Elliman’s Karen Mansour and 400 Fifth Avenue

Prudential Douglas Elliman will officially be named the new broker for the Setai Fifth Avenue, the luxury hotel and condominium from developer Bizzi & Partners, which now faces an amended lawsuit from the Setai Group for another $50 million, The Real Deal has learned. Karen Mansour, the director of development marketing at Elliman, will lead the new sales team, hoping to raise flagging sales at the 400 Fifth Avenue tower, which includes a 214-room hotel and a 184-unit condo. Sales previously had been managed internally by Elida Jacobsen Justo, director of sales at the Setai, who previously told The Real Deal that nearly 50 percent of the units had been sold. [more]

After construction delays and purchaser lawsuits, the posh Setai New York condominium has joined a growing number of city projects releasing buyers from their contracts. An amendment to the offering plan dated July 8 states that buyers at the 40 Broad Street condo conversion in the Financial District have been granted the right of rescission, meaning that they may walk away from their contracts and get their deposits back. The amendment, obtained by The Real Deal, states that buyers have 15 days to exercise that option. Purchasers learned of the change when they received a letter — addressed to all of the project’s buyers — and a copy of the amendment by an attorney representing the sponsor, 40 Broad LLC. The building is being developed by a partnership between family-owned real estate company Zamir Equities and the Setai Group, known for hotel and residential development in Miami. [more]