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RFR and Tricap settle legal battle over W South Beach
New York real estate firms agreed to drop dueling lawsuits, and extend maturing loan
Aby Rosen’s RFR and David Edelstein’s Tricap reached a truce in their dogfight over the W South Beach, The Real Deal has learned.
The New York-based firms dismissed dueling lawsuits accusing each other of trying to sabotage negotiations over control of the condo-hotel at 2201 Collins Avenue in Miami Beach, according to court filings in New York Supreme Court and Miami-Dade Circuit Court.
In an emailed statement, an RFR spokesperson confirmed the joint venture partners reached a “resolution of outstanding litigation and the extension of financing related to the W South Beach Hotel.” It appears Rosen and Edelstein made up amicably, as the statement noted the pair are “longtime friends and business partners.”
The RFR spokesperson declined further comment. A Tricap spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In 2009, RFR and Tricap (formerly Tristar Capital) co-developed the 355-room W hotel.
In January, the firms went to court after negotiations for a buyout broke down amid a looming deadline for a maturing $157.4 million Citibank mortgage. Tricap was attempting to buy RFR’s interest in the hotel for $200 million.
Tricap sued RFR in Miami-Dade Circuit Court in January, seeking a court order to enforce an agreement the partners had allegedly reached in October. Tricap also sought to force RFR to agree to extend the loan.
The same month, in New York Supreme Court, RFR sued Tricap, alleging its partner was attempting to “extract additional concessions,” and that its partner had backed out of its $200 million offer.
Whether RFR and Tricap have resumed negotiations for the buyout is unknown.
Rosen and Edelstein are among the most active New York developers in South Florida. In Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood, Tricap partnered with RAL Development to acquire an assemblage for $13 million in 2021. The joint venture is proposing to build a $200 million mixed-use project on the development site.
Tricap also teamed up with the Related Group, Alex Karakhanian’s Lndmrk Development and Tricera Capital to develop a residential project in Wynwood. The partnership paid $26.5 million for a 1.3-acre development site in 2021.
In downtown Miami, RFR dropped a combined $107 million last year for the 241-room Yve Hotel Miami and 100 Biscayne, a 30-story office tower.