Special servicer files pre-foreclosure on $361M allegedly owed on Columbus Square retail

Special servicer Mount Street US filed a pre-foreclosure action in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan on Friday alleging a loan with $361 million outstanding was in default. The owners, according to the complaint and new articles, are affiliates of the late Jacob Chetrit and Stellar Management, and the property is known as the Columbus Square Portfolio.

In 2024, the Commercial Observer reported the owners obtained a three-year extension for the loan, totaling $370 million at the time.
In October 2025, Crain’s New York reported the loan had been sent to special servicing, for the second time.

Case LINK

The properties are retail portions of large residential towers, 801 Amsterdam Avenue, 775 Amsterdam Avenue, 795 Amsterdam Avenue, 801 Amsterdam Avenue, 808 Amsterdam Avenue and 805 Amsterdam Avenue. The owners borrowed $400 million in 2014, and that loan was packaged into several securitized bond trusts, including Wilmington Trust, National Association, as Trustee for the Registered Holders of WFRBS Commercial Mortgage Trust 2014-C22, Commercial Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2014-C22.

According to the complaint,”The outstanding principal balance due under the Loan and the Loan Documents is no less than $361,208,109.87 (three hundred sixty-one million, two hundred eight thousand, one hundred nine dollars and eighty-seven cents).”

The 2014 loan Free Writing Prospectus Structural and Collateral Term Sheet states that “The loan sponsors and nonrecourse carve-out guarantors are Jacob Chetrit and Laurence Gluck. Jacob Chetrit is among the principals of The Chetrit Group. The Chetrit Group is a privately held real estate investment firm with management and operating experience in New York. Laurence Gluck is the founder of Stellar Management, an owner and operator of New York City residential and commercial real estate. Stellar Management focuses on real estate acquisitions, development and property management. Stellar Management’s portfolio contains over 12,000 apartments in 100 buildings in New York City, Washington D.C. and Miami. The Property. Columbus Square Portfolio is a 494,224 square foot mixed use property, consisting of 31 condominium units within five buildings located at 775, 795, 805, 808 Columbus Avenue and 801 Amsterdam Avenue. The properties are located on three contiguous blocks stretching from 97th to 100th Streets along the entire eastern and western blockfronts of Columbus Avenue and the southeast corner of West 100th Street and Amsterdam Avenue within the Upper West Side neighborhood of New York City. The Columbus Square Portfolio buildings were constructed by the loan sponsor in 2007 and 2008 and consist predominantly of retail space, as detailed in the table below:”
Both Jacob Chetrit and Laurence Gluck have died in the years after the loan was signed.

The neighborhood

In Upper West Side, The majority, or 59 percent of the 52.9 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 23 percent of the space. In sales, Upper West Side has near average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $944.1 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 12th highest in Manhattan. For development, Upper West Side has near average amount of major developments among other neighborhoods and is the 22nd highest in Manhattan. It had 1.8 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 3 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of four of the nine commercial properties representing 977,748 square feet of the 1,893,644 square feet. The largest owner is Chetrit Group, followed by Eastgold Properties and then Stellar Management. There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The owner

The owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes Thomas Toomey, head officer and Michael Lacy, officer. The business entities are Western Residential, Inc. and Columbus Square 801 Llc.

The surrounding

This is the first commercial real estate event of interest identified within the 400-foot radius of 190 West 100 Street in the past 24 months.

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