Some Apthorp buyers already listing apartments for rent

The Apthorp

Less than two months after closings began at the Apthorp, at least three of the 20 buyers have already listed their new apartments for rent on broker websites, despite having signed declarations that they would use the condominium units as their own residences, the Wall Street Journal reported. The developers of the controversial Upper West Side condo conversion, led by Africa Israel Investments, received approval from the Attorney General’s office in May for their 163-unit offering plan, which was based upon at least 15 percent of those units — 25 apartments — being in contract to buyers who intended to live at the storied 390 West End Avenue address. The rental listings throw into question whether those units should have counted toward the developers’ required 15 percent, though there is no evidence to suggest that the developers knew of the buyers’ rental intentions at the time of the signed declarations. Still, the Apthorp is already coming under renewed scrutiny from the AG’s office after it was revealed that the developers had completed a restructuring agreement on their mortgage loan, which requires that the rent from the Apthorp’s remaining tenants be diverted to lender Anglo Irish Bank. The Real Deal first reported the news that Apthorp rent payments were diverted to the lender last month. [WSJ]

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