The Lucida at 151 East 85th Street, Gary Barnett

An Extell Development affiliate is suing a small residential brokerage firm for breach of contract for allegedly keeping nearly $200,000 in commissions at the Upper East Side condominium tower Lucida, even though the sales were never finalized, Meanwhile, in the Financial District, the international architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill claims its landlord, a partnership between real estate private equity firm Capstone Equities and investor the Carlyle Group, has stiffed it on more than $1 million in tenant improvement work at its Financial District office, a recent lawsuit says. Also in the Financial District, a stalled condo conversion project has created one more headache for the German lender Deutsche Bank that provided equity financing for the site at 45 John Street. [more]

The developer of 22 Renwick is refuting buyers’ claims that the first closing in the building was a sham. “We’re not doing anything tricky here,” said Andrew Bradfield, a principal at Orange Management and the developer of Renwick along with Helix Partners. Buyers in the building have filed applications with the attorney general to get their money back, saying they’re entitled to a right of rescission because of delays at the site. Bradfield says their applications have no legal merit and some buyers are merely looking for steep discounts from the originally agreed-upon sales prices. “They’re treating it like they can close at that price [only] if they feel like it,” he said. “That is not the idea of a contract.” [more]

After construction delays and purchaser lawsuits, the posh Setai New York condominium has joined a growing number of city projects releasing buyers from their contracts. An amendment to the offering plan dated July 8 states that buyers at the 40 Broad Street condo conversion in the Financial District have been granted the right of rescission, meaning that they may walk away from their contracts and get their deposits back. The amendment, obtained by The Real Deal, states that buyers have 15 days to exercise that option. Purchasers learned of the change when they received a letter — addressed to all of the project’s buyers — and a copy of the amendment by an attorney representing the sponsor, 40 Broad LLC. The building is being developed by a partnership between family-owned real estate company Zamir Equities and the Setai Group, known for hotel and residential development in Miami. [more]

In the type of dispute likely to become more common in the rocky
economy, buyers at West Soho condominium 22 Renwick are demanding their
money back amid claims that the first closing at the building may be
a sham. At least six purchasers at the 19-unit condo have
filed claims with the attorney general’s office requesting their
deposits back from the developer, Manhattan-based Orange Management. Buyers,
who requested anonymity because they are still in negotiations with the
developer, say construction delays at the site have triggered their
right of rescission, and the first closing — which would, if legitimate, require buyers to close on their units — doesn’t count because it is
a commercial space, according to claims filed with the AG’s office (a cheaper but legally binding alternative to filing a
lawsuit). They also say the commercial buyer may not be a bona fide
purchaser, but be part of an attempt by the sponsor to avoid giving
them their money back. The AG, whose office did not
return phone calls for comment, will determine the legality of the
first closing. [more]

Just a week before a looming deadline for the first closing at the
luxury condominium conversion project at 45 John Street in the
Financial District, the lender sued the developer for $51.7 million in
defaulted loans at the project, court papers say. The developer, Midtown-based Manhattan Capital, and its partner, a
subsidiary of Deutsche Bank known as RREEF Global Opportunities Fund,
were converting the 14-story loft building at John and Dutch streets
into 84 luxury one- and two-bedroom units. Lender Bayerische Landesbank, a German bank, filed suit in New York
State Supreme Court June 22 to foreclose on the note, court papers say,
claiming the developer had missed payments beginning in February. [more]