The Lucas County treasurer has again filed for foreclosure against the out-of-town owner of the downtown Spitzer, Fifth Third Center, and Port Lawrence buildings for failure to pay his property taxes.
California resident Koray Ergur, whose Ergur Private Equity Group acquired the buildings in 2009, 2008, and 2015, respectively, owes a combined $89,507 in taxes, Lucas County property records show. The Fifth Third Center is comprised of the Nicholas Building, the Annex Building, and the Hulches Building.
Treasurer Lindsay Webb filed the foreclosure in Lucas County Common Pleas Court on Jan. 3, stating the taxes on the five properties had not been paid for more than a year after they were certified delinquent.
Five days later, the Lucas County Land Bank filed a motion in its ongoing civil case against Mr. Ergur asking the court to appoint a receiver to take ownership of the five vacant properties, which sit on or near the corner of Madison Avenue and Huron Street.
The land bank sued Mr. Ergur in April, alleging Ergur Private Equity Group fraudulently and repeatedly transferred ownership of the buildings in an effort to hinder, delay, or defraud its creditors.
Common Pleas Court Judge Michael Goulding ruled in favor of the land bank by default in June, stating that any transfers, leases, and assignments of the properties are “set aside as null and void.” The judge also ruled Ergur Private Equity Group may not transfer or encumber any of the properties until the matter is resolved.
All told, the five properties Mr. Ergur owns comprise about 244,000 square feet of commercial real estate that had been “in various states of productive use” prior to 2008, according to the lawsuit.
Land bank officials this month requested the court-appointed receivership to maintain the vacant properties citing “substantial risk of material injury,” the filing shows.
Officials told the judge that tarps cover the upper-level windows and the broken and boarded windows at the street level of the Nicholas Building. They also contend the Spitzer Building is “experiencing active deterioration,” and cited an affidavit of a Toledo Plan Commission employee who said a piece of copper cornice fell from the building’s roof line onto the sidewalk.
“Although the cornice apparently did not strike anyone when it fell, the traveling public may not be so lucky next time,” the motion states.
Documents also show gas and electric services have been disconnected to several of the properties, and Toledo Edison is owed at least $57,000 for unpaid electricity.
David Mann, president and CEO of the land bank, declined to comment on the pending litigation. Josh Thurston, the treasurer’s chief of staff, declined to comment on the foreclosure proceedings.
Mr. Ergur did not return a call seeking comment Friday. He has 28 days after receiving notice to respond to the foreclosure filing.
It isn’t the first time his downtown buildings have been headed for foreclosure or auction because of unpaid liens and delinquent tax bills. But Mr. Ergur has a habit of showing up last-minute with enough money to pay off his debts and maintain ownership of the properties.
In 2013, officials canceled a sheriff’s sale of the Spitzer Building after Mr. Ergur visited the county treasurer’s office with a cashier's check for $191,174 to pay off a delinquent tax bill and owed court costs.
A year later, he provided a $922,632 check to pay off the mortgage foreclosure filed by the Spitzer Building Co., which sold the property to Mr. Ergur’s private equity firm in 2009.
Mr. Ergur presented a cashier’s check for $886,673 to the Lucas County Clerk of Courts Office in 2015 to pay off a judgment lien placed on the Nicholas Building in 2008.
Cindy Kerr, vice president of operations for ConnecToledo, the city’s downtown development authority, said the corner of Huron Street and Madison Avenue is the only corner in the city where the four original buildings remain. It’s also the intersection that joins the city’s business district with its entertainment district.
Three of the historic buildings are empty, and two are owned by Mr. Ergur. The longer the buildings sit vacant, the further they fall into disrepair.
“Not only is it our most historic corner, but it is the true heart of our downtown,” Ms. Kerr said. “The amount of available square footage in those buildings is critical for future development of retail on the street level and then residential and/or businesses on the floors above.”
First Published January 17, 2020, 10:41 p.m.
