Judge appoints emergency receiver for downtown St. Paul’s troubled Lowry Apartments

A Ramsey County district judge has appointed a receiver to immediately take on managing downtown St. Paul’s troubled Lowry Apartments.

Attorneys for the city and a lender foreclosing on the building at 345 N. Wabasha St. argued that regional real estate behemoth Madison Equities, which owns the Lowry via a subsidiary, has let the property fall into unsafe and unclean conditions in recent weeks.

Chief Judge Sara Grewing held an emergency hearing Wednesday morning after the city filed a motion a day prior asking the court to expedite its processes.

Grewing said testimony from a St. Paul fire chief and fire inspector was particularly compelling. They said piles of trash, locked doors and regular alarm malfunctions posed serious fire hazards for the 11-story building’s tenants, many of whom receive government services and rental assistance. City staff, including Mayor Melvin Carter, began hauling out abandoned furniture from the basement to reduce some of the risk.

Grewing’s emergency order will remain in effect until Sept. 10, the previously scheduled date of a hearing for the lender’s receivership motion.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Assistant City Attorney Dan Stahley asked police and fire officials to walk through the litany of concerns Lowry tenants have been raising for weeks: frequent break-ins, pest infestations, feces and needles littering the halls.

“It’s been my observation that the owners of the building, once that foreclosure had been published, basically washed their hands of the building,” Stahley said, adding that the city believes Madison Equities fired the Lowry’s building manager on Tuesday.

Earlier this month, the city took the rare step of revoking the Lowry’s fire certificate of occupancy, with an order to vacate the building by April if the owner doesn’t address more than two dozen code violations.

St. Paul Police Cmdr. Jake Peterson — who described the Lowry as “somewhat lawless, for lack of a better word” — said the building is requiring far more police attention than any other residential property downtown. The Lowry’s problems have started spilling into neighboring buildings and parking ramps, he added.

Police and fire officials also told Grewing that Madison Equities has not been responsive when the city asked the company to address code violations and safety concerns. A receiver would serve as a much-needed point of contact for the building, they said.

In a written statement Tuesday, an attorney for Madison Equities said the company has been cooperating with its lender and authorities.

“The receiver will most likely struggle mightily to maintain the building and stop the crime that persists,” the statement said. “This is a problem of the city’s creation, and only they can solve it.”

Madison Equities listed nearly a dozen downtown St. Paul properties, mostly office buildings, on the market this spring. The company’s founder, Jim Crockarell, died in January, leaving his entire real estate portfolio to his wife, Rosemary Kortgard.

The Lowry was part of those listings. In July, a broker for Madison Equities said the company was reviewing eight bids for the property.

Lender Colliers Funding LLC began foreclosure proceedings that month, saying Madison Equities defaulted on its $16.9 million mortgage. A mortgage foreclosure sale is scheduled for next Wednesday.