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In a move that was telegraphed weeks ago, US Bank filed a $131.8M foreclosure suit on Lakewood Center Chicago, the 1.6M SF Hoffman Estates office complex that was formerly AT&T's suburban HQ.
AT&T moved out of Lakewood Center in 2013, but continued to pay rent on its vacated space throughout the remainder of its lease, which expired Aug. 15. The property's owner, Highlands REIT, was unable to land new tenants for the property, which carried $116M in debt. Without new tenants, Highland will be unable to make mortgage payments.
US Bank is acting as trustee for investors who own bonds that are backed by the debt on the property, according to Crain's. Once it has control of the asset—Highlands previously said it will not fight the suit—finding tenants to generate revenue will remain the major issue. [Crain's]
