Chetrit Group’s $85M Loan on Hudson Yards Site in Default, Up for Sale
By Cathy Cunningham February 22, 2023 10:05 am
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The $85 million loan package on Chetrit Group’s Hudson Yards site is in default and being marketed for sale, Commercial Observer has learned.
The debt — consisting of a $53.7 million senior loan and $31.3 mezzanine loan — is collateralized by the full equity interest in the site at 545 West 37th Street.
JP Morgan Chase and Mack Real Estate Credit Strategies (MRECS) originated the loans in connection with the site’s predevelopment in December 2018, The Real Deal reported. The debt— now owned by MRECS solely— still has an outstanding balance of $85 million, not including default interest and other costs and expenses accrued, according to an offering memorandum (OM) viewed by Commercial Observer.
Newmark (NMRK)’s Dustin Stolly and Jordan Roeschlaub have been engaged by Chetrit’s lenders to lead the marketing of the non-performing loan, along with Adam Spies and Doug Harmon, who recently joined Newmark from Cushman & Wakefield, the OM shows. The Hudson Yards loan sale marks the first transaction for the new Stolly-Roeschlaub, Harmon-Spies debt and investment sales partnership, and is “the first of many,” one source said, adding that “right out of the gate, they’re taking no prisoners.”
The sale is being touted as a “one-of-a-kind opportunity” to purchase debt with “a direct and quick path to ownership via a UCC foreclosure.”
The OM notes that the senior debt is accruing interest at a rate of LIBOR + 5.75 percent, while the mezz debt is accruing interest at a rate of LIBOR + 10.51 percent. Both loans, however, include 10 percent default interest, equating to all-in rates of LIBOR + 15.7 percent and LIBOR + 20.5 percent, respectively. The deal also includes a $18.5 million payment guaranty — an agreement made by Chetrit Group in the event the loan goes into default — bringing the loan purchaser’s basis down to around $178 per square foot.
The as-of-right, mixed-use development site collateralizing the debt is currently zoned for 375,000 square feet within the Hudson Yards Special Purpose District, with 75 feet of frontage along West 37th Street plus another 100 feet of frontage along West 38th Street, per the OM.
Chetrit Group purchased the site for $26.5 million in 2012 with early plans for a 46-floor hotel and residential project, according to TRD. Those plans never came to fruition, leaving a shovel-ready site now for sale.
Chetrit’s Bossert Hotel in Brooklyn is also in distress, with hoteliers Ian Schrager and Ed Scheetz possibly stepping in as partners to right the ship, CO first reported.
Chetrit Group could not immediately be reached for comment.
Cathy Cunningham can be reached at ccunningham@commercialobserver.com
