Situs Holdings, a real estate advisory firm, has inked a lease for 13,650 square feet at 48 Wall Street, landlord Swig Equities said today.
Situs will take the entire 14th floor of the 324,000-square-foot, 34-story office tower, located at the intersection of Wall and William streets. Industry sources said asking rents for the space were in the “high $30s” per square foot. [more]
Protesters were in force Monday night as the State of Israel Bonds, a prominent charity for real estate folks, celebrated its 60th anniversary honoring Denis Hughes, president of the New York State AFL-CIO.
Kent Swig, president of Swig Equities and chairman emeritus of Israel State Bonds, was on hand to help the auction of bonds as guests had pledges ranging from $10,000 to $250,000.
The evening began as protesters outside Gotham Hall, at 1356 Broadway, objected to using state-controlled pension funds to buy Israel Bonds. Marc Becker [more]
Savanna Investment Fund has purchased the senior mortgage loan on Kent Swig’s troubled 80 Broad Street office tower at a discount and is likely to begin foreclosing on the property within the week. Sources told the Post that Savanna received a 12 percent discount off of the $75 million face value of the loan, which has been in special servicing with J.E. Robert Companies since last winter. Swig led a partnership that purchased the 410,000-square-foot building for $70 million in 2004, but by 2010, the property was appraised for just $67 million and entered into “covenant default” even though Swig was still making mortgage payments at the time. [more]
Kent Swig’s stalled condominium conversion project at 25 Broad Street is back in action as a rental building. A court-appointed receiver has tapped developer LCOR to put the 20-story building back on the market, and according to the Wall Street Journal, the leasing office opens today. The project offers 305 one- and two-bedroom units, with 35 different floor plans and rents starting at $3,133 and $5,205 per month, respectively. There are also hefty concessions: one month’s free rent, plus the elimination of broker fees for renters who sign on for one or two years. [more]
Lehman Brothers Holdings is seeking approval from the judge handling its bankruptcy case to restart Kent Swig’s stalled condominium conversion project at 25 Broad Street and turn the building into rental apartments. According to Bloomberg News, the bank said in a court filing that it plans to foreclose on both the conversion and on an adjacent development parcel at 45 Broad Street, and wants to invest $25 million to finish the job. Lehman has already poured $39.9 million into 25 Broad Street since Swig defaulted in 2009. As part of completing the 281-unit project, the bank would demolish the building’s south wing and transfer its 64,000 square feet of development rights to 45 Broad in order to attract potential buyers for the latter parcel. Comments
From the March issue: In 2007, a little-known real estate fund called Square Mile Capital Management made $38 million in loans to Kent Swig, then a red-hot New York City real estate player, for him to complete his high-profile condo conversions at both the Sheffield and 25 Broad Street. Square Mile forced Swig to pledge equity in his condos as collateral for the funds, but by 2008, Swig’s empire was beginning to crumble, and Square Mile moved swiftly to collect. The lender alleged that Swig not only defaulted on a loan backed by 25 Broad Street, but overstated his true investment in the Sheffield, constituting fraud. Square Mile won a massive $28.4 million judgment against Swig and proceeded to shake down every asset he owned in New York. [more]
Swig Equities has inked a one-year deal with a clean energy provider to equip 80 percent of its Financial District office properties with green electricity from sustainable sources, company president Kent Swig announced yesterday. The agreement, with Green Mountain Energy, is the first of several energy reduction programs Swig plans to introduce this year, including efforts to cut water consumption, use green cleaning materials and recycle. Swig, whose Downtown office portfolio includes 110 William Street, 90 Broad Street, 80 Broad Street and 48 Wall Street, called the plan “a sound business decision on all levels.” TRD
The defaulted $75 million senior mortgage loan on Kent Swig’s 80 Broad Street is officially up for sale through Cushman & Wakefield, confirming rumors that surfaced last month and setting the stage for a potential takeover from a buyer, the Post reported. Last year, the loan was transferred to special servicer J.E. Robert Company after it was determined to be in “imminent default” by Fitch Ratings. While Swig’s loan payments are still current, the tower is still in “covenant default.” According to Real Capital Analytics’ Dan Fasulo, Swig would “have to work magic to keep this one” because whoever buys the senior mortgage will likely be looking to wrest control of the building. [more]
Embattled developer Kent Swig recently told The Real Deal that he hasn’t lost as much gelt as everyone thinks. Sheffield57 was actually “the best, most successful deal I have ever done in my life,” he said. When will Swig spin the dreidel next? Read “Swig: I was the fall guy” in the December issue to be enlightened.
At left, Swig poses after lighting the world’s largest menorah last week in Central Park, near the Plaza Hotel. The Real Deal’s own Michael Stoler lit the Central Park menorah Monday. TRD
From the Dember issue: Kent Swig says his critics have got his story all wrong. Since the downturn began, few New York developers have taken as big a media shellacking as Swig. A rising star during the boom years, the 48-year-old developer is now routinely described as “embattled” and near-bankrupt. But in an interview with The Real Deal last month, Swig tried to dispel the widespread belief that his empire has “crumbled,” as many news reports have noted, and insisted that his companies, including Swig Equities, are doing fine. [more]
