Durst Organization moves to foreclose on Eichner’s East Harlem site

Continuum failed to secure financing for a planned 680-unit rental project there

From left: Ian Bruce Eichner and a rendering of 1800 Park Avenue in Harlem (credit: ODA)
From left: Ian Bruce Eichner and a rendering of 1800 Park Avenue in Harlem (credit: ODA)

Ian Bruce Eichner wasn’t able to secure financing for his 1800 Park Avenue rental project, and now the Durst Organization is looking to foreclose.

The Durst Organization, which previously brought Eichner’s debt from the Garrison Investment Group, expects to take control of the property later this month, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Eichner’s Continuum Co. bought the East Harlem site back in 2013 from Vornado Realty Trust, paying $66 million. The developer had planned to build a 680-unit rental building on the site, but was reported as having put it on the block last year.

“The notes are in maturity default and as lender, we intend to pursue our rights and remedies,” Jordan Barowitz, a spokesperson for the Durst Organization, told the Journal.

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A spokesperson for Eichner declined to comment on the specific property, the Journal reported, but lamented the general state of the lending environment. “The capital markets are upside down and the timing is very unfortunate,” he told the paper.

Eichner famously lost several major properties to foreclosure in the late 1990s, including the CitySpire at 56th Street and Seventh Avenue and the Bertelsmann Building at 1540 Broadway

The Real Deal reported earlier this week that lender Gamma Real Estate is seeking to foreclose on the Bauhouse Group’s condo project 3 Sutton Place.  [WSJ]Ariel Stulberg