Tamir Sapir, the developer, is facing a $130 million lawsuit from a fund controlled by the Blackstone Group, alleging he defaulted on a multi-million-dollar loan used to develop the William Beaver House condominium in the Financial District, according to an article yesterday by David Jones at therealdeal.com.
GSO Re Onshore, the fund managed by Blackstone subsidiary GSO Capital Partners, filed suit Monday against Sapir individually in New York State Supreme Court, seeking a judgment on the $66 million loan that he guaranteed and then failed to repay by the November 2009 maturity date, according to the article.
"GSO RE would not have made the loan to SDS William Street absent Sapir's personal and unconditional promise to repay the loan set forth in the guarantee," wrote Kobre & Kim attorney Elizabeth Wolstein, who is representing the fund, the article said.
The article maintained that the lawsuit alleges that as of November 2009 Sapir owed $48.7 million in interest, on top of the $66 million in principal, adding that another $15.7 million in new interest is now due, resulting in the $130 million claim for summary judgment.
Although Sapir was not immediately available for comment, the article said that his legal counsel, Stephen Meister, said it would "vigorously defending the action," adding that "we've had prior conversations and hope to resolve the matter with GSO
William Beaver House at 15 William Street in the Financial District is distinguished by its "dripping" black and gold facade. The Andres Balazs-designed project has 333 units, including three penthouse apartments.
Sapir's partner on the project, SDS Investments, led by S. Lawrence Davis, originally acquired the site for $90 million from the Manocherian family in 2005. In 2006, they obtained $247 million in financing from Fremont Investment & Loan to develop the project, but that bank eventually crashed after the subprime debacle and the commercial loan portfolio was sold to iStar Financial. Davis, the article said, did not respond to repeated calls for comment.
The 45-story luxury tower at 15 William Street, at the corner of Beaver Street, rose on what was a 23,000-square-foot parking lot, opposite Delmonico's.
Mr. Balazs had long been known as a hotelier, but recently he became a developer of One Kenmare Square, a 53-unit condo building on Lafayette Street in SoHo, and 40 Mercer, a new 40-unit building, also in SoHo, designed by the architect Jean Nouvel.
GSO Re Onshore, the fund managed by Blackstone subsidiary GSO Capital Partners, filed suit Monday against Sapir individually in New York State Supreme Court, seeking a judgment on the $66 million loan that he guaranteed and then failed to repay by the November 2009 maturity date, according to the article.
"GSO RE would not have made the loan to SDS William Street absent Sapir's personal and unconditional promise to repay the loan set forth in the guarantee," wrote Kobre & Kim attorney Elizabeth Wolstein, who is representing the fund, the article said.
The article maintained that the lawsuit alleges that as of November 2009 Sapir owed $48.7 million in interest, on top of the $66 million in principal, adding that another $15.7 million in new interest is now due, resulting in the $130 million claim for summary judgment.
Although Sapir was not immediately available for comment, the article said that his legal counsel, Stephen Meister, said it would "vigorously defending the action," adding that "we've had prior conversations and hope to resolve the matter with GSO
William Beaver House at 15 William Street in the Financial District is distinguished by its "dripping" black and gold facade. The Andres Balazs-designed project has 333 units, including three penthouse apartments.
Sapir's partner on the project, SDS Investments, led by S. Lawrence Davis, originally acquired the site for $90 million from the Manocherian family in 2005. In 2006, they obtained $247 million in financing from Fremont Investment & Loan to develop the project, but that bank eventually crashed after the subprime debacle and the commercial loan portfolio was sold to iStar Financial. Davis, the article said, did not respond to repeated calls for comment.
The 45-story luxury tower at 15 William Street, at the corner of Beaver Street, rose on what was a 23,000-square-foot parking lot, opposite Delmonico's.
Mr. Balazs had long been known as a hotelier, but recently he became a developer of One Kenmare Square, a 53-unit condo building on Lafayette Street in SoHo, and 40 Mercer, a new 40-unit building, also in SoHo, designed by the architect Jean Nouvel.
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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