GreenState Credit Union has foreclosed on one of Iowa City’s best-known buildings, The Chauncey, as well as some other significant properties owned by real estate developer Marc Moen and business partners. The properties will be sold off at a sheriff’s auction, the Corridor Business Journal (CBJ) reported Thursday.
GreenState sued Moen and his associates on Feb. 4, claiming they had defaulted on about $28 million in payments on loans made between 2016 and 2023. The credit union asked the court to allow it to foreclose on five downtown Iowa City properties, four of which are mixed-use buildings with both residential units and retail space.
According to CBJ, GreenState has foreclosed on the following properties, which will be sold at a sheriff’s auction:
• The Chauncey, 404 E. College St. – referred to as “Chauncey Real Estate” in court documents
• Plaza Towers, 221 E. College St. – referred to as “Plaza Real Estate”
• Park@201, 201 E. Washington St. – referred to as “Central Park Real Estate”
• 118 E. College St. – referred to as “Moen-Jett Real Estate”
• The parking lot adjacent to the downtown Starbucks (102 E. Burlington St.) – referred to as “Parking Lot Real Estate”
Other than The Chauncey, the names of those buildings may not be immediately recognizable, but all of them are familiar to Iowa Citians. Plaza Towers is the 14-story building on the Ped Mall that houses Bread Garden Market on its ground level, Park@201 is the glass-sided building on the Ped Mall by Black Hawk Mini Park and 118 E College Street is the building with FilmScene’s original Ped Mall cinema and Velvet Coat on the ground floor.
“Unfortunately, over a year of efforts to restructure the obligations have proven fruitless, so [GreenState] has been forced to institute this foreclosure action to enforce its mortgage, guaranty, and other rights,” according to a court filing from the credit union, quoted by CBJ’s Annie Smith Barkalow.
The judge granted summary judgment in GreenState’s favor on Wednesday. An auction date has not been scheduled yet.
On Friday morning, FilmScene posted a message on social media after being contacted by people worried about its future.
“To clarify, FilmScene owns its condominium units at The Chauncey and has lease options for our Ped Mall location through October 2030,” the nonprofit cinema said. “This foreclosure does not involve us directly and we do not anticipate any immediate impact on our operations.”
“We are grateful to Moengroup for their visionary support of our mission and to GreenState Credit Union for their steadfast support.”
Neither Moen nor GreenState have made any public statements about the foreclosure procedures, or responded to inquiries from reporters.
