Lehman Brothers Holding Inc. has filed a foreclosure action against 1107 Broadway on the northwest corner of 24th Street and Broadway that was part of the former International Toy Center across 24th Street at 200 Fifth Avenue, according to an article in today's edition of The Wall Street Journal by Eliot Brown.

The article said that the action claimed that Tessler Developments, which had acquired the 16-story building in 2007 with plans to convert it to residential condominiums, had failed to repay a $137 million loan in 2008. The article said that Lehman has scheduled a foreclosure auction for June 6.

The article also said that Lehman "is looking to sell its stake in the former International Toy Center building, seeking an exit from a property that has ridden the rocky ups and downs of the Manhattan real estate market in the past four years."

The bank and partner L&L Holding Co. paid $480 million in May 2007 for the mostly vacant 800,000-square-foot building at 200 Fifth Avenue," the article continued, adding that "now the failed investment bank believes its equity stake - roughly 90 percent, according to people familiar with the matter - has significant value above the debt once again." According to the article, "L&L, led by David Levinson, intends to stay in the property."

"The planned equity sale by the Lehman estate marks an uncommon real-estate disposition by the bank, whose assets are being overseen by restructuring firm Alvarez & Marsal. Lehman sought bankruptcy protection in 2008 and its estate has generally been reticent to sell off the billions in real-estate debt and equity positions in a bet that the market would approve.