The Flats Remains in the Hands of U.S. Bank

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – With a $5.1 million bid, The Flats at Wick Apartments was purchased by U.S. Bank, the plaintiff in the foreclosure case.

Jeanna Weaver, bidding on behalf of the banking institution, outbid three other bidders at the Mahoning County Courthouse to keep the apartments, located near the Youngstown State University campus at 139 Madison Ave. Weaver declined to comment on the future of the property.

Jamar Brooks, the property manager, and Marianna Rivvo, the leasing consultant, said Tuesday afternoon there was a change in management of the property in March, but the business continues to run as usual.

Rivvo said there are currently only a couple of units open and they are operating from a wait list as the start of YSU’s fall semester nears.

One of the three people bidding against Weaver, Nathan Bibb of Hometown Fixer Upper in Poland, said he saw it as a good value investment but believes it would need about half a million in renovations to add value.

Bibb did not rule out someone working out a deal with the bank in the near future for the purchase of the investment property.

The property was owned by NYO Property Group, which developed the housing complex in 2012 as an off-campus housing option for YSU students. However, the four-story, 49-unit property is not strictly leased to students.

NYO Property Group’s principal owner Dominic Marchionda and The Flats at Wick defaulted on $5.5 million in notes provided by Morgan Stanley Bank of America, which started foreclosure actions in 2019.

The plaintiff in the Mahoning County Common Pleas Court filing was U.S. Bank National Association, which serves as trustee to Morgan Stanley Bank of America in the case.

Marchionda agreed to step down from management of NYO Properties as part of a plea agreement in a criminal case in 2020 in which he pleaded guilty to four counts of tampering with records.

Bidding on the property started at $3.8 million and rose swiftly in $100,000 increments.

The Flats was the first of 12 properties on the auction block Tuesday, and a large number of onlookers left the room after its sale.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.