Lehman Brothers had started foreclosure proceedings against the planned mixed-use project at 45 Broad Street in Lower Manhattan that was being developed by Swig Equities, which is headed by Kent Swig, and Robert de Niro, the actor and hotelier.

The proposed building was to have been 62 stories tall and known as the Nobu Hotel and Residences. It was planned to contain 128 hotel rooms, 77 residential condominiums and 13,000 square feet of retail.

To increase its size, Mr. Swig successfully to the Landmarks Preservation Commission for permission to "cut off" a "rear leg" in the middle of the block of his nearby building at 25 Broad Street that he was converted to residential condominiums. The commission granted his request, which was made after that building's conversion process had begun.

25 Broad Street is a 21-story building that was the world's largest building when it was completed in 1902. Located on the southeast corner of Broad Street and Exchange Place, it is one block south of the New York Stock Exchange. It was designed in 1899 by Robert Maynicke and his plans were revised the next year by Clinton & Russell.

According to the Skyscraper Museum, the building remained the world's largest building from 1902 to 1907 when it was surpassed in size by the City Investing Building. When it was completed, the "Broad Exchange Building," as it was known, was "the largest and most valuable office building in all of Manhattan" and, according to the Swig Equities's website, "was instantly recognized as one of the most desirable addresses for Wall Street's brokers and bankers, providing headquarter facilities for Paine, Webber and Company for nearly seventy years."

The building was converted from an office building in 1997 by Crescent Heights to 346 rental apartments. The building had been vacant for several years after the stock market crash of 1987. Mr. Swig acquired the building from Crescent Heights in 2005 for about $200 million.

According to an article by Dana Rubenstein in today's on-line edition of The New York Observer, the foreclosure proceedings were initiated yesterday against 45 Broad LLC and Kent Swig and "various organizations that have filed liens against Mr. Swig (and thereby claimed an interest in the property)."

The article noted that Mr. Swig's website described the project as a "sleek, all-glass tower" with club and business lounges, a screening room, private wine and saki cellars, and a health club with a swimming pool opening onto a terrace.

"According to the complaint, Lehman Brothers sent three letters to Mr. Swig, on April 23, 2008, September 12, 2007, and January 7, 2009, demanding repayment," Mr. Rubenstein's article stated, adding that the complaint said it was "an action for the foreclosure of two commercial mortgages and for related relief regarding two commercial loans secured by liens on real property located in New York County commonly known as 45 Broad Street."

The article said that the "two mortgages include one made on June 12, 2006 for $37.7 million, and another made on Feb. 26, 2007 for $11.5 million," adding that "neither Mr. Swig nor his spokesperson responded to a recent request for comment."

The site at 45 Broad Street was once occupied by the firm of Joseph Meeks & Sons, one of American's most prominent furniture makers in the mid-18th Century, and more recently by an 8-story commercial building that Swig Equities has demolished.

Moed de Armas & Shannon are the design architects and SLCE is the architect of record for the new tower for which the Rockwell Group is designing the interiors.

The published rendering indicated that building's north and west facades will be curved above a six-story base that holds to the street wall.

Other partners in the 45 Broad Street venture have been reported to include Nobu Matsuhisa, Richie Notar and Meir Teper and Drew Nieporent.