Bill Edwards’ Loan Ranger sues Armature Works owners over Sundial deal

Loan Ranger Acquisitions, the owner of The Mall at Sundial in downtown St. Petersburg, has sued St. Pete Market Hall and BE-1 Concepts over a deal to develop a food hall at Sundial.

St. Pete Market Hall, led by the founders and creators of Armature Works in Tampa, defaulted on its lease, Loan Ranger said in the complaint filed Monday in Hillsborough County Circuit Court.

Loan Ranger, one of the companies controlled by Bill Edwards, also said in the complaint that St. Pete Market Hall was trying to buy Sundial from Loan Ranger at a steep discount. St. Pete Market Hall’s lease contained a purchase option that allowed St. Pete Market Hall to buy Sundial for $32 million, according to the lawsuit.

Chas Bruck, co-owner of Armature Works and BE-1 Concepts, could not immediately be reached for comment.

St. Pete Market Hall signed a lease for 28,500 square feet of prime retail and restaurant space on the first and second levels of Sundial, constituting about one-third of the mall’s rentable area, the lawsuit said. Existing tenants were relocated and the popular Locale Market and Farm Table Cucina were closed to accommodate the planned food hall, the lawsuit said.

By May 12, Loan Ranger had completed all the work it agreed to do to prepare the space, and St. Pete Market Hall was told it could take possession by May 20. But St. Pete Market Hall delayed getting the needed permits and attributed the delays to the Covid-19 pandemic, the lawsuit said.

St. Pete Market Hall failed to perform under the terms of the lease, the lawsuit said, alleging the food hall operator is “of the mistaken belief that for so long as it can delay its own payment of rent to the Landlord [Loan Ranger], it will be able to strongarm the Landlord into selling the Sundial to the Tenant [St. Pete Market Hall] at a below-market rate.”

Loan Ranger is asking the court to declare St. Pete Market Hall in breach of the lease. Loan Ranger also is asking for $6.5 million in damages.

A hearing date has not been set.