NEW YORK | 3 Columbus Circle | FT | FLOORS

[scalziand]

Originally Posted by NYguy

You would need additional air rights to do that.

Besides that, the original masonry isn't really there anymore. The brickwork has hundreds of holes punched in it and all the ornate stonework has been obliterated. There's nothing left to refurbish.

[NYguy]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-1...-to-judge.html

Moinian Says Payoff on Columbus Circle Tower Is Up to Judge

By David M. Levitt
Oct 28, 2010

Related Cos.’ $250 million loan on a mostly vacant tower near Columbus Circle will be paid off once a New York Supreme Court judge rules on a dispute in the matter, the building’s developer said today.

“We are prepared to pay the mortgage when the court says we need to pay,” Joseph Moinian said in an interview today at a real estate conference in midtown Manhattan.

Moinian this week sued Stephen Ross’s Related Cos., Deutsche Bank AG and other partners that sought to foreclose on 3 Columbus Circle, saying they are seeking to “steal” the 26- story skyscraper south of Ross’s Time Warner Center. Ross wants to tear down the building, which is near completion on a $175 million renovation, and build an apartment tower, possibly with a Nordstrom department store at its base, a person familiar with the plan has said.

The tower, a block south of Central Park and a block west of Carnegie Hall, may be profitable for whoever winds up with it, Lawrence Longua, director of the REIT Center at New York University’s Schack Institute of Real Estate, said in an interview last week. He called it a “magical location.”

Office rents for Class A space were higher and the vacancy rate lower in the Columbus Circle area than for Midtown in general as of Sept. 30, according to CoStar Group Inc., a Bethesda, Maryland-based research service. Landlords asked an average of $61.50 per square foot for top-quality space, compared with $58.09 for Midtown. The neighborhood’s vacancy rate was 8.6 percent, compared with 9.6 percent for Midtown.

SL Green Financing

SL Green Realty Corp., New York’s biggest office landlord, said it agreed on Oct. 25 to provide Moinian with standby credit and help him finish the renovation. Moinian said the project will be “100 percent” done in about 60 days with SL Green aboard.

Moinian said brokers have been reluctant to bring potential tenants to the property while its financing remained in question. The securitized loan on the building, also known as 1775 Broadway, has been in special servicing since January facing “imminent monetary default,” according to servicer notes compiled by Bloomberg.

That will change shortly, Moinian said.

“Now that they know there’s a very, very stable partnership and a well-organized recapitalization program for the building,” tenants will come, he said. “Money is sent aside to pay commissions and do whatever it takes.”

Moinian’s attorney, Stephen Meister of Meister Seelig & Fein LLP, in New York, said on Oct. 26 that the SL Green-Moinian partnership was willing to pay the full $250 million owed to Ross on the loan. It isn’t willing to pay a $54 million penalty that Related and its partners are demanding, Meister said.

‘Ask Related’

Asked to comment on Related’s effort to take over the property, Moinian said, “You should ask Related about how they feel about what they did. I didn’t do anything.”

Joanna Rose, a spokeswoman for Related, said the company wouldn’t comment on Moinian’s statements.

Moinian, 56, who owns a stake in Chicago’s Willis Tower, the tallest U.S. building, also is seeking to rework terms of his debt on lower Manhattan’s W Downtown Hotel & Residences. In January, he restructured about $550 million of debt on three other lower Manhattan buildings.

Moinian declined to comment on Iron Point Titan Ventures LLC’s acquisition of his $25 million mezzanine loan, which a person briefed on the purchase disclosed yesterday.

[Dac150]

This developer sounds like he's in shambles....

[NYguy]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/27/ny...1&ref=nyregion

Related Companies, bought the $250 million mortgage on the property in September, intending to foreclose on the owner, demolish the building and erect a sleek skyscraper slightly taller than his 750-foot, two-towered Time Warner Center.

So it comes down to two possibilities for the site - either the building continues along as planned, or less likely now, Related builds it's 700 footer (maybe 800 footer) with views over Central Park.


