Turtle Bay foreclosure suit on $38M former Lehman loans

A Swedish bank that holds dozens of former Lehman Brothers Holdings notes is foreclosing on nearly $38 million in loans secured by one of those properties where developer Alexander Gurevich hoped to build a 75-unit condominium project near the United Nations, court papers show.
 
Swedbank AB sued Gurevich’s East 46th Borrower in New York State Supreme Court June 26 to foreclose on the acquisition, building and project loans totaling $37.8 million, the filings show. The suit also names six construction-related firms that have filed a total of $4.675 million in mechanic’s liens on the property.  
 
In December, the loans on the planned 18-story condo at 313-317 East 46th Street between First and Second avenues in Turtle Bay were transferred from Lehman Brothers to Swedbank, an international lender based in Sweden, with offices in New York, the filing says. Progress at the site stalled last fall, and on October 31, the loan went into default, the complaint says.
 
Gurevich and Swedbank did not respond to requests for comment.  
 
This is not the only former Lehman Brothers note held by Swedbank. In September 2008, Swedbank took over 69 Lehman Brothers loans secured by 55 properties valued in March at $1.35 billion, the bank’s first quarter 2009 report says.
 
Swedbank was party to another foreclosure lawsuit filed this month. It joined with ING Real Estate Finance in suing an entity of Aby Rosen’s RFR Holding that was to develop the Shangri-La Hotel New York at 610 Lexington Avenue, seeking repayment of $144.2 million in loans.
 
And Gurevich is in a dispute with another lender. In February, Alexander Gurevich sued Chinatrust Bank (U.S.A.) for $110 million, claiming the bank withheld advances on the building loan at a Borough Park, Brooklyn, condo project at 4102 13th Avenue.
 
The bank responded in court papers filed March 20 that the developer was in default on its $10.4 million loan.