Florida bank now owns former legislative office building in downtown Anchorage

A Florida-based bank is now the owner of the office building in downtown Anchorage that Alaska lawmakers left after an extensive and pricey renovation project.

EverBank went to Anchorage Superior Court over the building in April last year, asking for a foreclosure sale. Lawmakers vacated the offices after a judge in 2016 said the Alaska Legislature's lease there was illegal.

EverBank said in court filings it loaned 716 West Fourth Avenue LLC — a company that lists developers Mark Pfeffer and Bob Acree as officials in state corporate records — more than $28 million for renovations to the office building at that address, and that the loan was in default. That lawsuit was dismissed in early March, court records show.

The parties in the lawsuit came to a settlement, according to a document filed in court on March 1. A warranty deed in lieu of foreclosure filed the same day with the state recorder's office shows the transfer of the property to the bank, for $10.

Now, EverBank is "preparing to list the property," spokeswoman Kipin Alexander said in an email on Friday.

[Foreclosure move targets abandoned Anchorage legislative offices]

Amy Slinker, a spokeswoman at Pfeffer Development, did not return phone calls this week or respond to questions sent by email about the settlement. Pfeffer also did not return a phone call Friday.

The bank taking ownership of the building is the latest development in a long saga of legal battles over the site.

The sleek building at 716 W. Fourth Ave. appears to still be empty. As of Friday the door was locked and there was a sign in one of the windows for commercial real estate firm Frampton and Opinsky.

After leaving the rented offices downtown, lawmakers relocated into a building they purchased from Wells Fargo, at 1500 W. Benson Blvd.