Alex Sapir’s business partner gets extension for Surfside condo, company names new CEO

Gerard Guez received an extension to June 15 for 10% of the purchase price

Alex Sapir, Amir Richulsky, Gerard Guez and a rendering of Arte by Antonio Citterio
Alex Sapir, Amir Richulsky, Gerard Guez and a rendering of Arte by Antonio Citterio

Alex Sapir’s business partner received an extension to pay part of his deposit for a unit at the developer’s new South Florida luxury development. The company has also named a CEO to replace Baruch Itzhak, documents show.

New filings with the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange reveal that Gerard Guez, who already put down a 10 percent deposit on the $11.5 million unit at Arte by Antonio Citterio in Surfside, is getting an extension to pay an additional 10 percent. Guez now has until June 15, documents show. His deadline for the second 10 percent installment was previously the end of March.

Guez, a fashion industry executive and founder of the popular Buddha Bar nightclub, owns a portion of Sapir Corp., the publicly traded Israeli company that owns sites in Miami and Surfside, as well as a hotel in New York City.

Arte, the 12-story, 16-unit condominium at 8955 Collins Avenue in Surfside, was recently completed, though no closings have been recorded. Sapir previously sold two units at the building — to his mother, Bella, and to his sister, Ruth Sapir-Barinstein — for a combined $20 million for the entire eighth floor. That means 13 units remain, or about 81 percent. Sales are being handled by Douglas Elliman.

Guez received a 5.6 percent discount off the asking price of the unit in Surfside, and will also get a credit for 7.5 percent of the purchase price when the deal closes, according to Israeli documents.

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In 2018, Guez purchased shares in the company — amounting to about 26 percent of Sapir Corp. — when he sold his stake in Sapir’s NoMo Soho hotel in New York. His other homes include a condo at the ultra-luxury supertall 432 Park Avenue in Manhattan.

According to a document filed on Friday, Sapir Corp. also found a new CEO, subject to a vote by the company’s shareholders next month.

Amir Richulsky, director of finance for the Sapir Organization, is expected to become CEO. The current CEO, Baruch Itzhak, announced earlier this year he would be stepping down from Sapir Corp. in May and heading to Property & Building Corp. as CFO. PBC is one of the top real estate companies in Israel, according to its website.

Richulsky would become CEO on May 15, according to a press release. Sapir Corp. Chairman Alex Sapir said in a statement that Richulsky has worked in leadership roles within the Sapir Organization for nearly five years, and that his experience “will ease the transition process.”

Richulsky’s base salary will be $250,000, less than what Itzhak was earning, documents show. The reduced salary is a reflection of the pandemic, Sapir said.