Buyer Chaim Miller and seller Silverstein Properties have smoked the peace pipe, and are making progress on the $138 million deal for the Beekman Tower at 3 Mitchell Place.
In April, Silverstein sued Miller, claiming that the Brooklyn-based investor breached the terms of sale when he failed to pay an additional deposit after failing to close the deal by the agreed-upon February closing date.
Earlier this month, Miller responded to the suit, saying he was still planning to buy the 26-story, 170-unit Art Deco tower. He claimed that Silverstein “wrongfully declared a default and wrongfully purported to terminate the contract of the sale.”
Now, under the agreement reached by the parties on Tuesday, Miller will hand over an additional $8 million deposit to Silverstein, sources familiar with the transaction said. If the sale goes through within a roughly 45-day deadline, Silverstein will drop the suit.
If Miller fails to close in time again, however, Silverstein will keep the additional $8 million deposit and will be immediately free to sell the building to another party.
Both parties agreed that “dollars spent on the deal were better than dollars spent on litigation,” said Miller’s attorney Allen Wasserman of Locke Lord LLP.
Representatives for Silverstein declined to comment, as did representatives for Miller.
In a memo to New York Supreme Court Judge Jeffrey Oing, Silverstein’s lawyers wrote that “the parties have agreed to the terms of a new contract for the sale of the property that is the subject of this dispute.”
The additional deposit functions as “good faith money,” Wasserman said.
Eastdil Secured’s Doug Harmon, Adam Spies and Adam Doneger are representing Silverstein in the deal, while the independent agent Ben Reifer is representing Miller.