Uptown Partners, a developer of Fifth on the Park, the 28-story residential condominium building at 1496 Fifth Avenue across from Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem, has filed for bankruptcy protection, according to an article by Amanda Fung in today's on-line edition of Crain's New York.
The article said that Lewis Futterman, co-founder of Uptown Partners, insisted that the company's Chapter 11 filing had nothing to do with Fifth on the Park, which was topped out a year ago and is now nearing completion: "We had another debt due with severe consequences that we could not complete negotiation in time," he said, adding that "Fifth on the Park is quite healthy."
According to the article, Mr. Futterman maintained that sales contracts have been signed for 98 of the 160 units in that building and that he expects the first closing to take place in mid-April. The project includes a 38,000-square-foot church for the Bethel Gospel Assembly, the previous owner of the land, and a 1,800-seat church sanctuary.
According to the bankruptcy filing, Uptown Partners has a monthly operating expense of roughly $112,000 and owes about $1.1 million to its three largest unsecured creditors: Jay Furman, Capital One Bank and Commerce Bank and the article said that Mr. Futterman said he expects the company to withdraw the filing in a week because it is close to settling the undisclosed debt.
Phoenix Realty Group is the primary equity investor in the project and Joseph Holland, a Harlem developer and former New York state housing commissioner, has a minority stake in the project. FXFOWLE Architects is the architect.
The article said that Lewis Futterman, co-founder of Uptown Partners, insisted that the company's Chapter 11 filing had nothing to do with Fifth on the Park, which was topped out a year ago and is now nearing completion: "We had another debt due with severe consequences that we could not complete negotiation in time," he said, adding that "Fifth on the Park is quite healthy."
According to the article, Mr. Futterman maintained that sales contracts have been signed for 98 of the 160 units in that building and that he expects the first closing to take place in mid-April. The project includes a 38,000-square-foot church for the Bethel Gospel Assembly, the previous owner of the land, and a 1,800-seat church sanctuary.
According to the bankruptcy filing, Uptown Partners has a monthly operating expense of roughly $112,000 and owes about $1.1 million to its three largest unsecured creditors: Jay Furman, Capital One Bank and Commerce Bank and the article said that Mr. Futterman said he expects the company to withdraw the filing in a week because it is close to settling the undisclosed debt.
Phoenix Realty Group is the primary equity investor in the project and Joseph Holland, a Harlem developer and former New York state housing commissioner, has a minority stake in the project. FXFOWLE Architects is the architect.
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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