Shvo, Doronin moving forward with Crown Building conversion

Partners file condo plan for 26 units at iconic Fifth Avenue building

Michael Shvo, 730 Fifth Avenue and Vladislav Doronin
Michael Shvo, 730 Fifth Avenue and Vladislav Doronin

Michael Shvo and Russian developer Vladislav Doronin are moving forward with their plans to convert the upper floors of Fifth Avenue’s Crown Building into luxury condos.

The partners filed a condo offering plan with the state Attorney General’s office indicating they will offer 26 residential units for sale at the iconic building at the corner of 57th Street, though no pricing was available.

Shvo and Doronin struck an agreement in the spring of 2015 to buy the upper portion of the property at 730 Fifth Avenue for $500 million from Jeff Sutton’s [TRDataCustom] Wharton Properties and General Growth Properties, which had paid $1.8 billion for the entire building earlier in the year.

The deal, however, has not been recorded in property records and does not appear to have been closed. Property records also do not show any construction financing has been secured for the conversion part of the building.

Shvo declined to comment.

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The development partners reportedly planned to divvy up the roughly 290,000 square feet on the 4th through 24th floors between the condos and one of Doronin’s Aman hotels. The name of the condo conversion was listed on documents filed with the AG as “Aman New York Residences.”

Oktay Cini, an executive at Doronin’s development firm OKO Group, is listed as the principal sponsor. The project has garnered the attention of many industry observers as its financial underpinning – the strength of the city’s luxury condo market – has slipped this year.

Meanwhile, Shvo is facing his own challenges, the least of which being a slowdown for high-priced apartments.

In September, the luxury broker-turned developer turned himself into the Manhattan district attorney’s office to face charges of tax evasion related to his expansive art collection, as The Real Deal originally reported.

Shvo declined to comment on the ongoing legal matter.