One of the biggest names in storage development is taking one of its partners to court.
In a nearly $18 million lawsuit, self-storage financing REIT Jernigan Capital Inc. is seeking to foreclose on a storage facility that’s under construction in Miami, FL.
The South Florida Business Journal reported that Jernigan Capital Operating Co. LLC, which handles Jernigan Capital’s investment activities, filed a lawsuit Jan. 8 against Storage Partners of Miami I LLC and MM Storage Partners LP, plus loan guarantors Bruce Manley and Jonathon Manley.
Google Street View captured a glimpse of the facility in progress in April 2018.
Through the legal action, Memphis, TN-based Jernigan Capital is trying to seize the site of a 111,947-square-foot storage facility being built at 212-234 N.E. 26th St. in Miami by Blue Bell, PA-based Manley Storage Ventures, according to the newspaper.
Bruce Manley, CEO of Manley Storage Ventures, told the South Florida Business Journal that the building is “essentially done,” but a few items remain to be completed before a temporary certificate of occupancy can be issued.
“I am aware that Jernigan has filed a foreclosure complaint,” Manley told the SpareFoot Storage Beat, “but we have not been served [with the complaint], so we can have no comment on their action.”
Jernigan extended a $17.73 million construction loan to Storage Partners of Miami I in 2015, the newspaper reported.
According to the lawsuit, the borrower defaulted by:
- Failing to repay the loan by the June 30, 2018, maturity date as a result of not wrapping up construction before then.
- Allowing construction liens on the project to remain outstanding for more than 30 days. The full $17.73 million in principal, plus interest, remains unpaid, the lawsuit claims.
A representative of Jernigan Capital couldn’t be reached for comment by the SpareFoot Storage Beat. Gustavo Membiela, Jernigan Capital’s attorney in this case, couldn’t be reached for comment by the South Florida Business Journal.
