March is off to a rough start for developer Kent Swig, whose $75 million loan backing Art Deco office conversion 80 Broad Street was transferred to a special servicer because of “imminent default” on Friday. Swig purchased the skyscraper, which was originally designed for the New York Maritime Exchange, in 2004, and according to his Swig Equities Web site, he was turning it into a “luxury boutique office building.” The hitch at 80 Broad is just the latest in a string of personal and financial woes for the San Francisco real estate heir. He is already ensnared in several lawsuits with lenders after defaulting on millions worth of mortgage and mezzanine loans related to his Sheffield57 conversion, and earlier this week, rumors surfaced that he was splitting with his wife of more than two decades, Liz Macklowe, daughter of developer Harry Macklowe. In January he was hit with lawsuits over allegedly unpaid bills on his would-be new offices at 770 Lexington Avenue. [WSJ]

Developer Kent Swig has been named in another batch of lawsuits, according to the Observer, from TPG Architecture and M.D. Mechanical Contractors, for $98,500.39 and $109,364, respectively. Both suits, which were filed in late January, but came to light today, allege unpaid bills for work on his would-be new offices at 770 Lexington Avenue. This news comes on the heels of a rumored rift between Swig and his wife, Liz Macklowe, daughter of developer Harry Macklowe. Swig, whose fiscal problems came to a head through the tumultuous Sheffield57 conversion, defaulted on millions of dollars worth of mortgage and mezzanine loans relating to that project.

Kent Swig

Employees at Kent Swig’s real estate investment firm Swig Equities and commercial brokerage Helmsley Spears are reportedly feeling jittery and even looking for other jobs as their boss’ debt woes threaten to encroach on their own financial wellbeing. Swig has missed his staff’s payroll multiple times this year, one source told the Observer. While he has always made up the difference within a few days, staffers have hardly been encouraged by the incidents. Swig has also been served with an eviction notice on the two floors at 770 Lexington Avenue he leases from jeans retailer Diesel for the offices of Swig Equities and Helmsley Spears. And after this year’s auction of his failed condo conversion project at the Sheffield on 57th Street, Swig’s 140 Williams Street, which he bought for $24 million has been put into special servicing by lender Capital One. “I’m meeting with all his creditors and trying to come up with a global restructuring,” said Y. David Scharf, Swig’s attorney. Scharf said he hopes Swig “can live to fight another day, like many real estate developers have in the past and will in the future.” [NYO] [more]

Arthur Zeckendorf, one of four Terra Holdings co-chairmen; Terra headquarters at 770 Lexington Ave. (Photo source: PropertyShark)

Terra Holdings, owner of Brown Harris Stevens and Halstead Property, has purchased Penmark Realty, one of the city’s top property management firms, for an undisclosed amount, according to the New York Post. Penmark had contracts to manage roughly 80 New York City buildings, including all of Extell’s, which Terra will oversee under the new name Penmark-Halstead Management. Prudential Douglas Elliman was also approached about a potential Penmark acquisition, said Howard Lorber, chairman of Elliman, but declined because it feared taking on the liability of a company already plagued by lawsuits. Penmark will soon operate out of Terra’s 770 Lexington Avenue headquarters at 60th Street. [Post]