Broadbent in mortgage dispute involving retail center

The owner of Castleton Place, a shopping center in one of the city’s busiest retail areas, is the target of a $5 million foreclosure lawsuit by a lender that seeks to have the property placed in receivership.

Castleton Place LP and George P. Broadbent, chief of Indianapolis-based The Broadbent Co., are being sued by Monty Titling Trust 2, or MTT, a successor to original mortgage lender Marshall & Ilsley Bank (now BMO Harris Bank).

MTT wants to foreclose on the building and asked the court to appoint a receiver to manage the property until it can be sold at a sheriff’s sale.

George Broadbent did not return a phone message seeking comment. A hearing on the case is set for Tuesday.

According to the suit, filed Feb. 28, Broadbent took out a $6.2 million loan on Castleton Place from M&I in June 2008. MTT was assigned the loan in June 2013 after M&I merged with BMO Harris.

MTT’s suit claims Broadbent is in default on the loan and owes the lender a principal of $4.8 million, plus nearly $225,000 in unpaid interest and late charges of more than $3,500.

The 47,108-square-foot Castleton Place, 5864 E. 82nd St., is in a Castleton Square Mall outlot and anchored by Men’s Wearhouse. Other tenants include Nature’s Pharm, HomePlex Furniture and Computer Express.

The Broadbent Co., founded in 1972 as Skinner & Broadbent Co., is one of many real estate developers that struggled with debt problems after the recession struck in 2007.

In a Nov. 10, 2012, article, IBJ detailed some of the legal battles George Broadbent fought in an effort to hold on to most of the company’s many retail properties.

Court filings show that, in January 2007, Broadbent had net worth of $121 million, and his shopping centers had equity of $62 million. As of July 2012, his net worth had fallen to $48 million, and the equity in his real estate projects had shrunk to $10 million.

The company still controls dozens of shopping centers totaling nearly 3 million square feet of leasable space.