While many developers have seen reversals of fortune in the late 2000s, few were as colorful and well-publicized as Kent Swig's.
For most of his career, Swig was considered real estate royalty: a prominent commercial landlord, a principal in Terra Holdings, and Harry Macklowe's son-in-law. Swig's standing suffered, though, as he lost control of development projects, faced an onslaught of litigation and separated from his wife.
Many of Swig's troubles centered around his conversion of Sheffield57 on West 57th Street, which faced numerous lawsuits from tenants after he bought it with other investors for $418 million in 2005. Swig made headlines when one of those partners, Yair Levy, hit him in the head with an ice bucket during a 2008 meeting. The team lost control of the building to a creditor in 2009.
The same year, Lehman Brothers filed to foreclose on 45 Broad Street, where Swig (and partners including Robert De Niro) intended to develop a hotel. In 2010, Swig closed the Helmsley-Spear brokerage, which he'd purchased a few years prior, and defaulted on a $12 million loan at 80 Broad Street.
Swig, a California transplant and a surfer, also faced personal financial woes, with a reported $50 million in personal debt.
In an exclusive interview with The Real Deal in December 2010, however, Swig was sanguine about his future prospects, and said he'd made an agreement with the creditor that took over the Sheffield, Fortress, that gives him a share of potentially "enormous" future profits. He also said that as part of the agreement, he'd agreed to be depicted as "the fall guy" in the press.
-TA
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110 William Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY, (212)-508-7373

