Office building in trouble

Financial troubles for the owners of a downtown office tower has left Duke Energy holding a bill for more than $200,000 and at least two dozen tenants contemplating their futures.

Early Tuesday afternoon, Duke Energy said it planned to cut off gas and electric service to the Bartlett Building, 36 E. Fourth St., by 8:30 a.m. today.

The 18-story office tower is home to Fresh restaurant, Bartlett & Co. and at least 400 American Airlines reservation employees.

The building's owners, Sterling Phoenix VI, LLC and Carnegie Realty Partners LLC, have failed to pay a "sizable" utility bill, said Kathy Meinke, a Duke spokeswoman.

By late Tuesday afternoon, Meinke said the utility temporarily called off the disconnection plans. "I say temporary because the matter has not been resolved," she said. "We are trying to continue to work with this owner."

Messages left with Sterling Phoenix asking for comment were not returned Tuesday.

The company purchased the 18-story tower in March 2006 for $8.2 million. In September, the firm said it planned to turn the building into a boutique hotel and asked tenants to vacate by next October.

But last month, Chicago-based Carnegie Realty filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Chicago. Among the 18 debtors listed in the filing is Duke Energy, which is owed $227,297.

In the filing, CEO John Thomas said his company had worth no more than $10,000 and debts up to $1 million. The Chicago Sun-Times reported in November that Thomas had worked as an informant for the FBI after a 2004 felony fraud conviction in New York.

Meanwhile, the building's tenants said they are weighing their options. "We're sort of in the dark like everyone else," said Laura Humphrey, marketing manager for the investment firm Bartlett & Co.

Duke Energy is not the only local company that says the building's owners owe them money, Hamilton County Court of Clerk documents show. In 2007, at least four companies have filed suits in Small Claims and Common Pleas courts against Sterling Phoenix. The claims exceed $200,000, records indicate.

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source: news.com