Michael Shah and Setai Wall Street
A New York federal judge threw out a securities fraud suit on Tuesday brought by Michael Shah’s DelShah Capital against Zamir Equities that arose out of a commercial-to-residential condominium conversion at Setai Wall Street, Law360 reported. [more]
587 Fifth Avenue at center
A partnership including retail-savvy Crown Acquisitions claims in a new lawsuit that its attempt to buy control of a modest commercial building on a dynamic stretch of Fifth Avenue stalled after the owner backed out of the deal in January.
Midtown-based Crown, headed by Stanley Chera, and a company including investor Steven Feldman of One North Realty, are seeking to buy the ground lease that controls 587 Fifth Avenue, a 10-story office and retail building with 30 feet of mid-block frontage between 47th and 48th streets, according to a suit filed in New York State Supreme Court yesterday. [more]
Kent Swig and 44 Wall Street
The majority owners of 44 Wall Street have asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by affiliates of developers Kent Swig and Zamir Equities principal Asher Zamir, who claim to own a minority stake in the Financial District office tower formerly known as the Bank of America building. In the suit, filed November 2012 in New York State Supreme Court, Swig and Zamir claim that two entities—listed in court documents as New 44 Wall Street LLC and Kommersiella Fastigheter in NY 3 Corp—froze them out of a stake in the 23-story, 289,049-square-foot property. Swig—the president of Swig Equities and co-owner of Terra Holdings, the parent company of brokerages Brown Harris Stevens and Halstead Property— invested $3.5 million dollars and had a 12.2 percent stake in the initial partnership, according to court documents…. [more]
Square Mile founders Jeff Citrin and Craig Solomon and 515 East 72nd Street
The former project manager at 515 East 72nd Street, the condominium formerly known as Miraval Living, has filed a suit against the project sponsors, including Square Mile Capital. James Sheehan is alleging that the sponsors failed to pay him more than $472,000 in salary, bonuses and commissions after he was terminated, due to financial losses connected to the conversion.
The lawsuit alleges breach of contract and violation of state labor laws. According to the suit, Sheehan became the owners’ representative and project manager in 2005 under a joint venture between the original developers, C&K Properties and Zamir Equities. Those two companies acquired the former 408-unit rental building and converted it into a 331-unit spa condominium called Miraval Living. [more]
[Updated at 4:30 p.m.] New York-based real estate private equity and asset management firm Savanna has acquired 31 Penn Plaza, an 18-story, 444,000-square-foot, multi-tenant office building at 132 West 31st Street, between Sixth and Seventh avenues, the company announced today. CoStar told Crain’s that the transaction was worth $130 million.
The building, which offers full-floor office space of about 27,000 square feet per floor, will undergo $26 million in capital improvements to update the building and lease the available office space, Savanna said, including a new front entrance and fully renovated lobby.
“The neighborhood surrounding Penn Station and Madison Square Garden is a growing mixed-use submarket with plans for millions of square feet in office, retail, residential and hotel development over the next few years,” said Christopher Schlank, a managing partner of Savanna. “The improvements we have planned for the building should position 31 Penn Plaza as one of the upper tier buildings in the neighborhood.” — Katherine Clarke… [more]
HFZ Capital Group head Ziel Feldman held a party on the rooftop of the Setai Wall Street last night, along with Elie Pariente principal at the building’s marketing firm Synergy New York, to celebrate its recent return to the market (see photos above). The Zamir Equities-developed project at 40 Broad Street in the Financial District was converted to a 159-unit condominium in 2009, but Zamir defaulted on the $147 million loan attached to the building in 2010. Attorney General Eric Schneiderman halted closings to investigate the financing situation and the building was taken off the market.
The financial trouble was preceded by construction turmoil that caused some initial buyers to back out of their contracts, and a lawsuit by the Setai Group brand alleging “substandard quality.” – Adam Fusfeld… [more]
After taking a hiatus late last year, sales at the Setai Wall Street condominium are resuming with a 16 percent price cut and a new marketing team, Synergy New York. Crain’s reported the 159-unit condo conversion is about 60 percent sold, but the developer, Zamir Equities, agreed to lower the price to $750,000 for one-bedrooms, $930,000 for two-bedrooms and $1.2 million for penthouses “to match today’s prices.”
Setai Wall Street was at the center of financial problems last year, as Zamir defaulted on its $147 million loan, and the lender, Irish Anglo Bank, sold it to HFZ Capital Group and Acro Group for $80 million earlier this year…. [more]
HFZ, led by Ziel Feldman, and Israel’s Acro Group, have closed on an
$80 million deal with Anglo Irish Bank to buy the note at the Setai
condominium at 40 Broad Street.
Anglo Irish, the struggling Irish lender, put its $147 million
construction loan up for sale in 2010 after the sponsor, Zamir
Equities, defaulted on the debt.
Zamir completed the conversion of the 34-story office building into a
condo and sold around 50 percent of the units, but former Attorney
General Andrew Cuomo allowed buyers to back out of their contracts and
halted future sales…. [more]
An investor in the troubled Setai Wall Street condominium project in the Financial District filed a lawsuit against the developer and its lenders, including Anglo Irish Bank, to try and block the transfer of the deed which is being offered as part of a sale of the defaulted $150 million note.
Manhattan-based real estate firm Delshah Group filed suit in New York State Supreme Court, seeking a court order to block the transfer of a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure for Zamir Equities’ Setai Wall Street, at 40 Broad Street. The deed transfer would follow the sale of the defaulted note. The note has not yet sold, court records indicate.
Delshah filed the lawsuit Dec. 20, its third lawsuit at the property, claiming it is the largest member of the entity that controls the deed and does not consent to a deed-in-lieu. … [more]
Zamir Equities is selling off its leasehold on the 43,000-square-foot Fifth Avenue building that houses retailer Quicksilver on the ground floor, sources told the Post. The 10-story property, which sits between 48th and 49th streets and has an address of 587 Fifth Avenue, is 95 percent leased, including the few floors taken up by Zamir’s jewelry business. Zamir’s leasehold extends until 2079 and Jane Goldman owns the land beneath the building. … [more]
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