Very bad sounding news regarding the owner of the Penobscot Building, First National Building, and Cadillac Tower office buildings, as well as the Lafayette Towers and Alden Park Manor apartments.

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/apps/pb.../0/newsletter#

Excerpt:
Northern Group losing grip on Detroit buildings

Alex Dembitzer's Northern Group companies is said to owe some $2 million to contractors, and its real estate tenants are suing for lack of heat and broken elevators.

When Alex Dembitzer and his affiliated group of holding companies purchased the Cadillac Tower in 2003, the idea was to be a long-term investor in Detroit.
His Manhattan-based Northern Group companies went on to assemble a five-building portfolio in that city, including the iconic First National and Penobscot buildings.



But since the end of last year, Northern Group's ownership of those buildings has been in jeopardy as the companies stopped paying mortgages on four of the five buildings and have not paid bills to local contractors.



A total of $2.2 million is owed to 19 local contractors for work performed over the past two years on the five buildings, and two tenants — including Detroit-based Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP — are suing to be released from leases in Northern Group buildings, claiming poor management.



In addition, the Penobscot, First National and Alden Park Towers buildings are now being managed by court-appointed receivers, with a ruling expected today on whether the Cadillac Tower also will be run by a receiver.