A failed West Village luxury condominium complex known as Hudson Blue at 423 West Street was sold last week for $8.4 million by CapitalSource Bank, the project's lender, to The Sabet Group, a New York-based real estate investment, development and management company, according to an article yesterday at crains.com by Amanda Fung.
The article said that Neil Helman, a senior managing director at Grubb & Ellis, the brokerage retained by CapitalSource to market the 10-story property, "could not say if The Sabet Group planned on reviving the project at condos, but noted that it was likely."
CapitalSource, which held an $18.9 million lien on the project, foreclosed on Hudson Blue and took over the property this summer. While there was no asking price on the property, which has stunning views of the Hudson River, Mr. Helman said that "the seller was happy with the price," the article said, adding that "the property, which is only 80% complete, sold for $855 per sellable square foot."
"While the buyer will have to invest more money to finish the project, the buildings' units can fetch roughly $1,500 per square foot condominiums, he noted," the article said.
The project's previous developer, Horizen Global, began marketing the glass-facade building with full-floor apartments in 2005. At that time, one-bedroom, 1.5-bathroom units were asking at least $2.1 million, and three-bedroom, 3.5-bath units were asking at least $4.1 million.
The article noted that, "according to published reports, movie star Leonardo DiCaprio signed a contract to buy at least two floors of Hudson Blue but didn't close on the deal because the developer never sold enough units for its offering plan to be declared effective by the New York Attorney General's office."
In 2008, Horizen defaulted on its loan and unsuccessfully tried to sell the entire building for $21 million.
Horizen Global, the Hudson Blue developer, was formed in 2002 by Michael Yanko and Eran Conforty, and they began marketing the project in 2005 as part of the new "Gold Coast" on West Street, where the glass-facade building abutting the Hudson afforded spectacular water views and was a few doors just to the north of similar but larger towers designed by Richard Meier.
The developers used different kinds of glass for parts of the building, depending on the amount of sunlight, the article said, adding that Mr. Yanko told an interviewer at one point that they considered subsidizing a private chef for residents.
Designed by Patrick Han, the very attractive building is notable for the thin diagonal pier on its mostly glass facade. The building, which is 23.5 feet wide and between Perry and West 11th Streets, has a setback at the ninth floor.
All apartments have fireplaces and the building has private storage areas and a wine cellar and at one point Mr. Yanko was quoted as saying the developers planned to have "as a private chef in the cellar with a common kitchen making food for the weekend, and I'm actually subsidizing the chef for the first year as part of the attraction."
According to The Sabet Group's website, the family-owned firm was founded in 1979 and specializes in residential development and management.
The article said that Neil Helman, a senior managing director at Grubb & Ellis, the brokerage retained by CapitalSource to market the 10-story property, "could not say if The Sabet Group planned on reviving the project at condos, but noted that it was likely."
CapitalSource, which held an $18.9 million lien on the project, foreclosed on Hudson Blue and took over the property this summer. While there was no asking price on the property, which has stunning views of the Hudson River, Mr. Helman said that "the seller was happy with the price," the article said, adding that "the property, which is only 80% complete, sold for $855 per sellable square foot."
"While the buyer will have to invest more money to finish the project, the buildings' units can fetch roughly $1,500 per square foot condominiums, he noted," the article said.
The project's previous developer, Horizen Global, began marketing the glass-facade building with full-floor apartments in 2005. At that time, one-bedroom, 1.5-bathroom units were asking at least $2.1 million, and three-bedroom, 3.5-bath units were asking at least $4.1 million.
The article noted that, "according to published reports, movie star Leonardo DiCaprio signed a contract to buy at least two floors of Hudson Blue but didn't close on the deal because the developer never sold enough units for its offering plan to be declared effective by the New York Attorney General's office."
In 2008, Horizen defaulted on its loan and unsuccessfully tried to sell the entire building for $21 million.
Horizen Global, the Hudson Blue developer, was formed in 2002 by Michael Yanko and Eran Conforty, and they began marketing the project in 2005 as part of the new "Gold Coast" on West Street, where the glass-facade building abutting the Hudson afforded spectacular water views and was a few doors just to the north of similar but larger towers designed by Richard Meier.
The developers used different kinds of glass for parts of the building, depending on the amount of sunlight, the article said, adding that Mr. Yanko told an interviewer at one point that they considered subsidizing a private chef for residents.
Designed by Patrick Han, the very attractive building is notable for the thin diagonal pier on its mostly glass facade. The building, which is 23.5 feet wide and between Perry and West 11th Streets, has a setback at the ninth floor.
All apartments have fireplaces and the building has private storage areas and a wine cellar and at one point Mr. Yanko was quoted as saying the developers planned to have "as a private chef in the cellar with a common kitchen making food for the weekend, and I'm actually subsidizing the chef for the first year as part of the attraction."
According to The Sabet Group's website, the family-owned firm was founded in 1979 and specializes in residential development and management.
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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