City officials said they don’t have any concerns as a developer with projects in Columbus faces a nearly $101 million lawsuit after allegedly failing to make payments on its loan for a 27-story apartment complex tower in Indianapolis.

Flaherty & Collins Properties faces a lawsuit brought by California-based lender Prime Finance regarding 360 Market Square, located at the northeast corner of Alabama and East Market streets.

According to the lawsuit, Flaherty & Collins missed its May and June payments tied to a $99.3 million loan it secured in July 2021. The loan has a principal balance of $97.9 million, which Prime said it is calling as due in its entirety after the developer missed its payments, the Indianapolis Business Journal reported on Tuesday.

A spokesperson for Flaherty & Collins acknowledged the lawsuit in a statement provided to IBJ, indicating the firm had already been trying to work with Prime Finance to find a resolution.

Flaherty & Collins Properties broke ground on The Taylor, a $41 million mixed-use project in downtown Columbus, in April 2022. The Taylor includes 200 apartments, space for a 10,000 square foot grocery store, and 400 parking spaces off Second Street in Columbus.

Director of Redevelopment Heather Pope told The Republic that city officials aren’t concerned because the two projects Flaherty & Collins have in Columbus are “unrelated/stand-alone projects,” adding that the Taylor is “89% occupied and 97%” committed.”

When asked if anyone in the city had been in contact with representatives from the developer, Pope said they had, and that the conversation “centered around the Taylor (performing better than had been expected)” and that Flaherty & Collins “just reiterated what was already published in the article and confirmed their local commitment is strong,” Pope said in an email.

Flaherty & Collins also presented a proposal in June of 2023 to create a mix of apartment units and commercial space in front of the Cummins Inc. parking garage, which is located along Washington Street between Sixth and Seventh streets. The proposed site is owned by Cummins, with Flaherty & Collins indicating at the time that they planned to purchase it later on.

In November 2023, the Columbus Redevelopment Commission approved a project agreement for the development that called for a $5.8 million subsidy from the city that was proposed by Flaherty & Collins. The commission agreed to create a new TIF district to support the project and a forgivable loan to partially fund it.

Deron Kintner, general counsel with the developer, said that the building is expected to include approximately 10,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor and 50 apartment units on the four stories above. He estimated that about 60% of the units will be one-bedroom and 40% will be two-bedroom.

The total project cost is estimated at $15.5 to $16 million, he said.

The resolution approved by the commission authorized the use of $5.8 million in TIF funds to cover a financing gap, which was later approved by the Columbus City Council.

Pope said the project is moving forward and is still in the design phase. The $5.8 million in TIF funds hasn’t yet been paid out, Pope said, but will be once “they are ready to start construction.”
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