The city moved Monday to dismiss a foreclosure lawsuit it filed a month ago against the owner of the Laura Street Trio, clearing the way for another round of negotiations on a redevelopment deal that would save the historically valuable but vacant buildings in downtown.
If the city had moved forward with the foreclosure suit and been successful, it would have resulted in a public auction when another entity could possibly have bought the Trio.
But SouthEast Development Group, which has owned the Trio since 2013, recently brought in a new financial partner in Paul Bertozzi, the founder and CEO of Live Oak Contracting. That sparked talks among SouthEast, Bertozzi, Mayor Donna Deegan’s administration, the Downtown Investment Authority, and City Council member Kevin Carrico about pursuing a deal rather than fighting in court.
“The lawsuit was the biggest impediment of getting the deal done so with the lawsuit out of the way, that opens up the door to all of the parties working together to come up with something that everybody can agree on,” Carrico said.