Broadstreet: Related’s Purchase of 225 Rector
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Broadstreet: Marc Held, Partner at Held & Hines, LLP quoted re: Related’s Purchase of 225 Rector
Smart Money Original Developer of 225 Rector Sold High, Now Buying Low The Related Companies, the original builder and owner of 225 Rector Place (once known as Parc Place, now dubbed Rector Square) will soon own the building once again. Related sold the building to developer Yair Levy for well over $100 million in 2007, at the top of the real estate bubble. Mr. Levy’s company later defaulted on its mortgage with Anglo Irish Bank, which took over the property in foreclosure. Related agreed to take the building off the bank’s hands in January for $82 million, or an average of roughly $350,000 for each of 232 units not sold by Mr. Levy as condominiums. (That figure doesn’t count the value of the commercial space and the parking garage, which should, if anything, make the deal more lucrative for the company.) Related has already filed with the State Attorney General’s office to become the building’s new sponsor. Marc Held, a lawyer representing owners of the 46 units that Mr. Levy sold as condos before his conversion went down in flames, told the Broadsheet, “the unit owners will happily work together with Related to bring the building up to par as a first-class, luxury condo.
Related is a fine organization that delivers a first-class product. That unit owners are hopeful that this is what they are going to do at 225 Rector. But only time will tell whether this will occur.” Mr. Held noted that, “while we now have a much safer building and quality of life has improved dramatically since February, 2009, when the unit owners first found out how dire their predicament was, there is still a lot of work that needs to be done. Many of the unsold units need to be renovated, and some of the common areas still need work.” But Mr. Held said that physical improvements, while important, are secondary to financial stability. “Our position is that the building needs to be on firmer ground, fiscally, before any additional units can be sold. The unit owners are hoping that the office of the State Attorney General,” which regulates the sale of condominium apartments in New York, “will be supportive of this. Certainly, we expect they will be monitoring the situation very closely.” Matthew Fenton photos by Robert Simko
