Citizens Bank’s bid was slightly more than the listed minimum bid of $1.9 million. The bank will most likely look to repackage and sell the building at 711 W. Pickard St.

The property has been under the management of APR Services since Dec. 5, 2008, and they had until Thursday to sell the building to avoid an auction, according to court documents. The property’s listing price was $2.7 million.

The building, home of The Morning Sun newspaper, went into foreclosure proceedings after its owner, C.M.R. Investments, failed to make payments on its loan.

Two tenants, English Direct Mail Services and the Mount Pleasant Brewing Company, left the building prior to its foreclosure. The Mount Pleasant Brewing Company, owned by Mount Pleasant Mayor Jim Holton, moved to 614 W. Pickard St., and English Direct Mail was shut down following a fraud scandal.

A “For Sale” sign is placed outside the 143,121-square-foot building, which is owned by CMR Investments LP and houses The Morning Sun newspaper and The Morning Star Publishing Co.

If the court-appointed receiver — ARP Services ­­— does not sell the building by 10 a.m. Nov. 12, a public auction will be held at the Isabella County Courthouse and the building will be sold to the highest bidder.

ARP Services serves as an interim manager for under-performing companies and has managed the property for CMR Investments since Dec. 5, 2008.

In the case of a sale, ARP Services proposes to pay nearly $4 million worth of proceeds back to Citizens Bank. The receiver has requested to retain $50,000 so it can pay its operating expenses.

A story published by The Morning Sun last Thursday stated the building was being sold, but not the newspaper.

A separate legal published by The Morning Sun on Oct. 7 showed CMR Investments is the defendant in a lawsuit filed by Citizens Bank. CMR Investments is an affiliate of Brill Media, which formerly published the newspaper in addition to owning the building.

The lawsuit was first filed in October of 2008, said Dennis Haley, attorney for Citizens Bank.

“They have until Nov. 12 to pay $3.9 million before it goes for sale,” Haley said.

Haley said it is unlikely the building will be sold in time before the public auction.

“With the market the way it is, the building is not worth that much,” he said. “The mortgagor is not going to pay $3.9 million for a building that is worth $2 million.”

The property is listed for sale at a price of $2.7 million, according to a court document filed in May. The receiver requested all offers be $1.9 million or greater.

The Morning Sun has been a tenant of the Commerce Center building since the 1990s.
It has been owned and published by Brill Media and the Journal Register Company this decade, both of which filed for bankruptcy during their respective ownerships.

Brill Media filed for bankruptcy in 2002 and sold The Morning Sun, but retained ownership of the building.

JRC announced its Chapter 11 bankruptcy last February, but emerged from it in August. The company owns 20 daily newspapers and more than 180 non-dailies in six states.