A New York State Supreme Court judge late last month ordered the
appointment of veteran corporate attorney Stuart Shorenstein to take
over as receiver of 34 Leonard, the troubled luxury co-op development
in Tribeca. Shorenstein, who recently joined the corporate law division at Cozen
O’Connor, was ordered Aug. 27 to collect rents and complete
construction of the property and named Cooper Square Realty as managing
agent at the building. The order also named E.W. Howell, as general
contractor of the project. “The goal is to complete the [construction of] the building,” Shorenstein told The Real Deal,
when asked about the fate of the project. “The second step is to
complete the foreclosure action. Once that is done, we’ll be in a
position to decide how to proceed.” [more]

R Squared Real Estate is facing a foreclosure suit from iStar Financial
for $37.5 million in loans for the conversion of 34 Leonard, a
loft-style co-op apartment and retail building in Tribeca, which
recently completed construction. Istar alleges in a May 26
suit filed in New York State Supreme Court that the borrower defaulted
on a $29.2 million building loan and an $8.3 million project loan to
convert the site into a 16-unit co-op with 4,100 square feet of retail
space. R Squared is a privately held real estate firm led by
Mitchell and Gregg Rechler, who are major retail and residential
developers, with offices in Manhattan and Melville, L.I. In
the lawsuit, iStar alleges that the borrowers defaulted on April 15,
with a balance of $32.3 million in principal, fees, interest and other
expenses. Istar officials were not immediately available for comment. [more]