48 Wall Street, New York, New York, (212)-918-4762

48 Wall Street, New York, New York, (212)-918-4762

48 Wall Street, New York, New York, (212)-918-4762
- Event Office Leasing
- Address 83 Maiden Lane
- Neighborhood Financial District
- Borough Manhattan
- Square feet 56,000
- Price per foot $ 44.00
- Publication Date 08/16/2019
- Event Date 08/13/2019
- Party 1 AHRC New York City
- Party 1 Brokerage Helmsley Spear
- Party 1 Broker Kent Swig, Andrew Simon
- Party 2 WeWork
- Party 2 Brokerage Helmsley Spear
- Party 2 Broker Kent Swig, Andrew Simon
- Event Office Leasing
- Address 83 Maiden Lane
- Neighborhood Financial District
- Borough Manhattan
- Square feet 56,000
- Price per foot $ 44.00
- Publication Date 08/16/2019
- Event Date 08/13/2019
- Party 1 AHRC New York City
- Party 1 Brokerage Helmsley Spear
- Party 1 Broker Kent Swig, Andrew Simon
- Party 2 WeWork
- Party 2 Brokerage Helmsley Spear
- Party 2 Broker Kent Swig, Andrew Simon
- Event Office Leasing
- Address 83 Maiden Lane
- Neighborhood Financial District
- Borough Manhattan
- Square feet 56,000
- Price per foot $ 44.00
- Publication Date 08/16/2019
- Event Date 08/13/2019
- Party 1 AHRC New York City
- Party 1 Brokerage Helmsley Spear
- Party 1 Broker Kent Swig, Andrew Simon
- Party 2 WeWork
- Party 2 Brokerage Helmsley Spear
- Party 2 Broker Kent Swig, Andrew Simon
- Event Retail Leasing
- Address 83 Maiden Lane
- Neighborhood Financial District
- Borough Manhattan
- Square feet 4,170
- Publication Date 08/09/2019
- Event Date 08/08/2019
- Party 1 AHRC NYC
- Party 1 Brokerage Helmsley Spear
- Party 1 Broker Kent Swig, Andrew Simon, Brett Zelner
- Party 2 MezCali
- Party 2 Brokerage Winick Realty Group
- Party 2 Broker Manu Wenddum, Lee Block
- Event Retail Leasing
- Address 83 Maiden Lane
- Neighborhood Financial District
- Borough Manhattan
- Square feet 4,170
- Publication Date 08/09/2019
- Event Date 08/08/2019
- Party 1 AHRC NYC
- Party 1 Brokerage Helmsley Spear
- Party 1 Broker Kent Swig, Andrew Simon, Brett Zelner
- Party 2 MezCali
- Party 2 Brokerage Winick Realty Group
- Party 2 Broker Manu Wenddum, Lee Block
- Event Retail Leasing
- Address 83 Maiden Lane
- Neighborhood Financial District
- Borough Manhattan
- Square feet 4,170
- Publication Date 08/09/2019
- Event Date 08/08/2019
- Party 1 AHRC NYC
- Party 1 Brokerage Helmsley Spear
- Party 1 Broker Kent Swig, Andrew Simon, Brett Zelner
- Party 2 MezCali
- Party 2 Brokerage Winick Realty Group
- Party 2 Broker Manu Wenddum, Lee Block
- Event Retail Leasing
- Address 83 Maiden Lane
- Neighborhood Financial District
- Borough Manhattan
- Square feet 4,170
- Publication Date 08/09/2019
- Event Date 08/08/2019
- Party 1 AHRC NYC
- Party 1 Brokerage Helmsley Spear
- Party 1 Broker Kent Swig, Andrew Simon, Brett Zelner
- Party 2 MezCali
- Party 2 Brokerage Winick Realty Group
- Party 2 Broker Manu Wenddum, Lee Block
- Event Sales
- Address 5 Hanover Square
- Neighborhood Financial District
- Borough Manhattan
- Square feet 325,000
- Price $ 64,980,000
- Price per foot $ 199.94
- Publication Date 12/01/2010
- Event Date 10/22/2010
- Party 1 Capital One Bank
- Party 1 Brokerage Massey Knakal Realty Services
- Party 1 Broker Robert Knakal, Nick Petkoff
- Party 2 Savanna
- Party 2 Brokerage Eastern Consolidated
- Party 2 Broker Alan Miller
- Event Office Leasing
- Address 48 Wall Street
- Neighborhood Financial District
- Borough Manhattan
- Square feet 6,900
- Price per foot $ 38.00
- Event Sales
- Building Name Sheffield57
- Address 322 West 57th Street
- Neighborhood Midtown West
- Borough Manhattan
- Price $ 20,000,000
- Publication Date 09/01/2009
- Event Date 07/23/2009
- Party 1 Kent Swig
- Party 1 Brokerage Eastdil Secured
- Party 2 Fortress Investment Group
- Event Financing
- Building Name Sheffield57
- Address 322 West 57th Street
- Neighborhood Midtown West
- Borough Manhattan
- Publication Date 12/01/2008
- Event Date 10/22/2008
- Party 1 Kent Swig
- Party 2 KeyBank
- Event Sales
- Address 201 West 92nd Street
- Neighborhood Upper West Side
- Borough Manhattan
- Price $ 61,000,000
- Publication Date 08/01/2008
- Event Date 06/22/2008
- Party 1 Kent Swig
- Party 1 Brokerage Eastern Consolidated
- Party 2 92nd Street Equities
- Event Sales
- Building Name The Sheffield
- Address 322 West 57th Street
- Neighborhood Midtown West
- Borough Manhattan
- Square feet 109,000
- Price $ 95,000,000
- Price per foot $ 871.56
- Publication Date 10/01/2007
- Event Date 08/22/2007
- Party 1 Kent Swig
- Party 2 Hearst Corporation
- Party 2 Brokerage CBRE
- Party 2 Broker Darcy Stacom, William Shanahan
- Event Sales
- Building Name The Sheffield
- Address 322 West 57th Street
- Neighborhood Midtown West
- Borough Manhattan
- Price $ 418,000,000
- Publication Date 03/01/2005
- Event Date 01/20/2005
- Party 1 Rose Associates
- Party 1 Brokerage CBRE
- Party 1 Broker Darcy Stacom, Bill Shanahan
- Party 2 Kent Swig, Serge Hoyda, Yair Levy