West Virginia remains the only state to have seceded from another in U.S. history, with its journey to independence rooted in the Northern Panhandle.

Deep within the walls of West Virginia Independence Hall in Wheeling runs a decision that changed Virginia’s history forever.

In the 1860s, Western Virginia lawmakers were not on the same page as those in Richmond — and sought out to become a separate state.

And that’s where Independence Hall plays a part.

“Wheeling was the second largest city in the state of Virginia at the time, and it needed a custom house that was service to the Ohio River because Wheeling was a port of delivery,” Independence Hall site manager Debbie Jones said.

Considerably the most famous area in the building is the third-floor courtroom. There, Gov. Harrison Pierpont signed the state’s constitution in 1862.

Along the way, though, leaders first considered another name: Kanawha.

“And they decided most people don’t know how to say it, let alone spell it, so they decided to keep the name of the mother state, which was Virginia,” Jones said.

So, West Virginia was born.

On June 20, 1863, the Mountain State seceded from Virginia and embarked on its own journey.

Jones says with a new state, came a new culture — a culture that began in Wheeling.

“I always say West Virginia, we don’t have beaches, we don’t have professional sports teams, amusement parks, but we have us. We have our people,” she said.

Today, Independence Hall tries to preserve the power that it holds, from hosting political events to the state’s history bowl and its annual birthday celebration on West Virginia Day.

“Come on down and see what’s in your own backyard,” Jones encouraged. It’s the only birthplace of the state of West Virginia.”

The lender has taken ownership of The National, a 52-story mixed-use skyscraper in Dallas’ central business district, records show.

Ownership reverted to Starwood Property Trust, an affiliate of Starwood Capital Group, following a foreclosure auction on the steps of the George Allen Courts Building Tuesday. The listed purchase price was $207 million. Existing debt was used to buy the building.

Attempts to contact Starwood before publication were not returned. Dallas developer Shawn Todd, the building’s previous owner, could not be reached for comment.

The foreclosure and Starwood’s acquisition of the tower at 1401 Elm St. was expected.

In an exclusive interview last month, Todd told The Dallas Morning News that he owed roughly $230 million to Starwood. The lender filed the foreclosure in early January, and Todd said he would not fight the proceedings.

Todd cited high interest rates and lower downtown property values as reasons for the foreclosure. He previously said occupancy in the apartments had fallen below 80%.

Todd said he refinanced with Starwood three years ago, but talks with the lender weren’t enough to save the property from foreclosure.

“With our debt balance, the interest rate environment and property values downtown … We don’t see a path to us recouping our remaining equity,” he said. “We’ve been committed to downtown. We’ve been committed for 20 years. In 35 years, our firm has never lost money — this is the first year that it’s happened.”

Todd and his firm Todd Interests invested more than $460 million in a redo of the former National Bank Tower.

The midcentury tower set empty for a decade before it underwent one of the largest urban restoration projects in the nation. The 1.5 million-square-foot office tower became a combination of apartments, hotel rooms, retail, restaurants and office.

Todd touted the deal in 2019 as the “largest historic tax credit deal in Texas.”

The developers got $100 million in historic tax credits and $50 million in Dallas tax increment financing that made the project viable.

“The values aren’t there. That’s the main reason,” Todd previously said of the foreclosure. “The loan is due, and we’re not going to continue to pay.”

It’s unclear what Starwood plans to do with the property. All six restaurants, including the Italian steakhouse and seafood spot Monarch, will remain open.

Opened in 1965, the downtown skyscraper was designed by noted Dallas architects George Dahl and Thomas Stanley. It was the largest vacant building in North Texas when it closed in 2010.

It was the last of the city’s great skyscrapers to be repurposed, according to previous News reporting.

The foreclosure sales come just months after Todd’s firm offloaded its entire share of the 20-acre East Quarter development on the eastern edge of downtown to partner J.P. Morgan Asset Management for an undisclosed sum.

Todd Interests has been behind some of the city’s preeminent redevelopments. In addition to The National, the firm was behind the $300 million renovation and rebranding of Dallas’ Energy Plaza into The Sinclair.

Torose Equities and Sabal Investment Holdings unloaded a boutique office building in Miami’s Coconut Grove neighborhood for $61 million, the joint venture announced.

Azora Private purchased the seven-story property at 3480 Main Highway, which faces the Barnacle Historic State Park and is about 5.5 miles southwest of Downtown Miami. The 68,031-square-foot building, which holds about 55,000 square feet of rentable space, is fully leased, according to a representative for the sellers. 

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Office tenants include Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, real estate firm Longpoint Realty Partners, and private equity firm Redbird Capital Partners. Restaurants Amal and Level 6 operate outposts on the ground floor and the rooftop.

Last year, Torose Equities and Sabal Investment Holdings gained control of the asset by buying a $32.5 million mortgage from Madison Realty Capital, which fell in UCC foreclosure. CGI Merchant Group owned about $4.7 million in debt tied to the building, which was completed in 2019.

“We recognized the opportunity to acquire a well-located, fully-occupied asset below replacement cost and reposition legacy leases to current market rates,” Scott Sherman, founder and principal of Torose Equities, said in a statement. “The strong investor demand for quality office assets in this submarket validated our thesis and allowed us to deliver exceptional returns to our investors.”

The purchase adds to Azora Private’s Coconut Grove’s office portfolio. Last year, the Madrid-based real estate investment firm bought both the seven-story building at 3225 Aviation Avenue and the four-story building at 3250 Mary Street for a combined $82 million, The Real Deal reported. 

The neighborhood has emerged as one of the most coveted areas in Miami with wealthy executives, who typically want to work near where they live. In the past few months, Google’s billionaire co-founder Larry Page has spent nearly $200 million on estates in Coconut Grove.

A representative for Azora Private did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Julia Echikson can be reached at jechikson@commercialobserver.com.