THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT  
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Saturday, July 2, 1994                 TAG: 9407020639
SECTION: BUSINESS                 PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: BY MYLENE MANGALINDAN, STAFF WRITER
                                             LENGTH: Medium:   59 lines

CORRECTION/CLARIFICATION: ***************************************************************** Anthony Smith, a senior vice president at Robinson & Wetmore, was incorrectly quoted in a story Saturday about Town Point Center. His commercial real estate company manages 3.5 million square feet of commercial property. An incorrect number was used in the story. Correction published Sunday, July 3, 1994. ***************************************************************** TOWN POINT BUILDING BROUGHT IN FORECLOSURE

Town Point Center, an 11-story office building in downtown Norfolk, was purchased Friday for less than half of its assessed value at a foreclosure sale.

UNUM Life Insurance of America, based in Portland, Maine, paid $4.5 million for the property, located at the corner of Boush and Plume streets. No one countered the sealed bid by the insurance company, which had held the mortgage on the property.

Town Point Center is worth $10.9 million, according to city assessment documents. The land it sits on is worth $12,800. The value of the building decreased 32 percent from a $16 million assessment last year.

The mortgage of the building is about $14 million, according to the reading of legal documents at the foreclosure sale.

UNUM Life Insurance plans to turn around and sell the building soon, said Gerald Divaris. His company, Divaris Real Estate of Virginia Beach, has been hired to lease, manage and sell the property for the insurance concern.

Problems surfaced last year in December when Jonathan Corp., a major tenant and part owner of Town Point Center, filed for bankruptcy. The ship repair and computer company formerly occupied one-fourth of the building, 2 1/2 floors, but paid more than one-third of the rent.

Some of the principals of Robinson & Wetmore Inc., the previous property managing and leasing agent, whose headquarters are located in Town Point Center, also held a stake in the property. The building was owned by a general partnership called Town Point Center Associates.

The building's previous owners negotiated with UNUM Life to restructure the debt or to offer the deed of the property in lieu of foreclosure. Neither was acceptable to the Maine insurance company, said Anthony Smith, a senior vice president at Robinson & Wetmore.

Although some of the principals of Robinson & Wetmore still own a minority stake in Town Point Center, ``For us as a company, it'll have little impact because we manage 3 1/2 square feet of other property,'' Smith said.

The transition of ownership began immediately after the foreclosure sale.

``We are in the process of making sure the tenants are comfortable, that the transition is smooth, (that) there are no hiccups,'' Divaris said.

Because Jonathan Corp. is still a tenant in the building - reduced to 1 1/2 floors - Town Point Center remains about 90 percent occupied, he said. by CNB