Vornado Realty Trust has struck a deal with Stellar Management, which is headed by Larry Gluck, to recapitalize the impressive Independence Plaza apartment complex in TriBeCa, according to an article to today's edition of The Wall Street Journal by Eliot Brown.
According to people familiar with the matter, the article said, Vornado has bought at a discount $185 million in junior debt on the 1,300-unit apartment complex. Mr. Gluck bought it in 2003 when it was part of a middle-income housing program and then removed it from the program and added $575 million in debt, the article said.
The debt sale, arranged by brokers Doug Harmon and Adam Spies at Eastdil Secured, takes one of Mr. Gluck's problems off of the table, but others remain, the article continued, adding that "the property still has nearly $400 million in debt that is slated to come due this fall and may be difficult to repay" and "this spring, the loan was put under the control of a special servicer that focuses on working out troubled debt."
A Stellar spokesperson said Vornado bought the debt as part of a "consensual" deal with the firm, the article said, adding the spokesperson said that "Stellar Management continues to engage in an amicable dialogue with various lenders to extend the overall debt on the property."
Mr. Gluck and Independence Plaza tenants also have battling in state and federal court over tenant allegations he has been overcharging for luxury apartments, the article said, adding that "Mr. Gluck has denied any wrongdoing. Federal and state court judges have come out with opposing rulings in the two cases."
The development consists of three 40-story towers between Greenwich, Duane and North Moore Streets that were designed by Oppenheimer, Brady & Vogelstein and John Pruyn, associated architects, in 1975.
In their third edition of "The A.I.A. Guide to New York City," Elliot Willensky and Norval White said that the development was "overwhelming 40-story middle-income blockbusters of brick and striated concrete block," adding that "the design was intended to minimize them by plasticity, through cantilevers and steady increases in bulk at the top, and toothiness, by silhouetting balconies against the sky."
According to people familiar with the matter, the article said, Vornado has bought at a discount $185 million in junior debt on the 1,300-unit apartment complex. Mr. Gluck bought it in 2003 when it was part of a middle-income housing program and then removed it from the program and added $575 million in debt, the article said.
The debt sale, arranged by brokers Doug Harmon and Adam Spies at Eastdil Secured, takes one of Mr. Gluck's problems off of the table, but others remain, the article continued, adding that "the property still has nearly $400 million in debt that is slated to come due this fall and may be difficult to repay" and "this spring, the loan was put under the control of a special servicer that focuses on working out troubled debt."
A Stellar spokesperson said Vornado bought the debt as part of a "consensual" deal with the firm, the article said, adding the spokesperson said that "Stellar Management continues to engage in an amicable dialogue with various lenders to extend the overall debt on the property."
Mr. Gluck and Independence Plaza tenants also have battling in state and federal court over tenant allegations he has been overcharging for luxury apartments, the article said, adding that "Mr. Gluck has denied any wrongdoing. Federal and state court judges have come out with opposing rulings in the two cases."
The development consists of three 40-story towers between Greenwich, Duane and North Moore Streets that were designed by Oppenheimer, Brady & Vogelstein and John Pruyn, associated architects, in 1975.
In their third edition of "The A.I.A. Guide to New York City," Elliot Willensky and Norval White said that the development was "overwhelming 40-story middle-income blockbusters of brick and striated concrete block," adding that "the design was intended to minimize them by plasticity, through cantilevers and steady increases in bulk at the top, and toothiness, by silhouetting balconies against the sky."
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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