Developer Rob Kaliner and the Grand Madison
Developer Rob Kaliner, whose Ascend Group is behind new condominiums like the Georgica on the Upper East Side and the controversial A Building in the East Village, upgraded his own New York City digs with the purchase of a $2.48 million unit late last month at [more]
The party’s over at the A Building, an East Village condominium at 421 East 13th Street built by mini-mogul Ben Shaoul and his partner, Rob Kaliner. Beneath the two-year-old building’s reputation for hosting raucous rooftop pool parties lies a reality worse than the most killer hangover — flooding, crumbling balconies, alleged mismanagement of the condo board’s funds and two unresponsive developers who have left owners banging their heads against mold-ridden walls, claim several residents who forwarded dozens of documents detailing these issues to The Real Deal.
[more]
From the February issue: This much we know: There’s billions of dollars on the sidelines waiting to buy distressed real estate. But don’t be fooled: There’s also plenty of double-counting going on. Adelaide Polsinelli, for example, has been fielding countless calls from distressed real estate fund managers and vulture investors lately, all looking for New York commercial real estate at rock-bottom prices. But with sellers still unwilling to part with their properties at deep discounts, investors are getting restless. Polsinelli, a broker and associate vice president of investments at Marcus & Millichap Investment Services, said: “Investors are jumping from fund to fund in the hopes that someone is actually doing deals.” She said they’re frequently committing the same money to each of those distressed funds. In turn, those funds are going out into the marketplace touting that cash. “I wouldn’t be surprised if there were double-counting going on,” said Lawrence Lenzner, a partner at Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler, who represents funds and property owners. [more]
