iStar filed a notice of pending foreclosure Thursday in New York Supreme Court against SDS William Street LLC, Tamir Sapir, the board of managers of the 15 William Street Condominium, the City of New York, the New York City Environmental Control Board, the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance and 100 John Does having or claiming an interest in or lien upon the premises of the William Beaver House condominium tower in Lower Manhattan.
The 47-story building has 209 unsold residential units, according to papers filed with the court and the foreclosure actions involve mortgages valued at about $130 million.
According to a May 12, 2010 article at therealdeal.com by David Jones, the lawsuit is being brought by "a fund controlled by the Blackstone Group."
Mr. Sapir's partner on the project, SDS Investments, led by S. Lawrence Davis, originally acquired the site for $90 million from the Manocherian family in 2005 and the next year they obtained $247 million in financing from Fremont Investment & Loan to develop the project, but that bank eventually crashed after the subprime debacle and the commercial loan portfolio was sold to iStar Financial, according to the article.
The Manocherians, prominent New York City developers whose projects include the Caroline at 58-74 West 23rd Street, had planned a 38-story rental tower with about 345 apartments with a 100-car garage.
In the Manocherian plan, about 15 percent of the apartments in the project were to used for moderate-income" residents in the building and the project was also supposed to create "affordable" housing off site as well.
Tamir Sapir is a Russian emigre who came to the United States in 1975 and is a former taxicab drive who eventually invested in a small electronics store and then bartered electronics to Soviet enterprises in exchange for oil contracts and then began buying real estate in Manhattan starting with the $2.3 million purchase in the early 1990s of a 20-story building at 80 John Street, which was followed in 1995 with the purchase of 2 Broadway, a 1.6-million-sq.ft. office building for about $20.5 million. His organization also acquired Eleven Madison Avenue, the 2.3 million sq.ft., 29-story office tower and 260 and 261 Madison Avenue and Mr. Sapir is also involved in the recent development of the Trump SoHo Hotel.
Andre Balazs was prominently involved in the marketing of the project but was not named in the court papers.
In 2005, Mr. Balazs remarked that the project would contrast with many of the existing buildings, adding that "The weight and the darkness of most of the buildings in that area, because of the era they were built in, is quite substantial, and I think this is an opportunity to provide a completely fresh and new residential product."
The building is distinctive for its unusual facade of dark gray and yellow glazed bricks and for its initial marketing campaign of a tuxedo-clad beaver, the building's mascot, holding a martini glass.
An early rendering for the project indicated that stylistically the building falls into the "racing car/flying cab/Fifth Element" category of spirited but elegant mayhem.
Tsao & McKown was the architectural firm for the project.
The building has a dog-walking garden, a screening room/disco lounge with lavender chaise "cinema beds" and wet bar, and a Penthouse Sky Lounge with catering kitchen and private dining room and sun deck.
The lobby entrance has a see-through ceiling supporting a glass-encased, lighted outdoor Jacuzzi that is part of a second floor amenity center.
The amenity center will also have a 60-foot lap pool, outdoor basketball court with bleachers, a squash court, a gym and handball and tetherball courts.
The lobby has a large, oval, sunken "conversation pit" with fireplace.
Kitchens have sliding backsplashes that conceal the facet and sliding butcher-block panels that conceal the sink or cooktop. Bedroom apartments have bathrooms that open fully into the bedrooms.
The 47-story building has 209 unsold residential units, according to papers filed with the court and the foreclosure actions involve mortgages valued at about $130 million.
According to a May 12, 2010 article at therealdeal.com by David Jones, the lawsuit is being brought by "a fund controlled by the Blackstone Group."
Mr. Sapir's partner on the project, SDS Investments, led by S. Lawrence Davis, originally acquired the site for $90 million from the Manocherian family in 2005 and the next year they obtained $247 million in financing from Fremont Investment & Loan to develop the project, but that bank eventually crashed after the subprime debacle and the commercial loan portfolio was sold to iStar Financial, according to the article.
The Manocherians, prominent New York City developers whose projects include the Caroline at 58-74 West 23rd Street, had planned a 38-story rental tower with about 345 apartments with a 100-car garage.
In the Manocherian plan, about 15 percent of the apartments in the project were to used for moderate-income" residents in the building and the project was also supposed to create "affordable" housing off site as well.
Tamir Sapir is a Russian emigre who came to the United States in 1975 and is a former taxicab drive who eventually invested in a small electronics store and then bartered electronics to Soviet enterprises in exchange for oil contracts and then began buying real estate in Manhattan starting with the $2.3 million purchase in the early 1990s of a 20-story building at 80 John Street, which was followed in 1995 with the purchase of 2 Broadway, a 1.6-million-sq.ft. office building for about $20.5 million. His organization also acquired Eleven Madison Avenue, the 2.3 million sq.ft., 29-story office tower and 260 and 261 Madison Avenue and Mr. Sapir is also involved in the recent development of the Trump SoHo Hotel.
Andre Balazs was prominently involved in the marketing of the project but was not named in the court papers.
In 2005, Mr. Balazs remarked that the project would contrast with many of the existing buildings, adding that "The weight and the darkness of most of the buildings in that area, because of the era they were built in, is quite substantial, and I think this is an opportunity to provide a completely fresh and new residential product."
The building is distinctive for its unusual facade of dark gray and yellow glazed bricks and for its initial marketing campaign of a tuxedo-clad beaver, the building's mascot, holding a martini glass.
An early rendering for the project indicated that stylistically the building falls into the "racing car/flying cab/Fifth Element" category of spirited but elegant mayhem.
Tsao & McKown was the architectural firm for the project.
The building has a dog-walking garden, a screening room/disco lounge with lavender chaise "cinema beds" and wet bar, and a Penthouse Sky Lounge with catering kitchen and private dining room and sun deck.
The lobby entrance has a see-through ceiling supporting a glass-encased, lighted outdoor Jacuzzi that is part of a second floor amenity center.
The amenity center will also have a 60-foot lap pool, outdoor basketball court with bleachers, a squash court, a gym and handball and tetherball courts.
The lobby has a large, oval, sunken "conversation pit" with fireplace.
Kitchens have sliding backsplashes that conceal the facet and sliding butcher-block panels that conceal the sink or cooktop. Bedroom apartments have bathrooms that open fully into the bedrooms.
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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