Cynergi Condos Going to Highest Bidder

(This story, in slightly different form, originally appeared in ALM’s Daily Business Review.)

MIAMI-With the developer on the hook for more than $30 million, all but four condominium units at Cynergi are set to be sold to the highest bidder. A circuit court judge awarded Banco Popular North America $30.6 million in a foreclosure judgement against developer Cynergi 2700. The project was developed by Cynergi affiliate Trust USA.

A foreclosure sale for 97 of the 101 condos in the 12-story tower, along with 6,600 square feet of ground-floor retail space, is scheduled for Sept. 30 at the Miami-Dade County Courthouse. Four of the condos were sold before the foreclosure judgment, at prices between $245,000 and $490,000, according to Miami-Dade records.

The judge awarded Banco Popular the $25.3 million due on the mortgage, $5.1 million in interest and $189,411 in attorney fees and costs in the Aug. 26 judgement. Calls to Cynergi attorney David Lazarus of Fromberg Perlow & Kornik in Aventura were not returned. Banco Popular attorney David Salazar, a senior associate at Cole Scott & Kissane, declined to comment on the case. A phone number for the project listed on a sign at the site was disconnected.

Cynergi, at 2700 N. Miami Ave. in the city’s Midtown district, was completed in 2007 just as Miami’s condo market began its sharp decline. The project was designed by architect Kobi Karp.

Banco Popular loaned the developer $25 million in December 2005. Nassau, Bahamas-based Erwick Ltd. gave Cynergi a $2.6 million mezzanine loan in August 2004, when Cynergi purchased the site for $4 million. Erwick and 10 other junior lien holders are listed as co-defendants in the foreclosure judgment.

If the 97 units are sold for less than the $30.57 million owed to Banco Popular, the bank can pursue a deficiency judgment against Cynergi to recover the remaining balance. It could also decide to take the proceeds from the sale and drop the matter.