A long-simmering financial dispute involving the retail portion of Columbus Square has escalated, bringing the owners a major step closer to foreclosure.
Per a new report by Crain’s New York Business, the shareholders behind a roughly $400 million mortgage are seeking to foreclose on the Chetrit-led ownership group of the five-building retail complex anchored by Whole Foods, after what lenders allege is a second default on the loan.
The lawsuit, filed Friday in Manhattan state Supreme Court, claims that Chetrit Org. principal Michael Chetrit and other owners stopped making required monthly payments last summer — and never resumed them, despite assurances that they would…