Shvo’s Mandarin Oriental Cuts Prices, Changes Course

Sales at Michael Shvo’s Mandarin Oriental Residences on Fifth Avenue are being reset once again with a new brokerage team stepping in and prices being recalibrated after years of sluggish momentum.

Serhant has taken over marketing at the 65-unit luxury condominium project, assigning Peter Zaitzeff and Glenn Davis to lead the effort. The move marks the latest attempt to unlock sales at the building, which launched in 2021 but has moved only about a third of its inventory in the four-plus years since.

Alongside the brokerage switch comes a notable pricing overhaul. Listings reflect double-digit reductions from original asking prices laid out in the offering plan. A two-bedroom unit is now priced at $5.3 million, while a one-bedroom spanning more than 1,000 square feet is listed for $4.25 million, down from nearly $6 million. The pricing adjustment is intended to realign the project with buyer expectations after earlier pricing failed to generate sustained demand.

The reboot follows earlier signs of distress around the unsold inventory. In the fall, Shvo and his investment partners, which include Deutsche Finance America and German pension fund Bayerische Versorgungskammer, engaged Eastdil Secured to explore a bulk disposition of remaining units. While that option has not been ruled out, the latest strategy centers on individual condo sales rather than an institutional exit.

Financial pressure has also shaped the project’s trajectory. In September 2024, the ownership group secured a $120 million inventory loan from Northwind Group tied to the unsold condos. At that point, just 15 units had closed, far short of the $340 million sellout projected when the development was marketed. Roughly 45 units remain on the market.

The property occupies the former Gucci headquarters at 685 Fifth Avenue, which Shvo and his partners purchased in 2018 for $135 million. The redevelopment converted office space into residential use and added floors atop the building. The project is positioned as Mandarin Oriental’s first residential-only property on the East Coast, offering hotel-branded amenities including a private dining venue overseen by Daniel Boulud.

The Fifth Avenue project is unfolding against a turbulent backdrop for Shvo’s broader portfolio.

The developer recently sold the Raleigh Rosewood Residences in Miami Beach, defaulted on debt tied to the Mandarin Oriental in Beverly Hills and remains involved in litigation related to both condo finishes in New York and disputes tied to Core Club.

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Empire State Realty eyes $350M for Billionaires Row office building

Empire State Realty Trust listed its 540,000-square-foot office building at 250 West 57th Street, located on Billionaires Row, for an estimated price of $350 million.

The 26-story property is 84 percent leased; T.J. Maxx is set to anchor the retail portion until 2041.

ESRT bought the building in 2013 for $170 million and has invested about $140 million in capital improvements.

After eviction threat, Al Sharpton’s National Action Network makes way for One45 project

Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network vacated its long-time Harlem headquarters at 106-108 West 145th Street at the end of January, following an eviction order signed by a judge.

The move resolved a dispute with landlord Bruce Teitelbaum and made way for his previously delayed One45 housing development, which is expected to include 1,000 apartments across three buildings, at least 338 of which will be designated as affordable.

Top bankruptcy attorney Jonathan Pasternak suspended for three years in NY’s Southern District

Jonathan Pasternak, a top bankruptcy attorney, was suspended for three years from practicing law in New York’s Southern District Court for receiving $260,000 in undisclosed payments from controversial real estate investor Sam Sprei during a bankruptcy case.

The payments were related to the bankruptcy of a medical office property at 261 East 78th Street, where Pasternak advised his client, Lee Moncho, to use Sprei as a buyer.

“Hardest moment of my life”: Woman testifies about alleged attack filmed by Oren Alexander

The second week of the Alexander brothers’ sex trafficking trial resumed testimony with a video of an alleged attack presented in the case, showing Oren Alexander having sex with a 17-year-old woman who says she had no memory of the encounter or recording before she was contacted by the government.

The video and two witnesses that led off the week’s proceedings add to the growing list of evidence and women presented to the court by prosecutors alleging brothers Oren, Alon and Tal worked together in a conspiracy to lure, incapacitate and attack women.

The brothers have pleaded not guilty and deny the allegations.