The failure of Walt Bowen’s Block 216 office, hotel and condo building in Portland’s West End is reverberating through the real estate industry, court records show.
Ready Capital, the lender that foreclosed on Block 216, knew the 35-story tower was in financial trouble but didn’t tell shareholders in Broadmark Realty Capital Inc., a firm Ready Capital was angling to purchase in 2023, according to court filings.
Brian Grant, a Broadmark shareholder, sued Ready Capital, Broadmark, and board members at both firms in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in May, alleging that they didn’t disclose risky loans, including the one on Block 216, in a proxy describing the merger between Ready and Broadmark, which closed in May 2023…