Since closings began at the swanky Jardim condos in 2019, developers Centaur Properties and Greyscale Development Group have sold a fair number of multimillion-dollar pads.
But the common charges for their unsold units have not been paid to the condo’s account, according to a lawsuit filed yesterday by the building’s board.
The condo board of the 36-unit property overlooking the High Line accused the sponsors of owing $44,000 on two commercial units still owned by an entity related to Centaur.
The board recorded liens against the two commercial units and is requesting foreclosure judgments on both units. The southern unit spans 4,647 square feet and the northern unit is 4,910, according to the offering plan.
Centaur Properties founder Harlan Berger said he had not heard of the suit until he was contacted by The Real Deal.
The dispute is over an assessment implemented by the board, Centaur attorney Shaun Pappas said. Centaur has paid its condo fees to date, according to Pappas, and has been awaiting information to support the amount the board has requested for the assessment.
“They’ve been communicating about this for months back and forth, so it’s shocking to me that it’s filed,” Pappas, a Starr Associates partner, said. “I didn’t even get notice of it as their lawyer from the board lawyer.”
The two-building condo complex has attracted celebrities and scored high-priced sales since construction began on the lots spanning 525, 527 and 531 West 27th Street. The complex was the first in New York City designed by Brazilian architect Isay Weinfeld and features a “paparazzi-proof” private driveway, an indoor skylit swimming pool, a fitness center and a massage room.
Parking spaces are for sale for as much as $600,000, according to an offering plan amendment.
A penthouse in the complex sold for $15 million this May after making waves for having been rented to rapper Bad Bunny for $150,000 a month the previous year. The negotiations for the rental appeared on the season finale of Ryan Serhant’s reality show “Owning Manhattan.”
Other notable sales in the building have included a $10 million deal for Unit 9S and an $8.4 million purchase of Unit 9A, both in 2022.
Centaur and Greyscale acquired the 35,000-square-foot property in 2013 for $45 million and landed a $115 million financing deal in 2016.
The foreclosure action is not the first legal entanglement this year for Centaur, which also owns the site of the McKittrick Hotel.
This spring, the development firm sued to evict immersive theater production “Sleep No More” as a tenant from the hotel, claiming the show’s lack of a public assembly permit endangered guests. The production fired back, claiming that Centaur’s Berger reneged on an agreed-upon temporary rent hike in an attempt to cover for his company’s own financial issues.
Centaur refiled a request for eviction in August, claiming the production company owes over $5 million in rent.
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