$130M pre-foreclosure filed at Cohen Brothers Lenox Hill office tower

The special servicer for a $130 million loan originally given to Cohen Brothers Realty in 2015 and secured by the office tower at 750 Lexington Avenue in Lenox Hill, filed a pre-foreclosure action May 10, 2024, in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, alleging that loan was in default.
Case LINK

Court filings represent the position of one party and are not necessarily accurate or complete.
The special servicer, LNR Partners, through the entity Series 2015-GC34 alleges the $130 million loan secured by the office tower Cohen Brothers Realty owns through the entity International Plaza Associates L.P. at 750 Lexington Avenue is in default.

The Real Deal reported last month that the property valuation was cut by 83 percent, citing a Morningstar Credit report.

This filing adds to the challenges facing Charles Cohen‘s company.

In March, PincusCo first reported Fortress Investment Group sued Cohen Brothers  over a $533 million loan.

In 2020 Cohen Brothers signed a contract to buy air rights to develop a tower in Midtown East, but terminated that a year later, in May 2021.

The loan is set to mature on October 6, 2025. According to the complaint, “Borrower failed to pay the full amount of Debt Service due under the Loan Documents on the Monthly Payment Dates that occurred on July 6, 2023 and August 6, 2023, and on each Monthly Payment Date thereafter.”

The lender sent an acceleration notice dated April 15, 2024. Cohen Brothers borrowed $130 million in September 2015, and that loan was then packaged into a commercial mortgage-backed security.

The office building at 750 Lexington Avenue has 386,287 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 200 feet and is 125 feet deep with a total lot size of 24,601 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is C5-2 which allows for up to 10 times floor area ratio (FAR) for commercial and up to 10 times FAR for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $148.3 million.

Direct link to the property’s ACRIS page and link to DOB NOW portal.