Construction plans for the new downtown Willy Street Co-op were put on hold Tuesday with the forclosure of the condominium complex where the store was set to be located.
The co-op signed a lease at The Metropolitan Place Phase II building on Broom and Mifflin Streets and planned to open its second natural foods store this summer below the large housing complex.
Buckingham Properties LLC and developer Cliff Fisher, however, have faced financial difficulties.
They currently owe $26 million in mortgage loan payments, according to a complaint filed Jan. 29 by LaSalle and Associated Banks in the Dane County Circuit Court. As a result, the banks have assumed possession of Metropolitan Place Phase II.
The building has also faced difficulties renting its units. Fewer than half of the 164 condo units have been leased.
The foreclosure of Metropolitan Place Phase II is just one of many housing foreclosures nationwide from the current downturn of the housing market.
Morris Davis, a UW-Madison assistant professor of real estate and urban land economics, said in an e-mail that anecdotes suggest condos prices probably have fallen by a larger percentage than single-family homes in the same area.
Brendon Smith, director of communications for the Willy Street Co-op, said the co-op has signed a lease but is not legally bound to have the store at Metropolitan Place. He said they are waiting for the defendants to respond to the banks by Feb. 19 before discussing other options.
We've put some time and money into work specifically for that site, so we definitively still have an interest in opening a store at the Metropolitan Place,"" Smith said.
The new store expects to tap into the downtown grocery market and has planned outreach efforts to attract student shoppers.
