Investor sues over $1M “emergency” loan made at Hudson Square redevelopment

The private investor Elisa Wietschner through the WFIG Trust filed a lawsuit November 8, 2023, in Manhattan State Supreme Court alleging a $1.049 million loan to Arch Companies related to the long-delayed redevelopment of a small property in Hudson Square, 9 Vandam Street, was in default. She is seeking repayment of the loan.

Case LINK

According to the complaint, the $1.049 million was “emergency bridge funding” to Jeffrey Simpson’s struggling Arch Companies for 9 Vandam Street, made in three transfers in April and June 2023. The loans are in default, according to the complaint, because the senior loan Maxim Credit Group gave Arch Companies was declared in default.

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

According to the court records, Simpson told Howard Wietschner that the development entities, “‘overextended ourselves on this project,’ that Arch (and by extension the entities under its management and control) are unable to pay their debts in connection with the Project or fund their financial obligations when due because as they ‘cannot find more capital at this time without participation,’ and that ‘there is no money to proceed at this time.'”

Arch company is embroiled in an internal dispute between co-founders Jeffrey Simpson and Jared Chassen.

On November 5, 2014, the major alteration job 122186810 was filed to alter the building’s occupancy from commercial to residential and enlarge it from 3,011 square feet to 4,925 square feet.

Elisa is married to C. Howard Wietschner, who was one of a large number of Goldman Sachs executives to leave in 2012, the New York Post reported at the time.

Direct link to Acris document. link