Unfinished Mount Laurel EMS HQ building on Route 73 scheduled for foreclosure auction. | News | 70and73.com

The shell of the unfinished building on Route 73 that was intended to be Mount Laurel's Emergency Medical Services headquarters. Two large digital billboards would have been under the roof.

A derelict, unfinished Route 73 building that was supposed to be a cost-free Emergency Medical Services headquarters for Mount Laurel Township is scheduled to be auctioned in a foreclosure sale, according to legal documents.

The property and several others in South Jersey — including two in Pennsauken — that are owned by Catalyst Outdoor Development LLC and associated LLC companies will be sold on June 5, under a lawsuit filed by Catalyst's major lender in state Superior Court in Hunterdon County.

Catalyst in 2021 started building the EMS headquarters at 1112 Route 73, about a half-mile north of the Church Road intersection. The Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, outdoor advertising company had offered the Township a free EMS headquarters in return for permission to install two large digital billboards on the building facing the northbound and southbound lanes of the busy state road.

A total of nine properties owned by Catalyst across the state are scheduled to be auctioned.

In Mount Laurel, separate standalone Catalyst digital displays were to have been built on two properties near Route 38 and Route 295. Those properties also are scheduled to be auctioned, according to the announcement.

Contractor Bannett Group Ltd. of Cherry Hill halted work on the EMS building in September 2022 and sued in state Superior Court in Burlington County, saying bills had not been paid. Mount Laurel Township Council in September 2023 notified Catalyst it was in default on the project.

What had been planned: Mount Laurel EMS HQ video rendering

The latest action, a foreclosure sale, ordered under the WPC Billboard Lender LLC lawsuit, is scheduled in the offices of WPC lawyer Timothy P. Duggan of Stark & Stark in Hamilton.

Mount Laurel Township Manager Meredith Riculfy on Friday told 70and73.com in an email that the Township would have no comment on the foreclosure auction.

Two properties owned by Catalyst that hold multi-story digital welcome signs in Pennsauken — familiar sights to South Jersey drivers — also are scheduled to be auctioned. One property is at 5407 Route 70 at the corner of Mansion Boulevard and the other is at 5324 Route 38 at Burwood Avenue.

Another two Catalyst properties on Route 42 in Washington Township, Gloucester County, are listed in the auction sale as are other properties in Flemington and Raritan, both in Hunterdon County, according to the auction notice.

WPC Billboard Lender stated in its lawsuit that the properties were covered by seven construction loans and two term loans.

Court documents state that in 2022 a $4,921,379 construction loan, at 9% annual interest, was made by the plaintiff to Catalyst and associated LLC companies for the Mount Laurel EMS property.

The plaintiff's alleges that the Catalyst entities are in default for "failing to complete certain projects within six months of funding."

"The Mount Laurel EMS Mortgage and Mount Laurel EMS Easement Mortgage are also in default since certain construction liens have been filed and certain property taxes have not been paid on certain properties," according to WPC Billboard Lender allegations in court documents.

The court filing also states that, in December 2022, construction loans of $5,207,396 for the Route 295 property and $3,188,383 for the Route 38 property were executed. The rate on each was 9% annually.

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