U.S. Bank never was involved in the financing or the claim.
Joan Kent can be reached at (608) 791-8221 or jkent@lacrossetribune.com.
