Bridge Investment Group has launched a foreclosure fight over the International Tower at 8550 West Bryn Mawr Avenue, a roughly 302,000 square foot office complex near O’Hare. In a newly filed complaint, the lender says the borrower, an entity tied to amusement park operator Gene Staples and his company IB Parks & Entertainment, stopped making mortgage payments and failed to pay about $2.7 million in property taxes. Bridge claims it is owed nearly $29 million and is asking the court to wipe out subordinate claims and pursue a personal deficiency against Staples if an auction does not cover the debt.
According to The Real Deal, Bridge filed the foreclosure complaint in late May and alleges payments were first missed in February, with the borrower also failing to provide required quarterly and annual financial statements. The outlet reports that the filing pegs unpaid property taxes at roughly $1.7 million for 2024 and about $939,000 for 2025. The same report notes Bridge listed its loan balance at nearly $29 million as of May 15. Neither Bridge nor Staples immediately responded to requests for comment.
Public property records and a CoStar listing show Staples bought the International Tower in September 2023 for roughly $29 million, using seller financing with a $28 million loan recorded against the property. The records list the building at about 302,088 square feet and show a mix of tenants at the time of the sale. That recorded financing is the loan Bridge is now seeking to enforce in court.
The complaint identifies the borrower as IB Parks and Entertainment and says Staples signed a recourse guarantee on the debt, a provision that would allow Bridge to seek a personal deficiency judgment if a foreclosure sale comes up short. The suit also moves to terminate a slate of subordinate claims and mechanic’s liens, naming contractors and service firms that hold outstanding claims on the building, according to The Real Deal. A court hearing in the case is scheduled for July 16.
Market Pressure On Suburban Offices
Owners of older suburban office buildings have been taking hits as tenants trim their footprints and financing costs stay elevated, according to a recent local market update. A Q1 2026 report from Van Vlissingen & Co. describes a “sorting” market in which Class B suburban product is especially vulnerable to distress and legal enforcement. Bridge, which was acquired by Apollo in 2025, has been active in trying to pull value out of troubled loans, a stance that observers say makes foreclosure and deficiency actions more likely when borrowers fall behind.
What’s Next For Tenants And The Neighborhood
The July 16 hearing will help determine the immediate future of the tower, including whether the court moves toward appointing a receiver, setting a sale timeline, or letting the parties push for a workout. If Bridge ultimately wins a foreclosure sale and the proceeds do not cover what it says it is owed, the recourse guarantee gives the lender a path to seek a personal judgment against Staples for the shortfall. In the meantime, tenants and local officials are watching closely to see whether the case speeds up a sale, leads to a restructuring, or stretches into a longer period of uncertainty for the O’Hare area office complex.
