During his long career in real estate and medicine, Dr. Selvin Passen established himself as a shrewd and successful businessman. He guided a South Florida marina away from bankruptcy into a deal estimated around $140 million.

So why is he pushing his South Baltimore marina into a foreclosure auction?

Passen leads the ownership group behind Harborview Marina off Key Highway in South Baltimore. The owners abruptly evicted all the boaters and closed the 278-slip marina this spring, blaming unsafe conditions of the concrete pier.

Ahead of the evictions was a sequence of curious financial maneuvers by Passen and his partners.

In August, the doctor registered a new company in Florida to buy the mortgages on the Baltimore marina. Then his marina missed the monthly payments on these mortgages.

Next, the doctor filed papers to foreclose on himself, saying in court records that his marina owes his new company almost $2.9 million.

Last month came another twist: Harborview Marina was set for public auction on May 28.

One possible explanation for Passen’s moves emerged in a lawsuit filed Monday in Baltimore Circuit Court. An attorney for Richard Swirnow, the minority owner of the marina, accused Passen and his partner Dan Naor of intentionally making the business go bust in a plan to squeeze out Swirnow.

Harborview was once home to the kitschy, floating bar known as the Tiki Barge, and families often walked on the pier.

The doctor has not returned messages. His two attorneys in Baltimore either did not return a message or declined to comment.

His partner Naor did not respond to a message, either.

Harborview co-owners Passen and Swirnow have been locked in a power struggle over their marina for at least eight years. Passen has wanted to sell the marina, but he can’t without his partner’s approval. Swirnow, meanwhile, has refused to approve a sale or give up his interest in the marina.

It is Swirnow’s position that the foreclosure case is just the latest effort by Passen to push out Swirnow and acquire full ownership and control of the marina, Swirnow’s attorney Ramsay Whitworth said.

“This time, however, it affects the entire Harborview community and the patrons and boaters who use and enjoy the Marina,” said Whitworth, of the Silverman Thompson law firm. “Mr. Swirnow will take the legal position that these actions were in bad faith and a breach of the fiduciary duties owed to the marina and Mr. Swirnow.”

Passen’s wealth traces back to the late 1960s, when the University of Maryland School of Medicine graduate co-founded a chain of medical screening labs. He sold the business in the 1990s and embarked on a second career as a waterfront developer and marina owner.

Swirnow, a Baltimore area home builder-turned-commercial developer, famously transformed the old Bethlehem Steel shipyard off Key Highway into the $600 million Harborview development with a condominium tower, restaurant and marina.

In 2009, Passen bought into a new company to own and operate Harborview Marina. An entity for Passen holds 60% interest in the marina company, according to court records. Swirnow’s entity holds 40% interest. The corporate structure required both men to approve a sale of the marina or a decision to dissolve their partnership.

Their business relationship soured after failed attempts by Passen to sell the marina or to buy out Swirnow, according to court records.

Swirnow holds his minority stake in the marina under the entity SC Marina Venture LLC, SCMV.

“This case, and the acts complained of herein, arise out of years of animosity directed from Dr. Passen and Mr. Naor toward SCMV,” Swirnow’s lawsuit alleges.

It also claims that Passen and Naor would refuse meetings with Swirnow and withhold information about the marina‘s finances.

Passen had taken in his yacht captain, Naor, a former Israeli Naval officer, as a business partner and formed yet another company that took on the day-to-day operations at Harborview. Swirnow accuses the men of delaying maintenance work and causing the marina‘s condition to worsen as part of the alleged squeeze-out scheme.

Swirnow alleges the plan went as follows:

First, Passen formed the new company to buy the mortgages on the marina from the bank. Then Passen and Naor, as the marina‘s managers, intentionally missed the monthly payments. This allowed Passen to declare default on the mortgages and seek immediate, full repayment.

Around the same time, Swirnow alleges, Passen and Naor declared the marina unsafe and evicted the boaters. Finally, Passen brought the foreclosure case, pushing the marina toward the public auction in two weeks.

Swirnow alleges the endgame is for Passen to buy back the marina at auction for cheap. After all, who would bid on a shuttered marina that requires emergency structural repairs?

The public auction is scheduled for 2 p.m. May 28 at the marina.

Swirnow is accusing Passen’s companies of a breach of fiduciary duty, negligence and a civil conspiracy. They are asking the courts for a jury trial. A judge would decide whether to stop the auction.

Along the waterfront, neighbors are frustrated to see the marina closed and its gate locked. Harborview was once home to the kitschy, floating bar known as the Tiki Barge, and families often walked on the pier.

“It is truly unfortunate that the opportunity to enjoy a unique view of Baltimore may not be available to the community again,” said Jeff Dewberry, president of the Riverside Neighborhood Association. “Many of us grew up enjoying orange crushes on the Tiki Barge with our dates, and later, as we got married and remained in the city, we strolled with our kids along the pier.

“We just hope that whatever happens,” he said, “water access remains available.”

Harborview fills in a key piece of the South Baltimore waterfront. Di Pasquale’s Italian Market sits at the foot of the marina pier. Owner Joe Di Pasquale said he has been assured by the marina owners that his business is safe.

North are the floating pier homes, including a former home of actor Kevin Spacey and the Ritz-Carlton Residences, some of Baltimore’s most exclusive real estate. Just to the south is the popular bar and restaurant Little Havana.

“It definitely takes away a big part of our customer base,” said Marc Gentile, the managing partner at Little Havana. “We are in the dark as much as anybody.”

One developer after another has pitched bold plans to revitalize these shores. Now, Gentile sees the stretch of waterfront sliding backward.

“That‘s the real drag of this,” he said. “Maybe nobody was ever building anything new, but now something has been taken away.”

Harborview Marina was one of the few places in Baltimore where people could live on their boats.