A massive commercial real estate portfolio with one of the most valuable CMBS loans in special servicing is facing foreclosure through a multistate undertaking.

In 2018, Workspace Property Trust obtained a $1.28B CMBS loan backed by 146 office and industrial properties totaling nearly 10M SF across four states. Wells Fargo Bank, representing the CMBS trust, filed foreclosure lawsuits regarding the portfolio in multiple states this month.

Workspace Property Trust declined to comment. 

The portfolio now includes 143 properties and is valued at $1.24B, down from $1.63B at issuance, according to Morningstar Credit. The properties are spread throughout Arizona, Florida, Minnesota and Pennsylvania.

The unpaid principal balance on the loan was about $1.23B as of Sept. 29, according to a lawsuit filed in Hennepin County, Minnesota, this month. The lender said it is owed that balance plus interest, special servicer fees and attorney expenses.

The $1.28B loan was transferred to special servicing in May 2023. It was scheduled to mature in July 2023, with no extension options, but WPT obtained a two-year extension that month.

Trigild was appointed receiver for the entire portfolio after Wells Fargo filed a lawsuit in Maricopa County, Arizona, in September 2025, according to public records.

KeyBank National Association is the special servicer and attorney-in-fact for the lender, according to the new lawsuits.

The portfolio sits at about 75% occupancy, according to Morningstar. That is down from nearly 89% occupancy when the loan was originated, which was before the pandemic impacted the office market, and 81% occupancy in 2022. 

The 2023 loan extension was possible because of opportunities to restore occupancy and increase cash flow, WPT CEO Thomas Rizk told Bisnow in 2023, emphasizing the strength of the portfolio’s suburban office properties compared to downtown assets. 

“An important part of the deal was that the existing investors made a significant amount of new investment into the company,” Rizk said, referring to equity investors in the privately held WPT.

The portfolio accounts for more than half of the 18M SF owned by WPT. The company acquired the portfolio from Liberty Property Trust through two sales in 2016, one buying 29 Pennsylvania buildings in January, then another buying 108 properties in October.

Most properties in the portfolio are under 100K SF. The largest properties are One Liberty Corporate Center, a 325K SF office building in Bloomington, Minnesota, and 1500 Liberty Ridge Drive, a 233K SF office building in Chesterbrook, Pennsylvania. 

Wells Fargo and KeyBank didn’t respond to requests for comment by press time.