Bankruptcy updates: $33M in Harlem, $10M in Borough Park
$26 million loan secured by a 46-unit condo in Harlem
The Chapter 11 trustee for the bankruptcy at the Alston at 308-310 West 133rd Street, a 46-unit condominium development in Harlem, submitted a motion to approve a stipulation agreeing to hire a broker and to sell the property . The motion will be heard on March 2, 2021. The borrower is W133 OWNER LLC.
The broker identified in the filing is MYC & Associates, an auction company, which would earn $150,000 plus costs if the lender wins through a credit bid; if the winner is not the lender, but pays less than $27 million, the broker will earn $200,000 plus costs; and if the winner bids above $27 million, the broker would earn 2 percent of the sale price. The fees would be split 50-50 in the event the buyer has a broker.
The allowed secured claim was $33.4 million as of the sale stipulation filing.
The developer, Lev Balkany of Happy Living Development, allegedly defaulted on a 2019 loan totaling $26 million provided by Arena Investors. That $26 million loan paid down a $23 million construction loan given by Castellan Real Estate Partners in 2018.
Balkany’s W133 Owner LLC filed for bankruptcy protection in July 2020.
In December, Arena’s affiliate, Harlem 133 Lender, LLC, filed a lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court seeking $35.7 million from Balkany, as The Real Deal reported, to repay the loan plus interest and fees. That case is here.
$10 million loan secured by 34,000-square foot development site in Borough Park.
The lender Bluestone Group on February 12, 2021, filed an amended Chapter 11 plan which foresees hiring a broker and pursuing a 363 sale of the property.
Samuel Pfeiffer and Dina Krausz are identified as holders of ownership stakes in the entity 4202 Partners LLC, which filed for bankruptcy on June 25, 2020.
The developers borrowed $10 million from the Bluestone Group in 2017, and in March 2019 the Bluestone Group filed an action to foreclose on the loan. That case is here.
Maltz Auctions listed a foreclosure auction for the parcel dated in early 2020, but the listing currently identifies the auction as “postponed.”