From left: Morris Moinian of Fortuna Realty Group and a rendering of the Soho hotel at 525 Greenwich Street

Developer Morris Moinian of Fortuna Realty Group is partnering with his 28-year-old nephew and son of developer Joseph Moinain, Matthew Moinian, to transform a vacant lot at 525 Greenwich Street in Soho into a $60 million hotel, he told The Real Deal today. Construction will begin on the project before the end of the year, he said.

Matthew, who recently graduated from law school, has not joined the family business but is rather investing in the project as an individual.

Fortuna, which bought the former parking garage site for $12.75 million at auction earlier this year, is in negotiations with various management systems to operate the hotel, Morris said, including the InterContinental brand, which operates Fortuna’s Hotel Indigo in Chelsea.  [more]

SL Green Realty has stepped in to help developer Joseph Moinian stabilize his investment in 180 Maiden Lane, a 1.1 million-square-foot office building in Lower Manhattan, the Wall Street Journal reported, but Moinian will pay heavily for the aid.
SL Green, a mezzanine lender on the downtown property, has agreed to help Moinian restructure $292 million worth of debt in return for an ownership stake of 49 percent in the office tower, sources told the Journal.
Moinian’s debt on the building reached special servicing early last year, but he managed to extend deadlines to 2012, thanks to help from advisory firm Iron Hound Management. Another deadline is on the horizon however, as an 800,000-square-foot lease by American International Group is set to expire in 2014. [more]

From left: Boston Properties’ Mort Zuckerman, Moinian Group’s Joseph Moinian, 250 West 55th Street rendering and 237 West 54th street

Two big construction projects on the block bounded by Broadway and Eighth Avenue and 54th and 55th Streets were given the go-ahead by the Department of Buildings yesterday, the New York Post reported.

As a result, Boston Properties’ 900,000-square-foot office tower at 250 West 55th Street will begin construction after a two-year hiatus and Joseph Moinian’s as yet unflagged, 34-story hotel at 237 West 54th Street, designed by Gene Kaufman, will rise on the site of a small building which is currently being demolished.

Law firm Morrison Foerster recently signed on for 200,000 square feet at the Boston Properties building. [more]

Joseph Moinian and 100 John Street

Developer Joseph Moinian has closed on an $84 million loan extension at the Financial District rental tower the Renaissance, where he had been facing a foreclosure lawsuit from special servicer LNR Partners, a representative for the developer said today.
Moinian, CEO of the Moinian Group, had been in talks with his lenders to refinance the loan for more than a year, according to records from commercial real estate analytics firm Trepp. As The Real Deal previously reported, LNR filed to foreclose on the property in February, alleging that Moinian had not been making monthly mortgage payments despite taking in $550,000 per month in rent at the 221-unit property and despite having been notified of his default on the loan in August 2010. Negotiations for a loan modification were still ongoing at the time. “This extension allows us to move forward with the planned renovation of this core asset and once again demonstrates our commitment to working with our banks and lenders to secure the long-term success of our portfolio,” Moinian said in a statement provided to The Real Deal. [more]

Midtown residents are none too happy with developer Joe Moinian, CEO of the Moinian Group, judging by some incidents last week, the New York Post reported.

A small fire broke out Thursday at a five-story building being demolished by Moinian to build a hotel at 237 West 54th Street, drawing fire engines and emergency trucks. Tenants of the adjacent building were forced to vacate. “There was a lot of smoke and we’re all nervous wrecks,” said one resident of 243 West 54th Street.

The residents, it seems, have had ongoing issues with the demolition. “It feels like earthquakes and bombs going off next door,” one resident said. Another tenant, Joanne Lockman, emailed the Post: “Waking up to a swaying building is scary on a good day.” [more]

Stuart ElliottFrom the June issue: It’s that time of year again — time to escape the city and head to the beach. Time to trade your pumps and wingtips for flip-flops and sandals. Time to trade fluorescent office lighting for the sun beating down on your back. Time to reserve lunch tables for lobster roll shacks, get pieces of corn stuck between your teeth, and wash it all down with a beer.
With summer season in the Hamptons kicking into gear, we thought, “What better time to take a look at the biggest firms and priciest deals on the East End?”
Unlike those caught up in the migration from Manhattan, it hasn’t been vacation time for top agents out there on Long Island. In an improving market, they’ve been listing and closing deals with big seven- and eight-figure price tags. [more]

Joseph Moinian’s latest West Side hotel project hasn’t even gotten off the ground yet, but it’s already unpopular with its neighbors. According to the Post, union members from Local 79 have set up one of their infamous giant inflatable rats in front of the 237 West 54th Street site where Moinian has begun demolition work in preparation for the 34-story, Gene Kaufman-designed project. Apparently Moinian is using non-union workers to take down the existing, five-story structure after receiving approval from the city’s Department of Buildings last month, and sources said workers at Harry Gross’ next-door development site were angered when they got wind of it. [more]

The Bank of China has agreed to provide a five-year, $260 million loan to refinance 3 Columbus Circle, the glass-walled office tower where the Moinian Group narrowly skirted a takeover attempt by Stephen Ross’ Related Companies earlier this year. Moinian had been trying to renovate the 26-story building when he defaulted on his $250 million mortgage last summer and Related moved to try to wrest control through a foreclosure. The plan was to demolish the 700,000-square-foot structure and replace it with luxury condominiums and a Nordstrom department store. But SL Green Realty and Deutsche Bank came to Moinian’s rescue, helping Moinian to pay off Ross and take back the mortgage. TRD [more]

Joseph Moinian is barely hanging onto several of his existing properties, but the Iranian-born developer is still gearing up to build in New York. According to the Post, Moinian has filed plans with the Department of Buildings to tear down the vacant, five-story building at 237 West 54th Street and put a 34-story Gene Kaufman-designed hotel in its place — right next door to a 67-story Marriott Hotel planned by Harry Gross’ Broadway Granite Development. Moinian’s demolition application has already been approved, though the DOB is still reviewing the hotel plans. A representative for Moinian said the site is in “very preliminary” stages, and that the only work being done there so far is cleanup. [more]

Stephen Ross and 3 Columbus Circle

Joseph Moinian has struck a deal to retain control of his 26-story office tower at 3 Columbus Circle, fending off a hostile takeover by developer Stephen Ross and his Related Companies, the Wall Street Journal reported. Ross had purchased the $250 million defaulted mortgage on the project last summer, planning to wrest control through a foreclosure before demolishing the existing structure and building a Nordstrom department store beneath luxury condominiums. But late last week, Moinian, with the help of SL Green Realty, paid off Ross to the tune of $278 million, taking back the mortgage and putting an end to the clash. [more]