Lender Arden Group emerged as the sole bidder and won a Uniform Commercial Code foreclosure auction for the Margaritaville Resort Times Square Hotel, according to recent reports. The auction took place three months after Sharif El-Gamal’s Soho Properties filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Using existing debt, Arden Group acquired an equity stake in the hotel with a bid of $1,000. This came after Soho Properties defaulted on their loan from Arden Group in July 2021 and missed a debt service payment on their $57 million loan for the 234-key hotel located at 560 Seventh Ave.
In Dallas, it was reported that lenders holding millions of dollars in debt on an office tower are taking steps towards foreclosure. Whitestone Uptown Tower LLC owns Uptown Tower at 4144 North Central Expressway and recently disclosed that they were notified of defaulting on over $14 million in debt due October 1st. Now mortgage holders have appointed a trustee to undertake foreclosure proceedings against this property previously known as Amberton Tower.
Fortress Investment Group has acquired Brooklyn’s Bushwick Generator site at Moore St., paying $25.5 million according to Crain’s New York Business . This transfer comes from Fortress initiating foreclosures against Toby Moskovits’ Heritage Equity Partners back in late-2019 when they had taken over construction loans originally obtained by Axos Bank earlier that year.
A San Francisco Business Times report states that special servicing is now handling CMBS financing backed by One Union Square building which houses high-end retail brands such as Bulgari, Moncler & Lacoste along with WeWork offices since its record-breaking acquisition worth around USD110m back during April ’13 through Citigroup Inc.’s interest-only loan agreement provided General Growth Properties & Ashkenazy Acquisitions Corp joint venture partners access into owning this mixed-use building spanning across some forty-two thousand two hundred fifty-six square feet located at 212 Stockton St. (also known as Bulgari building). The loan was transferred to special servicing with LNR Partners LLC following a balloon payment maturity default.
CIM Group and Australian pension fund QSuper will be handing over the keys to Midtown Manhattan’s 1440 Broadway, according to recent reports. A $399 million CMBS loan backed by this office tower which they acquired in 2017 has gone into special servicing earlier this month after being valued at USD540m back during ’21 when it was made.
Morningstar reported that an appraisal done in July of ’23 reduced the value on a Manhattan property from $127 million down to just under half that amount, now sitting around USD42.4m instead of its original valuation due mostly because WeWork vacated their space and stopped paying rent on their leases through either year-end or early-2032 for some ninety-three percent occupancy rate across one hundred forty-two thousand seven hundred sixty-two square feet worth of offices within New York City’s Westchase District located about fifteen miles westward outside CBD limits from Houston proper where JPMCC had issued out loans totaling US$42.5m backing One Westchase Center (JPMCC 2017-FL11).
Fitch Ratings recently downgraded ten classes while affirming eight others belonging towards CSAIL Commercial Mortgage Trust series CX9 certificates passed through commercial mortgages originating back during October’17; these were assigned negative rating outlooks primarily reflecting concentrated pool nature remaining pools consisting only twenty-four loans secured against office properties many considered underperforming assets currently facing market conditions not favorable enough for them all together combined making up more than sixty-five percent overall portfolio holdings left behind since last time we checked-in with Connect CRE readership audience members like yourself who are interested learning what experts have say about distressed asset management strategies available today before things get even worse later next year when Connect Investment & Finance 2023 conference takes place October twenty-fourth at Hyatt Regency O’Hare located in Rosemont, IL.
