A 19-story office tower in San Diego's Little Italy is staring down foreclosure after the building's lender sued the owner, seeking roughly $30 million in unpaid debt. The legal move piles fresh pressure on a property that lost its biggest tenant, cybersecurity firm ESET, and has watched occupancy slide since the company gave back large blocks of space in 2024.
The lender’s complaint seeks the full balance remaining on the mortgage and asks a court to clear the way for foreclosure, according to the San Diego Union‑Tribune. The 610 W. Ash St. tower totals about 189,243 square feet and was built in 1986, per CBRE. The property last traded in 2016 in a deal that brought new investment owners to Little Italy, according to contemporary coverage by Bisnow.
Tenant Loss Deepened Financial Strain
Industry monitors trace the tower's current troubles to the departure of ESET, which gave back a large block of space in August 2024 and left occupancy sharply lower, according to Morningstar DBRS. The firm noted the loan was moved onto a watchlist and that a cash-flow sweep was put in place until the former ESET space is re-filled, leaving little in reserve to cover debt service.
Foreclosure Options And Market Impact
If the lender wins its demand for payment, the owner could pursue a workout, hand the property to a receiver, or face a trustee sale. Each of those paths can shift control to the lender or a new owner. Brokers currently list multiple suites as available in the building's marketing materials on LoopNet, signaling that ownership is still trying to lease up the tower even as the court case plays out.
The foreclosure filing lands as another data point in a broader downtown San Diego story of elevated vacancy and muted leasing demand, trends flagged by industry watchers. Whether the Little Italy tower dodges lender control will likely hinge on how quickly brokers can re-tenant the former ESET space or whether the lender opts to restructure, sell, or take possession of the asset.