James Polk




wandering tattler

[RobertWalpole]

Battle for 3 Columbus Circle goes to court
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article...TATE/101119944
Judge to hear case involving property owner Joseph Moinian and the holder of its $250 million mortgage, Related Cos.; the (additional) $54 million in question.

November 12, 2010 1:59 PM
The battle for control of 1775 Broadway is slated to come to a head on Monday, when a New York state Supreme Court judge is scheduled to hear arguments over whether the property's owner can pay off his mortgage now that the property is in foreclosure.
Real estate developer Joseph Moinian bought what was formerly known as 3 Columbus Circle in 2004. He refinanced it two years later with a $250 million loan from Wachovia. Earlier this year, Mr. Moinian had defaulted on the mortgage, court documents say.
In September, Related Cos. bought the $250 million mortgage and moved to foreclose on the property with the intention of tearing it down and erecting a larger building.
However, late last month Mr. Moinian reached a deal with SL Green Realty Corp., which agreed to inject an unspecified amount of cash into the property, allowing Mr. Moinian to hang on to building. But before SL Green invests, the publicly traded real estate investment trust wants to be sure that Mr. Moinian will be able to stop the foreclosure action and retain control of the property.
The dispute transcends the issue of whether the mortgage can be paid off in the midst of the foreclosure process and extends to the question of whether Mr. Moinian would also owe Related an additional $54 million prepayment charge, as Related claims. Mr. Moinian disputes that charge.
In another suit filed last month seeking $200 million in damages, Mr. Moinian charged that Related engaged in a “predatory lending scheme” designed to steal the building from him.
Mr. Moinian is in the midst of a $175 million renovation of the 26-story and nearly 777,000 square-foot property, which occupies the entire block between Broadway and Eighth Avenue and between West 57th and West 58th streets.
It is unclear if the judge will rule on Monday and if he does whether the amount of the mortgage will be addressed. The predatory lending suit is not expected to be addressed.
Mr. Moinian declined comment and his lawyer, Stephen Meister, didn't immediately return a call. Related and SL Green also declined comment.

[NYguy]

http://www.observer.com/2010/real-es...nly-first-many

Moinian Mayhem: 3 Columbus Circle Showdown Only First of Many



By Matt Chaban
November 15, 2010

Joe Moinian, the blockbuster developer who bought up millions of square feet for billions of dollars during the boom, is set for a court date later today with rival developer Steve Ross, head of the Related Companies, over Moinian's redevelopment of 1775 Broadway.

Moinian began redeveloping the art deco office building two years ago, rebranding it 3 Columbus Circle and slapping over its brick facade a glass one that many find ugly. Ross is rumored to be among them—his crown jewel, the Time Warner Center, is located next door—though it is unclear how much of that actually has to do with his buying up a $250 million loan on the project. Related is attempting to foreclose on the property and has expressed interest in tearing it down and

The dispute is bound for court today, to determine how much is owed—$250 million or $310 million—and thus whether or not Moinian will be able to afford to pay Related back. Assuming his company can, SL Green has offered equity to help do so in exchange for a stake in the building.

While this may be the greatest of Moinian's worries, it is far from the only one. As The Journal notes, lenders have taken "aggressive action" against Moinian at another property, 72 Madison. They want to foreclose on the 12-story office building, for which Moinian took out a $22 million loan. The developer recently made a late payment of $1.4 million, but he failed to pay a $220,000 fee on top of that, which the lenders are using as reason to foreclose. The developer's attorneys call the foreclosure "economic extortion."

The Journal goes on to mention the continuing troubles at the W Hotel Downtown and the Renaissance, both in the Financial District, both in default. Yet the paper also notes that Moinian has successfully renegotiated for three other properties in the neighborhood.

Moinian cannot hold on to everything, though, as he has already been forced to sell off a few pieces of his empire. It remains to be seen how much more will slip through his fingers.

