5-4-19 As Seen in the Buffalo News - Court: Former Monarch 716 onwers individually owe $26 million to lender.
Court: Former Monarch 716 owners individually owe $26 million to lender
By Jonathan D. Epstein|Published May 4, 2019|Updated May 4, 2019 - THE BUFFALO NEWS
The former owners of the Monarch 716 student-apartment complex – that is, the two individuals behind the company – now personally owe the lender more than $26 million.
That's the gap between the appraised fair-market value of the 592-bed property – what it's expected to fetch in a sale – and the total debt owed on it to Acres Capital.
Following the court-ordered foreclosure sale of the 10-building property last month for just $14 million, a state Supreme Court justice in Buffalo has ordered a deficiency judgment against both Thomas Masaschi of Rochester and Jason Teller of Charlotte, N.C.
The judgment also covers Buffalo State Ventures, the limited-liability company formed to own the complex. Masaschi and Teller are the principals of DHD Ventures, the parent of Buffalo State Ventures.
DHD developed the project at 100 Forest Ave., on the site of a former pharmaceutical manufacturing plant between Grant Street and the Niagara Thruway. The complex, which was largely aimed at Buffalo State College despite not having a formal agreement with the school, features nine four-story buildings with 176 suites, plus a one-story clubhouse and a pool.
DHD borrowed $36.3 million from Acres, which represented three insurance companies, but ran into trouble with the project as soon as it opened in August 2017. Acres foreclosed on the debt, which totaled $47.7 million with interest and fees at the time of the auction. The property was appraised at $21.25 million.
