The Sapir Organization’s Alex Sapir agreed to pay $200 million for the hot but financially embattled Mondrian Soho at a foreclosure auction today.
Sapir bought the 270-room hotel, located at 9 Crosby Street, at an auction that lasted less than half an hour. “Nobody else qualified to bid,” said Robert Weigel, an attorney representing lender German American Capital Corporation, which launched foreclosure proceedings last year.
In July, a court ruled in favor of the lender, and said developer Sochin Downtown Realty owed German American $250.5 million, plus $84,000 each day after August 18.
German American, meanwhile, negotiated a backroom deal to sell the hotel to a group including Sapir, Rotem Rosen and Gerard Guez, founder and owner of worldwide hotspot Buddha Bar.
In October, Morgans Hotel Group, which has managed the hotel since 2011, filed a lawsuit to keep the hotel in its portfolio. Morgans, which argued it would be owed $110 million in fees if the agreement wasn’t honored, also said German American rebuffed its efforts to buy the hotel.
Today’s auction was packed and included representatives from Morgans. But, said Weigel, “Nobody else showed up with a check.”