Osprey SA Ltd. loan moving to special servicer

The commercial mortgage-backed securities debt secured by a Charlotte, N.C., office building and the 13-story Sarasota City Center office tower has been sent to a special servicer, according to research firm Trepp.

Borrower Osprey SA Ltd., a Michigan-based investment firm, has been attempting to refinance the loan and also sell Sarasota City Center and a 23-story building primarily occupied by Westinghouse Electric Corp. in advance of the $113.4 million debt maturing in April.

Commercial brokerage firm Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P. has been marketing the properties for more than a year.

Westinghouse relocated its operations from Osprey's First Citizens Plaza building in Charlotte last fall, making refinancing more difficult. The company occupied nearly 40% of the 475,000-square-foot building.

Sarasota City Center is a 249,054-square-foot building that is among Sarasota's premier office locations.

Lori Hellstrom, a Colliers International Tampa Bay director of office services, says the building is under contract to be sold later this year. It could not be determined what impact, if any, the loan shift will have on the transaction.

Osprey, which Trepp says was unable to refinance the “interest-only” loan, borrowed the money in 2007.

Osprey officials could not be reached for comment. Founded in 1998, the company's portfolio at one time totaled nearly 5 million square feet, though that figure has shrunk dramatically in recent years as a result of dispositions.