The developers behind the Studio West 117 Fieldhouse, a mixed-use project that caters to the LGBTQ+ community that is closing at the end of month, defaulted this year on a $4.8 million loan tied to the project, according to Cuyahoga County court records. 

This forced the project into the hands of a receiver last month on behalf of the lender SummitBridge National Investments. In the end, the developers, Daniel Budish and Betsy Figgie, owed more than $5.5 million in principal and interest.

The court appointed Mark Abood of the Colliers real estate company to take control of the property. 

Earlier this week, Signal Cleveland reported Studio West 117 and a related project, the Phantasy Theater, owe more than $160,000 in back property taxes. 

Budish, who has not responded to a request to comment, once lauded the Studio West 117 Fieldhouse, which opened in 2022, as the anchor to an ambitious plan to revitalize properties near the Lakewood and Cleveland border. 

East Cleveland gets ready for receivership

Officials in East Cleveland say they don’t oppose having their city placed in receivership to solve long-running financial problems. But they don’t want the receiver to have total power over city spending and staff. 

The state is asking an Ohio Court of Claims judge to place one of two restructuring experts in charge of the suburb’s finances. 

In a court filing this week, East Cleveland’s lawyers asked the judge to require the receiver to run decisions through the mayor and City Council. They proposed having the court intervene if the receiver and city can’t resolve disputes. 

“The City, the State, the receiver and this Court must get this right,” the filing reads. “In order to do that, a deliberative, incremental approach is warranted, not the sledgehammer the State wishes to take to the City.”

A court hearing is scheduled for Dec. 10. Read the filing below: