Lender demands $143M from Station Square owners in mortgage foreclosure suit

The owners of Station Square must pony up nearly $143 million in overdue loan payments or face foreclosure amid a challenging year for the popular tourist spot on Pittsburgh’s South Side.

In a lawsuit filed Nov. 4 in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, Delaware-based lender Wilmington Trust demanded the remainder of its $403 million loan that helped New York-based Brookfield Properties acquire Station Square in late 2018.

Brookfield has managed to pay off a majority of the loan, but the full sum was due in December 2023.

The figure cited by Wilmington includes millions in interest accrued since then.

Brookfield added the sprawling restaurant, entertainment and office complex along the Monongahela riverfront to its international portfolio as part of an $11.4 billion acquisition of Forest City Realty Trust in 2018.

The firm invested another $30 million to revive the flagging property, attracting North Carolina-based fried chicken franchise Tupelo Honey and Chicago-based climbing gym First Ascent.

Whatever momentum those additions generated proved short-lived, at least for several of their neighboring restaurants.

Buca di Beppo and Joe’s Crab Shack shut down their Station Square locations in June and September, respectively, and the Hard Rock Cafe is set to close Feb. 13 ahead of its lease expiration.

Buca di Beppo filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in August but has kept some locations open.

Other key attractions, like The Sheraton Pittsburgh Hotel, Highmark Stadium and the Gateway Clipper, are not owned by Brookfield.

The foreclosure proceedings compound future uncertainty for a complex that, between Forest City and Brookfield, has spent more of the last 12 years on the market than off. Brookfield most recently put Station Square up for sale last summer.

Brookfield did not immediately return a request for comment.