Kalo loses building to foreclosure
Brad Dicken | The Chronicle-Telegram
ELYRIA — Lorain County Commissioner Ted Kalo lost the long-time home of his business, Ted’s Floor Covering, on Friday when a county judge approved a foreclosure request from a lending company.
Kalo said he was surprised by Lorain County Common Pleas Judge James Burge’s decision because he said he’s still trying to work out a deal with CIT Small Business Lending Corp.
Kalo’s attorney, Anthony Giardini, said he and CIT’s lawyers decided three months ago that if a deal to sell Kalo’s building wasn’t finalized by Oct. 1, the foreclosure would go into place. That hasn’t happened, Giardini said, because the potential buyer wants a guarantee that there will be a tenant before he purchases the building.
Giardini said he’s still negotiating with the Lorain County Community Action Agency to move the agency’s offices into Kalo’s building.
“It’s still pending,” he said. “It’s not a dead deal.”
If the deal comes together, Giardini said, the bank would agree to have the foreclosure revoked.
Kalo said he’s a victim of the rough economy, which has caused new home construction, where he did a lot of business, to drop off sharply. And Kalo said he’s not the only downtown Lorain business struggling to survive.
“I’m just another business guy who took a shot downtown and it didn’t work out like we wanted it to,” he said.
Ted’s Flooring Covering, which is moving from the nearly 20,000 square foot former Bobel Building Kalo purchased for $175,000 in 1999 to a city-owned building next door, will remain in business, Kalo said.
Instead of focusing on larger accounts for builders, businesses and government, Kalo said he will shift his business toward retail and working with individual homeowners.
In 2002, the city built the 8,000-square foot building where Kalo will now operate. Kalo had been renting it as a store annex. Kalo said he is still moving inventory and displays from the larger building to the smaller one.
According to court documents filed in June, Kalo fell behind in making payments on loans he’d taken out and owes more than $760,000 in loans, fees and interest.
The foreclosure comes at a bad time for Kalo politically. The first-term Democrat is running for re-election against Amherst City Councilman Nick Brusky, R-At large.
Kalo said he hopes voters won’t hold his business problems against him at the polls next month.
“I don’t think it should reflect on what I’ve done at the county,” he said.
Giardini said he doesn’t think Kalo will lose his Lorain home, but he may have to sell a rental property he owns as the foreclosure process moves along.
Attorneys for CIT could not be reached for comment Friday.
Contact Brad Dicken at 329-7147 or bdicken@chroniclet.com.
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Filed by Brad Dicken | The Chronicle-Telegram October 4th, 2008 in Local and State. Popularity: 2% |
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Comments
Comment from
Lorainpublic
October 4, 2008, 8:20 am
OK…let me get this straight…
A County Commissioner wants to put a county agency into a building he owns? In order for a real estate transaction to go through?
There has got to be laws against this kind of “undue influence” as I see it.
Kalo does not deserve to have a tenant in that building using taxpayers money…neither as owner or to help a real estate deal go through.
Hopefully someone…anyone with the authority will look into this CORRUPT ACTIVITY and stop it immediately.
What hapens to the owner of the building where the Community Action Agency is now?
Just another typical Lorain County “screw the taxpayer” mentality by our elected officials.
Comment from
maerd
October 4, 2008, 9:23 am
Not to mention the cost to the county tax payers for renovations that will have to be made to that building prior to the Lorain County Community Action Agency moving in.
Comment from
ladalang
October 4, 2008, 3:43 pm
And this train wreck wants to run our County? If you people vote him in again, so help me. We are a depressed area because we have horrible leadership. If you don’t demand excellence you don’t get it.
Comment from
spidey
October 4, 2008, 7:40 pm
Quit your crying.
Ted kalo is one of the good ones. Because YOU dont like him you want him out. Fine, vote him out. Wont happen but its your right to try. Kalo beats Brusky….hands down.
Comment from
maerd
October 5, 2008, 12:19 am
spidey - Boy are you going to be disappointed when Nov 4 7:30 P.M. roles around.
Kalo lost any chance of re-election when the county voters got to see just how well he runs things with his business.
I don’t think he had much a chance before this came out anyhow.
The county voters are sick of the way the Lorain County Commissioners have mishandled this county.
Kalo is gone and the tax that is on the ballot does not have a chance in hell.
Like I said in a previous post that levy will fail badly with Elyria’s levy being a close second.
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