Plaza 66 Foreclosure Suit Resolved, Owner Calls It 'Misunderstanding'

JOLIET, IL — Three years after buying downtown Joliet's old Montgomery Ward building at 103 North Ottawa St., a mortgage foreclosure lawsuit brought against Joliet commercial real estate investor Noe Patino Arroyo was resolved, according to court documents.

Last July, a firm from Chicago filed a civil lawsuit at the Will County Courthouse against Patino and his company, Patino's Investments. Count one of the lawsuit sought a mortgage foreclosure. The second count was listed as a breach of guaranty.

Lawyers for the plaintiff, Sharestates Investments, stated that Patino obtained his original mortgage of $228,000 to acquire 103 N. Ottawa St., on June 6, 2018.

"As of the filing of the instant complaint, the monies due under all loan documents referenced herein remain unsatisfied after the March 31, 2020 default in payments by borrower," argued lawyer Aaron Nevel of The Law Offices of Ira T. Nevel.

By late 2021, the mortgage foreclosure lawsuit against Patino's Investments was resolved, according to Will County court records.

Patino told Joliet Patch that the foreclosure lawsuit was simply a misunderstanding.

Since 2018, Joliet Patch has produced several articles about Noe Patino's efforts to redevelop 103 North Ottawa St. When Patino acquired the former Montgomery Ward building it was sitting vacant. During a 2018 interview, he told Patch that he was trying to attract a Jimmy John's restaurant as one of the many possible tenants to lease space at his new commercial property.

Patino renamed the property Plaza 66. He and his general contractors have been renovating the outside and inside throughout this summer.

In 2020, one of Patino's first retail stores at Plaza 66, an urban clothing store called The Niche had a non-fatal shooting take place on the night of its grand opening, leaving two people injured.

Joliet subsequently determined that Patino's building still needed approval from the city's building and inspections staff. In June, The Niche reopened for business.

Next door to The Niche, Leo Gonzalez opened The Artesano Store, in July. His retail clothing store features leather boots and clothing made by the indigenous people of Mexico.

In the coming weeks, a new Mexican breakfast and lunch restaurant is expected to open in the corner storefront along Ottawa and Van Buren Streets.

In 2021, Patino installed downtown Joliet's first electronic digital advertising sign to promote his Plaza 66, which is directly across the street from Joliet's Ottawa Street city parking deck.