FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
GE Capital Hawaii claims the center's owners have nearly $12 million in past-due debts.
Lender sues
for sale of Manoa
MarketplaceGE Capital Hawaii says the
owners of the center owe nearly
$12 million in past-due debts
Claiming nearly $12 million in past-due debts from Manoa Marketplace, GE Capital Hawaii is seeking to foreclose on the shopping center and have it sold to pay the debts.
The Marketplace, developed from what used to be the Manoa Shopping Center, houses a Longs Drug Store as well as Japanese, Italian and Korean restaurants and arts and crafts and coffee shops.
A Safeway store and some other operations at the entrance to the Marketplace are not involved as they are part of an older Manoa Shopping Center.
The Marketplace buildings, mostly a two-story walk-up business and professional complex, are owned by M/V Investment Partners LLC and were developed beginning in the early 1990s in the prosperous, family-oriented residential community.
GE Capital Hawaii says in court records that it financed the development, starting with a $9.5 million first mortgage in February 1992. A second mortgage of $454,000 was made in December 1992 and GE Capital lent another $4 million in a third mortgage in May 1997, according to the lawsuit.
There were other loans climbing to nearly $15 million, according to GE's claims in state Circuit Court. Payments are past due and the remaining amount of debt must be paid now, the lawsuit said.
Often in such cases, the lender ends up owning the assets because it is hard to find bidders who will pick up the debts. However, the case has several court steps to get through before a sale could be ordered. As of yesterday, no hearing date had been set.
M/V Investments Partners and related companies subject to the lawsuit, including Manoa SC LLC and Cherrywood-Manoa LLC, had not filed responses to GE's claims as of yesterday. State business records show a Ralph L.Gray as the agent for those companies but he has no listed telephone number and his street address is that of the Manoa Marketplace.
And no comment was available yesterday from any of the parties directly involved in the case.
Attorneys for GE Capital Hawaii, Michael Biehl and Eric Tsugawa, did not return calls. The GE Capital Hawaii office referred calls to GE Capital headquarters in Stamford, Conn., which was closed for the day.
Messages left at the Manoa Marketplace management office were not returned.
Richard Wong, president of Manoa Shopping Center Inc., owner of the land, would say only that the Marketplace operators are current on their ground-lease payments.
He declined to comment on the foreclosure action.
