Wachovia Bank is calling its debts on Tampa's Metro Development Group, which went on a Florida lot buying binge last year with borrowed money.

Wachovia has filed a foreclosure lawsuit to recover $175-million it lent Metro to buy 9,000 lots in Florida. Metro, owned by Canadian businessman John Ryan, has been sued a bunch of time this year by banks, contractors and other business associates.

Metro spokesman John Heagney said the company is negotiating with Wachovia to restructure the debt. He called the foreclosure filing "a normal part of the negotiating process."

"They're like a lot of homeowners. These properties are upside down," Heagney said of Metro. "What they're doing is going in and saying, 'We need to restructure. Work with us.'"

Metro accumulated about 30,000 lots the past couple years, wagering that the housing market would recover strongly in 2010. The company scooped up 8,300 home sites from Lennar - including those in Pasco County's Epperson Ranch - and another 1,000 from M/I Homes.

In January, Metro announced a joint venture with D.E. Shaw & Co., a global investment firm. Private investors staked the partners to $250-million to scout land buying opportunities. Shaw isn't a party to the Wachovia lawsuit, Heagney said.