Dermot Company, the developer behind the long-mired redevelopment of the Battery Maritime Building in Lower Manhattan, is facing two lawsuits and threats of foreclosure.
The EB-5-focused New York City Regional Center, which provided Dermot with $77 million in loans in 2011, is threatening to foreclose on the landmarked property, Politico reported
Earlier this month, the New York City Economic Development Corp, which owns the site, filed suit against the developer for allegedly defaulting on its rent for more than a year. According to court documents, the Dermot affiliate that controls the 99-year lease-hold on the property owes the city more than $1.2 million.
Dermot is already facing a suit from the regional center, which manages funds on behalf of EB-5 investors and sued Dermot for failure to pay rent or interest on its loans in September, as The Real Deal reported.
The redevelopment of the 140,000-square-foot site has been dragging for decades. Dermot together with the Poulakakos family took on the project in in 2007 with plans for a shopping center, boutique hotel, rooftop restaurant, and the restoration of the building’s Great Hall.
Dermot didn’t sign the lease until 2012, and then damage from Superstorm Sandy and ballooning costs mired the project further than its initial $110 million price tag.
Dermot was in talks with both Stoneleigh Capital and Steve Witkoff earlier this year about potentially taking over the property, but neither of the deals came to fruition. [Politico] — Chava Gourarei