Troubled RFR loan on Chinatown Brasserie space hits the market

Aby Rosen and Chinatown Brasserie

The retail condominium that houses Chinatown Brasserie may be headed for an ownership battle now that Aby Rosen and Michael Fuchs’ troubled loan on the property is up for grabs. According to the Wall Street Journal, the $17.7 million loan, made in 2007 to the pair’s RFR Holdings and converted into commercial mortgage-backed securities, is backed by the retail condo at the landmark 380 Lafayette Street, where the upscale Chinatown Brasserie opened in 2006. Special servicer LNR Partners filed a lawsuit in Manhattan Supreme Court this past October claiming that RFR had fallen behind on loan payments for the condo, and Mission Capital Advisors is now marketing the loan for $16.6 million. Since foreclosure proceedings have already begun, it’s likely that a buyer will attempt to take control of the property from RFR, though the firm has experience fending off those types of moves. Last year, Rosen bought back his defaulted $18 million loan on the Core Club space at 66 East 55th Street. [WSJ]