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Chen family facing another bankruptcy

Ownership entity of 250 Lafayette Street declares Chapter 11

Chen Family Facing Another Bankruptcy

A photo illustration of Chen Foundation’s Ted Chen and 250 Lafayette Street (Getty, Chen Foundation, Google Maps)

For the Chen family, the hits — and bankruptcies — keep coming.

The family put the entity that owns 250 Lafayette Street in Soho into Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to court records. Chen Foundation, Inc. has up to 49 creditors, according to the filing, with between $10 million and $50 million in both estimated assets and estimated liabilities.

The Chens’ bankruptcy lawyer is Leo Jacobs, the same attorney representing the family in a bankruptcy proceeding in the Garment District. Jacobs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The six-story, 20,000-square-foot Class B office building was constructed in 1994. A listing on LoopNet shows a 4,200-square-foot availability for space on the fourth floor. The building also houses the TF Chen Cultural Center — a nonprofit promoting art education — and the flagship store for New York or Nowhere.

Lucia Chen put the building up for sale in 2015, seeking $40 million for it. At that point, the Chens had owned the property — sometimes listed at 89 Crosby Street — for two decades. The property was never sold, as public records show Chen Foundation, Inc. remains the ownership entity. 

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The bankruptcy proceedings of Chen Foundation, Inc. come two months after the family put the entity that owns 335 West 35th Street in the Garment District into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. At the same time, the Chens appeared to put 250 Lafayette Street itself into bankruptcy.

The Chens are seeking funding to complete a condo conversion of a factory at the Garment District property. The family bought the vacant 12-story building near Penn Station in 2016 for $50 million. The plan was for condos to be sold for a total of $99 million, as well as space for the cultural center.

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Shanghai Commercial Bank lent the Chens $34 million, consolidating earlier loans and setting a maturation of December 2021. In 2021, the developer sued a loan broker for failing to close on new financing.

“The condo project is 75 percent done and the borrower is in position to borrow another $15 million to $18 million, but the bank won’t let them,” Jacobs told The Real Deal in January.

Compounding the issue is the Chens’ designation of the Soho property at 250 Lafayette as collateral and in various guarantees to land the loan.

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