Battery Park City condominium owners and buyers may soon find it easier to obtain government financing for their purchases in the area. Fannie Mae had, in recent months, taken issue with Battery Park City’s ground leases, which vary widely from condo to condo and have an additional layer of complexity that comes from the Battery Park City Authority holding a master lease for the entire area. As Fannie Mae became more cautious, its mountain of paperwork grew and those complex ground leases got more difficult to sift through. But the government-sponsored mortgage giant has now hired an outside law firm to help it tackle the Battery Park City logjam, which, sources told the Broadsheet Daily, will make the process move much more quickly. State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is also said to have reached out to Fannie Mae officials to discuss financing difficulties in Battery Park City. In a letter to the Battery Park City Authority dated April 5, a Fannie Mae executive wrote, “Fannie Mae is ready and willing to purchase eligible loans secured by condominiums in Battery Park City,” though he did not reveal which condos would be eligible. [The Broadsheet Daily]

Battery Park City’s landmark Pier A will soon get its final repairs as the redevelopment project moves along under budget. This week, the Battery Park City Authority approved $11.1 million in construction contracts for core and shell work on the three-story pier, which is slated to begin once the underwater repairs are completed in April. That’s less than the project’s $30 million budget — which came from the city — had allotted for the repair work, and the surplus funds will be used to design the pier’s public plaza, the authority said. The authority is looking to have a tenant in the building by next year and is currently seeking proposals from prospective occupants. The city would have to approve the rent and terms of any lease. This isn’t the first redevelopment effort at Pier A; the city had previously enlisted a private developer to rehabilitate the former marine firehouse but the project never got off the ground. Some authority board members expressed skepticism that the authority would be able to find a tenant willing to pay a sum that would be agreeable to the city, especially given this history. [Downtown Express]

From left: Yair Levy, Michael Shvo, and Rector Square at 225 Rector Place

A group of 45 unit owners at Rector Square condominium in Battery Park filed a $100 million lawsuit against developer Yair Levy, superbroker Michael Shvo and building manager Cooper Square Realty, alleging widespread fraud, negligence and misrepresentation. According to the suit filed yesterday in New York State Supreme Court, Levy, the owner of YL Real Estate Developers, defaulted on the mortgage loan with Anglo Irish Bank, failed to complete construction of the building, converted reserve funds for his own use and failed to make PILOT payments to the Battery Park City Authority. The plaintiffs claim the sponsor and broker misrepresented the quality of the building to potential purchasers. “Instead of a building of their dreams they bought into a building of nightmares,” said Marc Held, attorney for the unit owners. Levy also allegedly sold a block of 15 apartments to an Italian university for use as dorm rooms for exchange students and rented out apartments to Marriott for use as extended-stay hotels, violating local zoning laws. [more]

Tensions have reached a fever pitch at the Rector Square, the
foreclosed Battery Park City condominium, as the court-appointed
receiver and Related threaten to sue a majority of the building’s unit
owners who are refusing to pay more than $300,000 in retroactive common
charges and PILOT payments. Related, the building’s new managing agent, warned in a letter obtained
by The Real Deal that the receiver, Manhattan-based trust attorney
Michael Miller, would be forced to file suit against more than 40
delinquent unit owners if they failed to pay thousands of dollars in
newly assessed charges. [more]