[NYguy]

http://www.observer.com/2010/real-es...r-lipstick-pig

3 Columbus Circle: Luxurious or Lipstick on a Pig?







By Matt Chaban
November 22, 2010

Columbus Circle has been the victim of bad architecture for decades, since Robert Moses built the Coliseum on its western flank in the 1950s, a building derided at the time as "utterly pedestrian," among other epithets. It has since been replaced by the far nicer though not always beloved Time Warner Center. Just across Broadway is the banal Trump International.

Then there was 2 Columbus Circle, the Edward Durrell Stone-designed museum for eccentric heir Huntington Hartford, an odd palazo that Ada Louise Huxtable dubbed the "lollipop building." Love it or hate it, the building erupted into controversy last decade, when the Museum of Art and Design took it over and replaced the facade with one by Portland architect Brad Cloepfil. That might have met a nicer reception were it not for the giant hello hidden in its exterior.

Now comes the latest controversy, over 3 Columbus Circle, a building formerly known as 1775 Broadway that is not actually located on the roundabout but behind the museum. Bought by Joseph Moinian early last decade, his firm undertook a $100 million refurbishment of the project in 2008, which involved glassing over the facade of what was once known as the GM Building, when it was built in the 1920s.

Because much of the original art deco masonry was left in place, and the new glass curtain wall was simply slapped in front, the building has come in for criticism from the blogosphere, architecture critics and even a very powerful neighbor trying to take the building over and possibly tear it down.

Today, The Journal penned an apologia of sorts for the renovations, talking with the architect responsible for the project, Peter Wang. Among the challenges facing him:

For one, he was dealing with a building that dates to the mid-1920s, which means the structure had myriad built-in challenges, like low ceilings and forests of columns. Further, because there were financial and structural limitations, he couldn't strip the facade down to its steel girders and replace the masonry with a glass one. Rather, Mr. Wang had to snap a glass facade onto the existing one-something that becomes readily apparent in the evening, when the glass becomes transparent, and the old masonry peeks out from underneath.

"It was determined that the brick facade of this building actually performed a very important structural function," Mr. Wang says. "So it would have been very difficult to remove the old facade entirely, because new curtain wall glass systems are not designed structurally."

The article invokes both the terms "lipstick on a pig" and "a huge chunk of glass," the latter of which is at least meant as a compliment. It is true the building was no wonder before, and in certain terms the renovations could be considered an improvement. So, dear reader, The Observer is wondering, which is it? Thumbs up or down in the comments, please.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...650007954.html

[Busy Bee]

"It was determined that the brick facade of this building actually performed a very important structural function," Mr. Wang says. "So it would have been very difficult to remove the old facade entirely, because new curtain wall glass systems are not designed structurally."

Wouldn't one think they would know this BEFORE they proceeded with the facadectomy?

[NYguy]

This could be the end of the saga...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-1...an-payoff.html
Moinian Cuts $258 Million Check for Columbus Circle Loan Payoff

By Oshrat Carmiel
Nov 24, 2010

New York developer Joseph Moinian submitted a $258.6 million bank check to New York State Supreme Court today, saying it represents a full payoff of a defaulted loan on a mostly vacant office tower near Columbus Circle.

“That’s guaranteed bank money, good funds, that is sitting in the vault of the county clerk’s office,” said Stephen Meister, Moinian’s attorney from the law firm of Meister Seelig & Fein LLP in New York. “Joe Moinian has paid off the loan.”

Moinian’s lender, Deutsche Bank AG, and its partners, including Stephen Ross’s Related Cos., must pick up the check within 10 days, according to Meister and the court documents he filed today. Moinian is seeking to stop the group from foreclosing on the 26-story skyscraper at 3 Columbus Circle after bringing in SL Green Realty Corp. to provide financing and help finish a $175 million renovation.

The $258.6 million, plus about $6 million in office lease revenue the lenders are holding in escrow, reflects “every nickel” owed to them, Meister said. The sum doesn’t include a $54 million penalty that Related and its partners are demanding.

A retrieval of the money by Dec. 6 would end the pending foreclosure case, Meister said.

