Chelsea townhouse developed by Corcoran agent faces foreclosure

Lender says developer owes $8.5 million

A boutique townhouse building in Chelsea developed by the Corcoran Group’s Daren Herzberg and business partner Denny Herzberg, has found itself in financial difficulties four years after it first came on the market.

Herzberg Property Group, owned by the two Herzbergs, is facing foreclosure at the property, according to data from PropertyShark.com, having failed to sell the building both as separate units and later as a single-family home. SFR Venture, the successor to Lender Broadway Bank of Chicago, which folded in 2010, has filed a lis pendens, the first step in a foreclosure case, against the developer, claiming Herzberg owes it more than $8.5 million.

The development, which was originally designed by architects John Gordon and Cortney Walleston as a combination of two simplex units and one penthouse with a roof-top pool, launched sales in 2008. It later switched gears and came back on the market in 2010 as a single property, asking $22 million. It has since dropped its price to $16.7 million. Julie Pham, senior vice president at Corcoran, has the listing; she was not immediately available for comment.

Apollo Builders and Roebling Engineering, two firms that completed work at the townhouse, are also named as defendants in the foreclosure case.

“They are people who have also made claims against the building,” said Donald David, a commercial litigator at Akeman law firm, who represents SFR in the filing. “They named us because we are a party with interest in the property.”

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Apollo, a New York-based construction firm, is also making claims in the case against Herzberg over claims it has not been paid for some of the work it provided at the property, David explained. The added claims could mean Herzberg would owe significantly more than the $8.5 million asked by SFR.

Herzberg, which dropped the price on the property 21 days ago to the current $16.7 million figure, and the other defendants in the suit will issue an answer to the complaint within coming weeks, David said.

The 10,000-square-foot mansion, which has six bedrooms all with en-suite full baths, has approximately 2,000 square feet of exterior space on multiple terraces, according to the listing for the building. It also boasts mod modern amenities like fully-integrated security, surround sound, climate control and keyless entry.

Dwell Magazine celebrated a new publisher six months ago with a coming-out party at the townhouse.

Herzberg was not immediately available for comment.