Four New
York City addresses made their debuts on Trepp’s list of distressed
properties in June, and one made a re-entry, according to data compiled
for The Real Deal (see chart below). New to the 48-item New
York City list is Argus Realty’s 32,049-square-foot office property at
246 Fifth Avenue, which is 60 days delinquent with a $14.5 million loan
balance, and two Bronx multi-family portfolios in foreclosure, with
loan balances of $36.5 million and $35 million. Another newcomer is 405
East 77th Street, a 15-unit apartment building that’s 60 days
delinquent with a $3 million loan balance. [more]

The mortgage on Joseph Moinian’s 1775 Broadway is now 60 days delinquent, and with around $249 million outstanding on the loan, the newly distressed property catapulted into second place [more]

Joseph Moinian’s 1775 Broadway (building photo source: PropertyShark)

Granted that, as architecture goes, the former General Motors Building, at 1775 Broadway between Broadway and Eighth Avenue and 57th and 58th streets, is no beauty. In fact it is downright ugly — an overbearing and unimaginative study in pre-war red brick with a tasteless splash of mortar at street level. It took two firms to create this thing, with William Welles Bosworth contributing the pale granite base and Shreve & Lamb of Empire State Building fame finishing the brick-clad upper floors.
But whatever one thought of their collaboration, no building deserves the indignity to which this one is now being subjected at the hands of the Moinian Group, which has decided to change the building’s address to 3 Columbus Circle and reclad the building in a cheap-looking layer of bluish, reflecting glass that is acrobatically tactless in this context (not that it looks especially good anywhere else). [more]

1775 Broadway, where Kohl’s was reportedly looking to open its first Manhattan site (source: PropertyShark)

From the December issue: This holiday shopping season, the biggest sale in Manhattan just might be for flagship space. As 2009 draws to a close, the anemic pace of major retail leasing — the five major Manhattan retail submarkets tracked by Cushman & Wakefield scored just one deal over 10,000 square feet this year, compared to 11 across the same five submarkets in 2008 — has started picking up. Following a deal by furniture retailer Raymour & Flanagan for 30,000 square feet in August, brokers say tenants are finally looking around, after almost zero activity in the first half of the year. Bradley Mendelson, an executive director of Cushman & Wakefield, told The Real Deal he had a signed commitment last month from a tenant for 16,500 square feet of corner and second-floor space at 666 Fifth Avenue, perhaps the most prominent of a slew of major flagship vacancies across Manhattan.  More

[more]

Kohl’s Department Store may be coming to Manhattan, and the company is eyeing the first five floors of Joseph Moinian’s 1775 Broadway tower at Columbus Circle for its new space. Unfortunately, the building’s lights are slated to go out by Nov. 16, unless Moinian ponies up the overdue electric bill, which is easier said than done. Moinian, who bought the building for $130 million in 1999, is also straining to keep up with loan payments on the 26-story property, which are expected to increase by 23 percent early next year. A source told Crain’s that Moinian could lose the building if he doesn’t land a major tenant like Kohl’s. Moinian already lost 475 Fifth Avenue to Barclays Capital last year, and has said he will default on loans at 180 Maiden Lane and 17 Battery Place North. Kohl’s, meanwhile, is reportedly also looking at alternatives to Moinian’s 1775 Broadway, like 224 West 57th Street and a Union Square space. [Crain’s]

Developer Joseph Moinian has informed lenders over the past several months that he expects to default on loans at two of his properties, 180 Maiden Lane and 17 Battery Place North, Crain’s New York Business reported. Both properties’ loans — $292 million at 180 Maiden Lane and $453 million on 17 Battery Park North — are due in November. The credit crunch has made it difficult for Moinian, who has already had to give up 475 Fifth Avenue, to refinance loans. In addition, Moinian’s payments on his 1775 Broadway mortgage are likely to go up 23 percent next year, and the building is only one-third filled. [more]