The 16-unit residential co-op building at 34 Leonard Street in TriBeCa will be put on the auction block May 5, according to an April 16, 2010 crains.com article by Amanda Fung.
The project's lender, iStar Financial, foreclosed on the 16-unit luxury co-op conversion last year when the building's developer, R Squared, defaulted on a $37.5 million mortgage. Last May, the article continued, "iStar filed a lawsuit in state Supreme Court claiming that R Squared and Sandaro Realty, which owns the land that the project sits on, defaulted on their $37.5 loan, which includes a building loan for $29.2 million and a project loan of $8.3 million to convert the property into co-op apartments."
Stuart Shorenstein of the law firm Cozen O'Connor, who was appointed receiver of 34 Leonard by the court last year, confirmed the auction.
Sales in the building commenced in the fall of 2007 just as the recession began.
The building had a 24-hour doorman, a fitness center, an industrial laundry room for handling large comforters, private storage lockers, a pet spa, a roof terrace with a bar, a grill and a shower, and 300-bottle wine cellars and a tasting room.
The 8-story building at 34 Leonard Street, which also has an address of 180 West Broadway, was designed by Beyer Blinder Belle for R Squared LLP.
It has a red masonry facade above a rusticated base with shed marquees and it is a block north of the imposing and impressive, red-brick Western Union skyscraper.
Part of the site was a gas station from 1950 to 1985 and more recently it was occupied by a garage and Buster's Garage, a large sports bar.
The building's design originally called for 60 apartments in a larger building with a cantilever over an adjoining property. The design was revised and the building shortened and the cantilever eliminated.
The building has one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments ranging from 1,541 to 2,792 square feet and a 3,086-square-foot penthouse that has a 2,215-square-foot wraparound terrace and two fireplaces.
The lobby has a very large and attractive video installation depicting trees by Jennifer Steinkamp.
Apartments have 10-foot ceilings, and large, pivotable windows and walnut wood flooring. Kitchens have Poggenpohl cabinets, Imperial Danby marble countertops, Viking and Subzero stainless steel kitchen appliances. Bathrooms have Oyster Beige limestone, a walnut-stained floating vanity, dual sinks and an oversized tub and glass-enclosed shower.
Gregg and Mitchell Rechler are the principals of R Squared LLP and were formerly executives of Reckson Associates Realty Corporation where in their 20-year tenure they directed the management, acquisition, development and disposition of more than 25 million square feet of commercial property.
The project's lender, iStar Financial, foreclosed on the 16-unit luxury co-op conversion last year when the building's developer, R Squared, defaulted on a $37.5 million mortgage. Last May, the article continued, "iStar filed a lawsuit in state Supreme Court claiming that R Squared and Sandaro Realty, which owns the land that the project sits on, defaulted on their $37.5 loan, which includes a building loan for $29.2 million and a project loan of $8.3 million to convert the property into co-op apartments."
Stuart Shorenstein of the law firm Cozen O'Connor, who was appointed receiver of 34 Leonard by the court last year, confirmed the auction.
Sales in the building commenced in the fall of 2007 just as the recession began.
The building had a 24-hour doorman, a fitness center, an industrial laundry room for handling large comforters, private storage lockers, a pet spa, a roof terrace with a bar, a grill and a shower, and 300-bottle wine cellars and a tasting room.
The 8-story building at 34 Leonard Street, which also has an address of 180 West Broadway, was designed by Beyer Blinder Belle for R Squared LLP.
It has a red masonry facade above a rusticated base with shed marquees and it is a block north of the imposing and impressive, red-brick Western Union skyscraper.
Part of the site was a gas station from 1950 to 1985 and more recently it was occupied by a garage and Buster's Garage, a large sports bar.
The building's design originally called for 60 apartments in a larger building with a cantilever over an adjoining property. The design was revised and the building shortened and the cantilever eliminated.
The building has one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments ranging from 1,541 to 2,792 square feet and a 3,086-square-foot penthouse that has a 2,215-square-foot wraparound terrace and two fireplaces.
The lobby has a very large and attractive video installation depicting trees by Jennifer Steinkamp.
Apartments have 10-foot ceilings, and large, pivotable windows and walnut wood flooring. Kitchens have Poggenpohl cabinets, Imperial Danby marble countertops, Viking and Subzero stainless steel kitchen appliances. Bathrooms have Oyster Beige limestone, a walnut-stained floating vanity, dual sinks and an oversized tub and glass-enclosed shower.
Gregg and Mitchell Rechler are the principals of R Squared LLP and were formerly executives of Reckson Associates Realty Corporation where in their 20-year tenure they directed the management, acquisition, development and disposition of more than 25 million square feet of commercial property.
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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