The lender behind the 20-story office tower at the corner of Ash Street and India Street in downtown San Diego’s Little Italy neighborhood has not only started the foreclosure process but also filed a lawsuit to either recoup millions in debt or wrest control of the building. Assured Lenders Servi ces Inc., acting as trustee for Boise, Idaho-based A10 Capital LLC, recorded a notice of default and election to sell under deed of trust for 610 W. Ash St. with the County Recorder’s Office on Dec. 19, property records show. The document states that the building owner, West Ash Operating LLC, has not made the monthly installment payments on its $33 million loan since March 1, and lists a past-due sum of $3.1 million as of Dec. 8. The West Ash limited liability company is affiliated with Santa Fe, N.M.-based Gemini Rosemont Commercial Real Estate. The firm is the U.S. arm of Hong-Kong-based developer Sino-Ocean Group. The lender, A10 Capital, is simultaneously seeking the total amount owed on the loan, or more than $30 million, through the court system. On Jan. 7, the commercial real estate lending firm filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Gemini Rosemont in San Diego Superior Court. The complaint alleges that Gemini Rosemont further violated the loan documents by entering into an unauthorized easement agreement with a neighboring property owner. The notice of default triggers the start of a non-judicial foreclosure process and gives the borrower 90 days to get back into good standing before the lender can publish a notice of sale and move forward with an auction, said commercial real estate attorney Gordon Gerson, who represents lenders in foreclosure and bankruptcy proceedings. The lawsuit suggests, however, that the matter is past the point of resolution. “(The lawsuit) is clearly to put a squeeze on this borrower and to take over the property,” Gerson said. Gemini Rosemont and A10 Capital did not respond to a request for comment. Built in 1986, the office tower at 610 W. Ash St. includes 189,243 square feet of space and was the longtime home of ESET before the cybersecurity company moved out in 2024. The building is currently more than half vacant, according to real estate tracker CoStar. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service leases two full floors and one partial floor at the property and is the building’s largest tenant, according to CoStar data. Petrini’s Restaurant is on the ground floor. Gemini Rosemont purchased 610 W. Ash St. for $55 million in April 2016, initially financing the transaction with a $29.5 million loan from Bank of America. In March 2017, Gemini Rosemont’s West Ash Operating LLC entered into a $33 million loan agreement with A10 Capital, which took the form of two promissory notes and was secured by a deed of trust, according to property records and court documents. The A10 Capital loan paid off the Bank of America loan. Gemini Rosemont stopped making payments on the loan a year ago. “Borrower failed to make its regularly scheduled monthly loan installment payment on the monthly payment date occurring on March 1, 2025. Borrower has failed to make any further loan payments since March 1, 2025,” the A10 Capital lawsuit states. At the time of the loan, A10 Capital and Gemini Rosemont also entered into a loan guarantee, known as a conditional springing guaranty, that requires Gemini-Rosemont Realty LLC, as the guarantor, to repay the entire loan balance plus all fees under certain conditions, such as a prohibited transfer of the mortgaged property. The 610 W. Ash St. property is a neighbor to the small parking lot at 1460 India St., owned by India Beech, LLC. The parking lot owner is also suing the 610 W. Ash St. owner for breach of an easement agreement. (CoStar) The routine agreement became relevant in 2025, when the lender learned through a separate lawsuit that Gemini Rosemont is said to have entered into a construction easement agreement with India Beech LLC. India Beech owns the surface parking lot at 1460 India St., immediately adjacent to the office tower. The India Beech entity is affiliated with San Francisco-based Forge Development Partners, which has been planning to erect a residential skyscraper on the small lot. The entity sued Gemini Rosemont in May 2025 for breach of a construction easement agreement, alleging that the company’s inaction has cost the developer $8.3 million in carrying fees and increased construction costs. In the complaint, the parking lot owner states that Gemini Rosemont proposed an easement agreement in November 2021 to give the developer access to portions of the 610 W. Ash St. property for construction purposes. The 1460 India St. owner claims its neighbor confirmed the validity of the agreement several times via email in 2024, when the developer was ready to move forward with its residential tower. “Defendants have breached the easement agreement by failing to communicate and by failing and refusing to provide necessary documents and communications for plaintiff to proceed with permitting and development of the IB Property,” the India Beech lawsuit states. The India Beech complaint was followed up with a Notice of Pendency of Action on Oct. 7, which is a recorded notice against a property that alerts potential buyers or lenders that the title is in dispute. “The lender was not aware of the alleged easement agreement nor did lender consent to any easement agreement,” the A10 Capital suit states. “Borrower’s alleged grant of the easement would constitute a lien on the mortgaged property, a prohibited transfer under the loan agreement and mortgage, and an event of default.” An easement agreement is a form of a property transfer, even if this one is a very minor transfer of property, Gerson, the real estate attorney, said. A10 Capital sent two letters to Gemini Rosemont, the first on Dec. 4 notifying the borrower of its default and the lender’s decision to accelerate the loan, making the entire balance due immediately. On Dec. 15, the lender’s law firm delivered a second letter, this time invoking the springing condition, demanding full payment of $30,009,387.11 from the guarantor and demanding that the lien against the property be removed within 14 days. The notice of default was recorded against the property a few days later. Gemini Rosemont’s legal and financial woes follow a protracted attempt to quietly offload the 610 W. Ash Street tower. “The property has been softly marketed for at least a year,” said Richard Gonor, an executive with real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle who specializes in leasing and sales for downtown office properties. “Given the remaining loan balance, it’s likely that the lender is looking to recoup as much of the loan as possible, but that may be more than what the market’s willing to bear.” The office tower, while well located, has likely struggled to fill its vacant space because of a lack of amenities and limited investment in the upper floors, he said. It may also not be a strong candidate for residential conversion, limiting the potential buyer pool. ...read more read less