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Northland Investment Corp. Loses Third Hartford Office Tower To Foreclosure

By Kenneth R. Gosselin

September 26, 2012

Northland Investment Corp. has lost a third office tower in downtown Hartford — CityPlace II — to foreclosure, according to city records.

Northland’s once substantial commercial portfolio has crumbled since the Newton, Mass.-based firm lost Metro Center to foreclosure in early 2011. Metro Center was the first purchase by Northland and its chairman Larry Gottesdiener in Hartford in 1997.

In July, Northland lost Goodwin Square, which includes the long-closed Goodwin Hotel, to foreclosure.

Northland could not be immediately reached for comment this afternoon.

The 18-story CityPlace II sank into foreclosure in late 2009, and court documents showed a contentious relationship between Northland and LNR Partners, the mortgage servicer pursuing the foreclosure.

Northland has accused LNR of refusing to negotiate, linking the foreclosure at CityPlace II with Goodwin Square, where LNR also was pursuing a foreclosure at the time.

Northland bought CityPlace II in 1999 for $33 million and took out a $25 million mortgage in November 2006. Northland hasn’t made a mortgage payment since June 2009 and now owes $31.7 million.

Even with the losses, Northland remains a significant landlord in downtown Hartford, albeit diminished in size, with the Hartford 21 tower, the Standard Building on Trumbull Street and the Crosthwaite Building on Allyn Street.