Mark Walfish, an attorney with Katsky Korins LLP in New York, which represents Deutsche Bank, didn’t immediately return a telephone message for comment, nor did Joanna Rose, a Related spokeswoman. Renee Calabro, a spokeswoman for Deutsche Bank, declined to comment.

Moinian filed a lawsuit against Related and Deutsche Bank last month, saying they are seeking to “steal” the building, located south of Related’s Time Warner Center. Ross wants to tear down the property and build an apartment tower, possibly with a Nordstrom department store at its base, a person familiar with the plan said in October.

The tower, the former headquarters of Newsweek magazine, is a block south of Central Park and a block west of Carnegie Hall.

[RobertWalpole]

That sucks.

[Busy Bee]

Oh well, you win some you loose some. The demolition and tower replacement was really a long shot anyway. Happy Thanksgiving all!

[YSL]

Ugh. Fuck Moinian.

[Rizzo]

The glass looks very ugly. I've seen the original and new many times in person and felt the brick was more attractive. Cleaned up or a high end rainsceen system could have helped. But an exterior re-imaging does nothing for the inside.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by Hayward

an exterior re-imaging does nothing for the inside.

Obviously. A recladding of the outside is not what is primarily meant to attract tenants.

Moinian is seeking to stop the group from foreclosing on the 26-story skyscraper at 3 Columbus Circle after bringing in SL Green Realty Corp. to provide financing and help finish a $175 million renovation.

Learn all about it here...(redevelopment)
http://www.3columbuscircle.com/

[NYC4Life]

Well, the building won't be foreclosed and torn down after all. Now at least find some decent tenants and bring some vibrancy back to this once "jewel" of a building.

[NYguy]

plus.rebecca

[SkyscrapersOfNewYork]

how disappointing...

[NYguy]

http://therealdeal.com/newyork/artic...o-turn-it-down

SL Green, Moinian deposit 3 Columbus loan payoff, dare lender to turn it down

November 29, 2010
By David Jones

SL Green and the Moinian Group last Wednesday said they deposited $258.6 million to settle the 3 Columbus Circle foreclosure case with Deutsche Bank and Related Cos., and warned that if the lender refuses the payoff it will trigger a protracted court battle.

Deutsche filed suit earlier this year to foreclose on the project, alleging Moinian defaulted on $250 million in mortgage loans at the 26-story tower. Moinian later filed a $200 million counter suit, alleging Deutshe engaged in a predatory scheme to let Related -- which acquired the debt in a joint venture with Deutsche -- foreclose on the building, demolish the existing site and redevelop the property in a hotel and office complex anchored by a Nordstrom's department store.

Moinian claimed, in court documents, that it was willing to pay off the loan balance, but Deutsche and special servicer CW Capital refused to let it sign new tenants and also demanded an additional $54 million prepayment penalty. Lawyers for Moinian warn that Deutsche has until a Dec. 6 legal deadline to accept the deposited funds, or it will face a new lawsuit over the $54 million penalty.

"They'd better be goddamn sure they're going to win the $54 million if they turn down the offer," said Stephen Meister, Moinian's attorney.

A cashier's check for $258.55 million was deposited with the county clerk of New York. If the payment is accepted, SL Green, which paid the amount, would become an investor with Moinian in the property.

Moinian and Related Chairman Stephen Ross faced off in New York State Supreme Court earlier this month, but failed to come up with an agreement on how to resolve the dispute.

According to documents filed in New York State Supreme Court, Deutsche is already holding almost $6 million in rents collected from tenants at 3 Columbus Circle, a building previously known as the Newsweek building with an address of 1275 Broadway.

Related officials were not immediately available for comment and nor was the company's attorney, Mark Walfish. Deutsche declined to comment.

[RobertWalpole]

Quite possibly, Moinian's period in which he has the right to cure his default has expired, and therefore, Related has the right to proceed with foreclosure.

[Busy Bee]

I don't know but I heard this great line the other day from I can't remember where that reminds me of Moinian, this schlock and his history of other crap:

"You don't regulate an abomination - you stop it."