Fisher Brothers wins Park Columbus for $48M

From left: Winston Fisher, a partner with Fisher Brothers, Park Columbus and Doug Harmon of Eastdil Secured

A joint venture between Fisher Brothers, BlackRock and a California pension fund won the 95-unit Upper West Side apartment building Park Columbus with a bid of $48 million in a bankruptcy auction this morning.

In March, embattled developer Yair Levy lost the building located at 101 West 87th Street that he had tried to convert to condominiums, in foreclosure to Garrison Residential Funding. The mortgage and other debts totaling $52.6 million will be wiped out once the closing occurs, court records show.

Fisher Brothers, a major Midtown-based commercial and residential property owner, partnered with investment firm BlackRock and California State Teachers Retirement System, to place the minimum bid in November. Winston Fisher, a partner with Fisher Brothers, declined to comment.

There were no bids following Fisher’s so-called stalking horse bid of $48 million, and so the court declared the company the winner, bankruptcy court records published today show.

The marketing process was handled by Doug Harmon and Adam Spies, senior managing directors at investment brokerage firm Eastdil Secured. Following a court order in June giving Eastdil the assignment, the firm sent sales information to 393 potential buyers. Among those, 36 toured the property after signing a confidentiality agreement. Fifteen bids were made on the property, and Eastdil negotiated the $48 million contract signed in November with Fisher Brothers, which was higher than what the other bidders offered. Eastdil declined to comment.

No other bidders attended the auction today, court records show.