From left: Izak Senbahar and Simon Elias of Alexico, the Alex Hotel and the Flatotel

Four months after a court ruled debtholders could foreclose on its Alex Hotel and Flatotel properties in Midtown, Alexico Group and its partners have filed for bankruptcy protection in connection with the two buildings, which have $368 million in liabilities, Bloomberg News reported (note: correction appended). The developer has $245 million of outstanding liabilities on the 272-room Flatotel at 135 West 52nd Street with lenders Rockpoint Group, Procaccianti Group and Atlas Capital Group. The partnership purchased the debt from Anglo Irish Bank two years ago. [more]

Clockwise from top left: Simon Elias, Alex Hotel, Flatotel and Izak Senbahar

The Alexico Group will likely lose control of a pair of Midtown hotel properties by the end of the year, after a New York State Supreme Court Judge ruled that the debtholders on the Flatotel and Alex Hotel may foreclose on the properties, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The Flatotel is a 272-room hotel the Alexico Group developed at 135 West 52nd Street that the debtholders moved to foreclose on in September 2010 with a $197 million lawsuit. The Alex Hotel, a 205-room property at 205 East 45th Street, was first hit with an $81.7 million lawsuit two months earlier, The Real Deal reported at the time. [more]

From left: CBRE’s Darcy Stacom and William Shanahan, 2 Grand Central Tower and 299 Park Avenue

It’s been a good week for CB Richard Ellis’ Darcy Stacom and William Shanahan. The Alaska Permanent Fund has agreed to pay $1,075 per square foot for a 49.5 percent stake they were marketing in 299 Park Avenue, sources told the New York Post, in a deal revaluing the property at $1.25 billion.

The pair were hired by the Rockpoint Group to market their share in May. Rockpoint purchased the stake from Swiss bank UBS in January 2010. That earlier deal had valued it at just over $600 million, or $625 per square foot.

Developer Fisher Brothers still holds the majority share and runs the Class A building. [more]

From left: Blackstone CEO Stephen Shwarzman, Laurence Gluck, 1140 Sixth Avenue, Andrew Scandalios, and Rockpoint head Pat Fox

Private equity firm Blackstone was the winning bidder in the highly competitive process to buy the $116 million non-performing note for the leasehold on the entire building at 1140 Sixth Avenue, which is owned by Stellar Management and Rockpoint Group, sources said.
Blackstone will pay something close to — but a little bit less than — $100 million for the note held by German lender Landesbank Baden-Wurttemberg, sources said, but the precise figure could not be obtained. In addition, the owners have an agreement to transfer the leasehold to Blackstone, a source said, but it was not clear if Blackstone would pay for the title, or when the exchange would happen. [more]

1140 Sixth Avenue and Laurence Gluck

It’s a good day for investors looking to pick up commercial property debt: in addition to the $75 million senior mortgage at 80 Broad Street that just came on the market, Crain’s reported that a $116 million senior loan at 1140 Sixth Avenue is also about to hit the block. The 22-story building, owned by Laurence Gluck’s Stellar Management and Rockpoint Group, sits on the corner of West 44th Street and according to Jones Lang LaSalle’s Scott Latham, it is likely to draw “tons of interest” and as much as $600 per square foot. [more]

The Fisher family, who began developing real estate in 1915, has reached a deal to sell its 49 percent minority stake at Park Avenue Plaza — at Park Avenue between 52nd and 53rd streets — for about $330 million, partly to raise cash to take advantage of opportunities in today’s distressed market. The stake was sold to Rockpoint Group, an investment firm that also owns a 49 percent interest in another office tower controlled by the family, 299 Park Avenue. The deal fits into the family’s strategy of selling minority interests in their properties, but not relinquishing control. “From the family’s perspective we’re in a great position to take advantage of some of the dislocation that may be coming,” Winston Fisher, grandson of a founding Fisher, told the Wall Street Journal. The Fishers have also reached a settlement with developer Sheldon Solow, who is about to complete a buyout of the Fishers’ stake in a partnership between them that soured. While they are looking to become more active buyers, the Fishers are not in a rush. “We’re on the hunt,” Fisher said, but “we don’t have to do anything right now.” [WSJ] and [NYO]

[more]

From the October issue: New York City is at a peculiar crossroads. For months, investors have
marshaled unprecedented amounts of capital, salivating at the prospect
of snapping up distressed properties. “We’re fortunate this cycle to
have the most dry powder in our
history,” Blackstone Group president Tony James said last month at the
Barclays Capital Global Financial Services Conference, which was held
in Manhattan. The firm has about $28 billion in unspent capital, he
said. About $12 billion of that is earmarked for real estate. “We’re
just beginning what will be the best period in decades for private
investing,” he said. Dan Fasulo, a managing director at Real Capital
Analytics, estimated
that $50 billion has been raised and is ready to be deployed into
distressed real estate. Paradoxically, investors have found very little
worth buying so far, in large part because banks continue to hold
troubled loans on their books, hoping conditions will improve. [more]

Fitch Ratings downgraded another series of commercial real estate loans, driven in part by concerns that the troubled Riverton Houses apartment complex in Harlem would incur a “significant loss upon liquidation” based on a recent appraisal report. Wells Fargo, the trustee of the Riverton loan, filed a motion last month in New York State Supreme Court for a summary judgment against developer Laurence Gluck of Stellar Management, who defaulted on a $225 million loan and was thus far unable to arrange a workout with his lenders. Sources close to the case said a hearing is scheduled for tomorrow to determine whether to order a judgment against the developer. If such an order is issued, a referee would be appointed to determine the total amount due and what steps would be taken to place the property up for sale and collect on any personal guarantees. [more]