In September 2024, Lapis and the Cleveland based developer, KL Holdings, celebrated the successful property sale and refinancing of bonds issued in 2001 that funded the construction of a five-level public parking garage in the city of University Heights, Ohio that serves an adjoining shopping center known as University Square. The bonds had been in default since 2013.
Lapis and the bond trustee led the efforts to obtain control of the parking garage and the failed portions of the shopping center. Through these efforts, fee simple title and a first mortgage position were secured for the benefit of the bonds on an outparcel and the shopping center’s inline retail properties. Over the course of the restructuring, Lapis organized and led negotiations with a lengthy list of interested parties including proposed developers, the leadership of University Heights, the Cuyahoga County fiscal office, the Cleveland Heights-University Heights School District, the adjacent big-box retailers, and the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority as issuer of the bonds.
Upon selecting KL Holdings to purchase and redevelop the failed portions of the shopping center, KL Holdings successfully negotiated with adjoining property owners and the city to secure the required easements and entitlements that enables execution of its redevelopment plan.
The new owner of the property, Gregg Levy of KL Holdings commented “My partner, Brad Kowit, and I are excited to undertake the redevelopment of University Square, which we have renamed Bell Tower Center. The community deserves a better project than the vacant spaces that have existed for over 20-years. We plan to deliver a vibrant mix of apartments, retail, family activities, and hospitality to this long cherished and important corner in University Heights. This was an extremely challenging acquisition to complete as it required numerous rounds of negotiations with the multitude of stakeholders. We are especially appreciative of the Lapis team, their professionalism, and persistent efforts that led to this closing.”
More information can be found at https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/university-square-shopping-center-finally-sold-to-developers-ending-decade-long-saga