At Norfolk apartment building, underground cash vault operator uneasy with new neighbors
NORFOLK VA Dec 18 2017
For years, trucks with thick, bulletproof shells motored around the blocks north of Waterside Drive. Maybe some downtowners have taken notice. Maybe they’ve even mused about where those hefty vehicles came from or were headed.
One thing’s for sure: It’s not a mystery that could be solved easily. Most vendors in the discreet world of cash storing, sorting and moving don’t post neon signs advertising their places of business. Imagine a map pointing directly to where the dead presidents are buried.
But what lies beneath an apartment building in the center of Norfolk is a high-security vault that handles tens of millions of dollars in cash, coins and checks. Daily.
It’s a fact that likely would have escaped common knowledge without the airing of a dispute in state and federal court between Marathon Development Group and the tenant it inherited when it bought the Bank of America tower in early 2016. The 24-story building at 1 Commercial Place, now known as “Icon,” is at the tail-end of an overhaul to become 269 luxury apartments.
The first renters are getting their keys this month.
It might not be a household name, but GardaWorld is one of the largest privately held cash services companies in North America. It delivers money and valuables for banks, jewelers and other private clients. Claiming its Norfolk landlord has failed to maintain its space and created security issues, the company filed a lawsuit, under the name “Garda Supplies, Rental & Services Ltd.,” in U.S. District Court on Nov. 13.
Since construction began, the company said, its facility, which is in the building’s basement, has had power outages, water leaks and heating and cooling problems. Construction contractor trucks have blocked armored vehicles – you know, the ones hauling the money bags – from getting to the loading dock, it claims.
The case accuses Marathon of breach of contract, fraud and conspiracy to harm the business. GardaWorld is asking a federal judge to excuse it from the lease.
The relationship has been rocky for months. In September, Marathon asked a Norfolk Circuit Court judge to get involved after accusing the tenant of preventing construction contractors from immediately entering to make repairs. The conflict was resolved with an access agreement.
Frank “Buddy” Gadams, Marathon’s owner, believes what GardaWorld wants is a way out of its contract. He provided The Virginian-Pilot with emails from March he said will be included in his company’s response to the complaint.
In the emails, GardaWorld asks the landlord if they can discuss a buyout of the lease. Justin Uditsky, GardaWorld’s real estate director, wrote that the company conducted a market analysis and determined Norfolk “does not allow for the potential growth we are looking to achieve.” The “change in direction” of the building – converting from commercial to residential – wasn’t a good fit either, he wrote.
Raffaele Allen, Marathon’s director of assets, had responded, saying the lease would be enforced.
This year, the company paid a base rent of about $5,890 per month, according to the contract, with increases staggering up to $6,829 in 2022. GardaWorld took over the lease a few years ago after acquiring certain Bank of America assets, which included its cash vaulting services.
In the prior state case, Marathon’s attorney John Lynch wrote in a letter to a judge that GardaWorld owes more than $1 million in common area maintenance fees.
GardaWorld’s attorney, Tom Branigan, disputes those maintenance charges and said the company “absolutely denies” that the lawsuit was manufactured to back out of its lease
Recently, the tenant has moved out of the basement. Marathon’s decision to redevelop the building into apartments, according to the lawsuit, “directly conflicts with Garda’s need for safety and security.”
Gadams said Marathon wasn’t trying to push the business out.
“We very much wanted Garda to stay,” he said.
Flip through the slick brochure for Icon, and you’ll see all the finery of the cultured class.
Young, fresh-faced friends clinking glasses. The Norfolk night skyline shimmering in the river’s reflection at night. A baby boomer with the sensibility of a millennial (he’s holding an electronic tablet).
A temperature-controlled wine cellar, on-site spa and rooftop bar are just a sampling of the amenities. It could be yours for $1,100 to $2,400 per month.
But who knew the most cinematic thing going for the $90 million project wasn’t the floor plans named after Frank Sinatra and Elizabeth Taylor but the underground lair that required secret passcodes, security clearance and a pat-down?
Sounds like the next Ocean’s 11 movie.
pilotonline
