Investors sue Flushing developer over LES dev site deal

Owners claim Xingmei Chen failed to close $29.5M contract at 208 Delancey

From left: Rendering of 208 Delancey Street and the construction site now
From left: Rendering of 208 Delancey Street and the construction site now

A group of Lower East Side investors is suing a developer from Flushing for allegedly failing to close on a $29.5 million contract for a Delancey Street development site.

The group of 53 investors who own the condominium development site at 208 Delancey Street claim Xingmei Chen of American Chengxing Investment failed to meet the May 5 closing date “despite being granted numerous extensions of time to consummate the transaction,” according to a complaint filed in Manhattan Supreme Court Wednesday.

The owners, dubbed the Delancey Bridge Tower Group, bought the former home of T&J Auto Repairs for $8.5 million 2011. They started construction on a 12-story, 69-unit condo building before a string of stop-work orders stalled progress at the site.

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The group put the site on the market for $36 million last summer  and entered into a contract with Chen on Jan. 6, the lawsuit claims. The investors claim damages of no less than $2.2 million for the alleged breach.

Chen could not be reached for comment.

Earlier this year, New Jersey-based developer Mao Hua Dong sued Chen for allegedly refusing to honor a contract to sell a 38 percent stake in an a pair of properties at the edge of Downtown Flushing near the Sky Parc condominiums.