Mellon to foreclose on One Oliver Plaza; may be largest real estate foreclosure in history. (Mellon Bank Corp)

May be largest real estate foreclosure in local history

DOWNTOWN - Mellon Bank Corp., hoping to recoup what it can from an unpaid $92 million mortgage, is foreclosing on One Oliver Plaza, one of the Pittsburghs largest and most troubled office buildings.

The 39-story tower is set to be sold at an April 6 sheriff's sale.

The amount of the judgment, including attorney's fees, principal and accrued interest, is $105.97 million, making it perhaps the largest real estate foreclosure action in the history of Western Pennsylvania.

"It's the highest one I can remember," said Richard Fersch, who handles such sales for Allegheny County's sheriff office.

Mellon, which declined comment for this article, filed for the One Oliver Plaza foreclosure Jan. 21, under the name AP Rural Land Inc. The action was a so-called "friendly foreclosure," made possible by a settlement between Mellon and One Oliver Plaza Associates, the limited partnership that purchased the 617,000-square-foot building in 1983.

According to court documents, One Oliver Plaza Associates has agreed to drop a U.S. District Court lawsuit charging Mellon …