Kent Swig and 5 Hanover Square (building source: PropertyShark)
Embattled developer Kent Swig lost ownership of 5 Hanover Square yesterday after Manhattan-based real estate firm Savanna bought the discounted mortgage on the 325,000-square-foot building, Crain’s reported. Savanna paid $51.5 million in cash to Capital One Bank, a 14 percent discount from the loan’s face value of about $60 million. Swig agreed to surrender his equity and transfer the deed, but will continue managing the property. The building is 85 percent occupied and has an annual income in excess of $3 million. “Savanna saw an opportunity to purchase an attractive, well-located, recently improved B-plus building in the heart of the Financial District, which had been effectively marginalized with various issues and problems related to the financial crisis,” said Nick Bienstock, a partner at Savanna. He said Savanna will continue the improvement plan implemented by Swig and will market the building. Swig, who has lost several properties in the recession, is said to owe as much as $50 million to various creditors and has threatened to file for bankruptcy. [Crain’s]