NORTH TONAWANDA — A company that received a series of tax breaks 12 years ago to build a medical center on River Road wants another kind of deal.

RER, a real estate holding company that owns the Riverpark Medical & Dental Center at 624 River Road, has asked city lawmakers to accept half of what it still owes under a canceled payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement.

In June, State Supreme Court Judge Ralph A. Boniello III ordered the company to pay nearly $32,000 to the city in PILOT payments owed for 2007 and 2008, according to court documents.

In total, the company owes payments of more than $230,000 to the city, city school district and Niagara County, said Arcangelo J. Petricca, attorney for the company, who made the request to the Common Council during a workshop last week.

Petricca said the company would like the city to agree to accept payment of 50 percent of the amount owed, or about $16,000, which would be permitted to cover the judgment.

Health problems suffered by Dr. Robert E. Reszel in the early stages of the project caused him to stop practicing medicine, Petricca said. Other doctors who depended on Reszel for patient referrals had been expected to be tenants.

“These are unusual circumstances,” he told lawmakers.

Petricca said he plans to make the same request of county officials, and already has asked school district officials for the same deal.

RER owes $40,392 in county taxes for 2007, 2008 and through Oct. 31 of this year, according to the county Office of Real Property Tax Services.

Court documents filed in May indicate the company owed $111,557 plus interest and penalties at that time for three years of PILOT payments.

The Niagara County Industrial Development Agency rescinded the PILOT in October 2007.

The building, which was foreclosed on late last year, currently has 85 percent occupancy; tenants include the dental practice of Robert Reszel II, as well as a urologist and a laboratory.

“The building is a viable building,” Petricca told lawmakers.

The company also is prepared to pay its 2009 taxes, he said.

RER has a pending refinanced mortgage of $1.1 million but cannot finalize a deal until all back taxes are paid, Petricca said. The initial mortgage on the property was $2.1 million.

When Third Ward Alderwoman Nancy A. Donovan inquired about the possibility of putting the company on a payment plan, Petricca said the bank offering the mortgage would reject any proposal involving installments.

In previous situations like this, the Council has rejected offers to pay less than 50 percent, Donovan said.

Mayor Lawrence V. Soos said he had trouble understanding how a doctor could find himself in such a financial situation.

“That just doesn’t sit well with me,” Soos said.

Petricca acknowledged that it probably was not a good idea to build this type of project in its present location. He also said that the Reszel situation is “difficult” and that the family “lost everything,” including their home, after the doctor’s medical issue arose.