Courts roundup: $12M pre-foreclosure in Tribeca; $2.5M EB-5 suit

$12M pre-foreclosure in Tribeca mixed-use: Lender Avant Capital alleges that Barry Leon’s entity has defaulted on the $12 million loan secured by the mixed-use property at 388 Broadway in Tribeca, that has approximately 24,000 square feet, eight residential units and one commercial unit. The financial troubles allegedly pre-dated Covid. Avant sent a notice in November 2019 that Leon’s company had defaulted after failing to make a loan payment in September 2019, according to the complaint. According to a separate suit Leon filed against Avant in May 2021 (LINK), there was a sale of a majority of the shares in the property on February 25, 2021, with the Avant affiliate Cardinal Credit buying those shares. Leon bought the property in 1999 for $1.7 million. He took out loans over the past two decades, including $12 million Avant provided in 2017. LINK

Court filings reflect the position of one party and are not necessarily accurate or complete.

EB-5 group seeks $2.5M from Queens developer: The lender, an EB-5 group called American Regional Center for Entrepreneurs, or AFCRE http://www.arcfe.com/arcfe-group-1/ claims it agreed in January 2013 to make a loan that would eventually total $6 million to developer Steve Cheung, and that loan would be repaid by February 2020. There remains $2.49 million outstanding, according to the complaint. The building was planned as a residential condo project. Plans for a 69-unit building were filed in 2012 and the developer has applied for an initial temporary certificate of occupancy in 2020, but the city has not yet issued the TCO. The total sellout for the condo is $45.8 million, and the project was declared effective, but no condo declaration has been recorded, which is required before sales can close. The plaintiff is suing for a money judgment, not a foreclosure. LINK

Direct link to Acris document. link