Jon Venetos’ Lurin Capital nearly avoided distress in its Arkansas holdings, but couldn’t offload its last remaining property in the state before catching another default lawsuit.
Lurin sold off two Northwest Arkansas apartment complexes; the third is at the center of a suit filed by lender Prime Finance Partners.
The San Francisco-based lender is asking Benton County Circuit Court to appoint a receiver for Fitzroy Gove, a 250-unit multifamily property at 2950 Fitzroy Place in Rogers, Arkansas, according to a Feb. 18 filing. Prime Finance is accusing Dallas-based Lurin of defaulting on a $47 million loan tied to the property and alleges it is owed $47.8 million.
In addition to claims that Lurin didn’t pay the loan when it matured, Prime Finance also alleges that Lurin allowed elevator permits at the property built in 2023 to expire, didn’t have fire safety equipment and failed to repair water damage from February of last year.
A hearing on the matter is scheduled for April 21, but Prime Finance is asking the court for an expedited hearing, because “there is clearly a risk of immediate and irreparable injury, loss, or damage,” the lender wrote in a filing last week.
Lurin, in its response, admitted to failing to repay the loan, but claimed Prime Finance didn’t meet the necessary requirements for foreclosing on the property.
Prior to the receivership request, Lurin was able to offload The Maddox, at 199-unit property at 1389 Centerton Boulevard in Centerton, Arkansas; and Palisades at Pleasant Crossing, a 396-unit apartment complex at 2901 South 26th Place in Rogers, deed records show. The Maddox, which was built in 2019, fetched $34 million, while Palisades, built in 2016, brought in $74 million, according to the deeds.
The Arkansas portfolio was an aberration among Lurin’s holdings. Most of the firm’s apartment buildings were built in the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s.
The Prime Finance lawsuit is one of more than 20 filed against Lurin Capital or Jon Venetos since November 2024. The lawsuits claim the firm defaulted on loans totaling hundreds of millions of dollars tied to properties across the Sun Belt.
In the last year, Lurin’s multifamily portfolio, which once spanned 10,000 units across five states, has crumbled. Lenders have taken back some properties, while the remainder of Lurin’s properties are in various stages of the foreclosure process.
Lurin has attempted to maintain control of multiple properties, including one in Texas and two in Florida, by filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Local municipalities, including cities in Florida, Texas and Alabama, have gotten involved when the conditions at Lurin-owned properties posed safety risks to renters. Tenants reported having no water service and enduring Texas summers without air conditioning.
Meanwhile, Venetos has fled Dallas to Aspen, where his family bought a 5,000-square-foot mansion on 7.6 acres for $18 million in 2022, deed records show. Morgan Stanley has since foreclosed on the property, according to a lawsuit filed in New York Supreme Court.
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