200 West Highland condo project likely headed for foreclosure

Unless Bank of America changes course, longtime Seattle developer Lorig Associates probably won't be able to stop the lender from foreclosing on its new, luxury 200 West Highland condo project on Queen Anne Hill, Lorig's chief operating officer said Thursday.

It's unlikely, Tom Fitzsimmons said, that Lorig can come up with the $26 million plus interest it owes the bank by Aug. 6, the date Bank of America set for a foreclosure auction in a notice filed with King County Tuesday.

200 West Highland is across the street from Kerry Park, perhaps Seattle's most famous viewpoint. Seven of the 25 units have been sold; Bank of America intends to foreclose on the other 18.

In a prepared statement, Lorig founder and CEO Bruce Lorig blamed the project's troubles on the economy and mounting pressure on lenders to foreclose even when it's not in their long-term best interest.

Lorig's loan from Bank of America came due Jan. 1, and the bank served the developer with a notice of default in March. But that was largely a formality, Fitzsimmons said — "we were working and communicating with them" — and the foreclosure notice this week came as a surprise.

Bank officials had approved new, lower prices Lorig proposed for the remaining units, he said, and recent buyer interest suggested the developer would be able to pay back most of the loan.

But now, he said, prospective buyers may be more likely to wait to see if prices drop farther. That could mean less money for Bank of America, he added.

Lorig has been developing in Seattle since 1972. This is its first foreclosure, Fitzsimmons said, and none of the firm's other projects is in similar financial trouble.

Eric Pryne: 206-464-2231 or epryne@seattletimes.com