Turkish developer sues Archdiocese, Lotte New York Palace over alleged encroachment

Sedesco, the firm behind a new 20-story Midtown office building, is seeking $1.5M in damages

34 East 51st Street Lotte Huseyin Unver
From left: The Lotte New York Palace Hotel And 34 East 51st Street in Midtown (inset: Sedesco's Huseyin Unver)

Sedesco, the Turkish developer behind a new 20-story office building in Midtown, is suing its neighbors, accusing them of failing to deal with their building’s alleged encroachment into Sedesco’s property.

The firm unveiled a 74,000-square-foot property on the site at 34 East 51st Street last month, about five years after paying $30 million for the site, records show.

Then, last week, Sedesco filed suit last week against the Archdiocese of New York, the owner of 455 Madison Avenue – site of the Lotte New York Palace Hotel – as well as the property’s former and current ground lessors, Northwood Investors and Lotte Hotels & Resorts, respectively. South Korea-based Lotte Group bought the ground lease for the hotel last year from Northwood for $805 million.

Sedesco claims that, in 2013, two years after it purchased the 34 East 51st Street, it discovered that the Lotte Hotel’s foundation extended two feet over the property line. Sedesco allegedly notified Northwood, which held the lease at the time. Midtown-based Northwood allegedly failed to respond appropriately.

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The defendants’ actions were “intentional and unreasonable,” the complaint alleges.

Their actions delayed Sedesco’s project, according to the complaint. The developer is seeking $1.5 million in damages.

The Archdiocese of New York, Northwood, and Lotte did not immediately return a request for comment.