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Judge tosses $9.5M lawsuit against Gene Kaufman over sale of 152 Elizabeth Street

SMA Equities claimed the architect misled it regarding the building's potential size

Rendering of 152 Elizabeth Street in Nolita (inset: Gene Kaufman)
Rendering of 152 Elizabeth Street in Nolita (inset: Gene Kaufman)

SMA Equities’ $9.5 million lawsuit against architect Gene Kaufman over the sale of a Nolita development site has been dismissed.

The Great Neck, N.Y.-based firm sued the architect and his firm, Gene Kaufman Architect [TRData], in September 2015 over its sales of 152 Elizabeth Street, located between Broome and Kenmare streets, alleging Kaufman told SMA the site was zoned for a 14,000-square-foot building — when it could actually be 6,000 square feet larger.

But a New York State Supreme Court disageed.

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“The record, however, demonstrates that no such opinion was provided,” the judge wrote Thursday, according to the Commercial Observer.

In 2014, SMA sold 152 Elizabeth to Sumaida + Khurana for $21 million. In its suit, SMA alleged Kaufman “negligently misrepresented” the square footage, resulting in a lower sales price.

Sumaida + Khurana have since tapped Japanese architect Tadao Ando to design the seven-unit boutique condominium at the site, where full-floor condos start at $15 million. Compass is handling the sales and marketing. [CO] — E.B. Solomont