Howard Hughes’ 80 South Street buy targeted in broker suit

Independent broker Keith Zaret, formerly of Citi Habitats, is claiming that he was stiffed on a $900,000 commission in Howard Hughes Corporation’s purchase of 80 South Street from Cord Meyer Development last year.

Howard Hughes bought the building in December for $100 million, and is now marketing the site for sale or joint venture, the New York Observer reported.

In his suit, Zaret says that he signed a limited exclusive right to sale agreement with Cord, and that during the term of the agreement he introduced GGP, Howard Hughes’ former parent, to his client, eventually leading to the sale.

Howard Hughes spun off from GGP in 2010, but Zaret says that at the time of the introduction, the buyer was still very much a part of GGP. When the sale closed, Zaret invoiced Cord for his commission, but the developers refused to pay.

Cord’s COO, Anthony Coletti, told the newspaper that the suit is “some baseless claim by a broker.” [NYO] — Tess Hofmann