Developer Metronomic lost its completed Coconut Grove apartment project in a foreclosure sale, adding to its financial woes of recent years.
Wilmington Trust, the largest creditor on GroveHaus, sold the 10-unit building at 3265 Bird Avenue for $8.1 million in a foreclosure sale to Bolonki LLC, an entity led by Norberto Roman and Julia Roman, according to court records. The sale was on Nov. 1 and disclosed in a court filing in late December.
The sale caps off a two-year saga over the building. It also marks Metronomic’s failure to seize one last chance to keep the asset.
In 2020, Wilmington Trust sued Metronomic affiliate GroveHaus LLC to foreclose on a $5.8 million mortgage provided the prior year. Coral Gables-based Metronomic is led by Ricky Trinidad, though the suit named Kelly Beam, who leads GroveHaus LLC and also guaranteed the loan, according to court and state corporate records.
Metronomic got a break from the foreclosure case early last year by filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, which stayed Wilmington’s suit. It was a short-lived reprieve for Metronomic, as a bankruptcy judge lifted the stay last April.
By June, Metronomic was on the hook for $8 million after Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Carlos Guzman ordered the firm to pay Wilmington’s loan, as well as interest, late charges, attorney fees and other costs.
That’s when Metronomic’s final opportunity arose. The firm and Wilmington worked out a settlement in June, allowing Metronomic to pay $7.9 million by Oct. 7 and avoid losing GroveHaus at an auction, according to court records. Yet, Wilmington proceeded with the foreclosure sale that month and closed the deal with Bolonki after Metronomic failed to pay by deadline.
https://therealdeal.com/miami/2022/09/09/embattled-developers-coconut-grove-rentals-head-to-auction/
Attorneys for Metronomic, who filed to dismiss the bankruptcy case on GroveHaus, and for Wilmington didn’t immediately return requests for comment.
Four years ago, Metronomic also envisioned a mixed-use development with nearly 300,000 square feet in Coconut Grove, with passenger drones that would land on a helipad at the project. Grand Plaza was planned as a $74 million development with 12 buildings consisting of apartments, retail, offices, a hotel, community parks and plazas, and a farmers market.
https://therealdeal.com/miami/2019/06/17/metronomic-buys-land-for-first-phase-of-coconut-grove-development/
But the development failed to take off when the firm became saddled with debt. It lost many of its properties in foreclosures in recent years.
Metronomic lost 17 of its Miami properties and two near Chicago two years ago after a bankruptcy judge approved an agreement between the firm and the lender, Fuse Funding, allowing Fuse to auction the real estate. Fuse Funding, an affiliate of Eyal Peretz’s Fort Lauderdale-based Fuse Group, won all 17 properties, some with construction underway at the time, through a credit bid in 2021. https://therealdeal.com/miami/2020/12/23/bankruptcy-judge-paves-way-for-metronomic-property-auction/