Tim Ziss uses bankruptcy to preserve $22.5M Midtown East contract adjacent to Macklowe assemblage

Real estate developer Tim Ziss of Allied Properties filed a bankruptcy petition to preserve his contract to buy the office building and potential development parcel at 14 East 52nd Street in Midtown, despite not closing within the set date of April 10, 2023. He filed the petition in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Brooklyn yesterday under the index 1-23-41364-ess.

The building is adjacent to Harry Macklowe’s partially assembled development site which currently includes 12 East 52nd Street and 5 East 51st Street. Macklowe was reported to be eying 14 East 52nd Street several years ago as part of a five-parcel assemblage, according to an article in The Real Deal from 2018. The Ziss special purpose entity name 14 East 52nd Street Devco LLC is nearly identical to Macklowe’s entity name 12 East 52nd Street Devco LLC. In 2019, a Macklowe-affiliated entity submitted a plan to demolish the building, but never proceeded.

Ziss through the entity 14 East 52nd Street Devco LLC acquired the contract from the prior contract vendee, Raciv Corp., according to the bankruptcy petition. Raciv Corp. is a new company and was formed in February 2023 and has a registration address of the law firm Goldberg Weprin Finkel Goldstein, the same law firm shepherding the bankruptcy for Ziss.

A $3 million deposit has been paid. The contract is to buy the property for $22.5 million. Because the sale did not close by April 10, 2023, the seller sent a default notice on April 13, and Ziss is seeking a 60-day period in which to close.

A prior memorandum of contract was recorded against the property in 2018. The seller is an affiliate of Pronovias, a luxury Spanish wedding dress designer. Tim Ziss is the manager of 14 East 52nd Street Devco LLC and is the sole member of 418 LLC, which is the 100% member of 14 East 52nd Street Devco LLC. There is another affiliate, 14 East 52nd Street Mezz LLC which is identified as an equity holder.

The Real Deal recently report that Tim Ziss recently was set to acquire a Bay Ridge office building out of bankruptcy via a $25 million credit bid.

The attorney filing the bankruptcy case was Kevin Nash of Goldberg Weprin Finkel Goldstein, one of the city’s most active bankruptcy attorneys.

Avison Young was marketing the property last year asking $26 million. 

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