RFR Ordered to Pay $18M to Lenders for 285 Madison Avenue
By Mark Hallum October 25, 2024 12:20 pm
reprints
It just keeps getting worse for Aby Rosen and Michael Fuchs’s RFR Holding as a judge ordered the owner to pay $18 million to one of its lenders.
New York State Supreme Court Judge Anar Rathod Patel ordered the company, with distress all over the map, to pay the funds to Daol Asset Management, the lender on two of the mezzanine loans on 285 Madison Avenue, according to court documents.
RFR, however, seems to be keeping its cool after the summary judgment in the lawsuit.
“RFR remains committed to 285 Madison and looks forward to working with the special servicer,” a spokesperson for the company said in a statement.
The story was first reported by real estate newsletter The Promote.
Daol provided a $120 million senior mezzanine loan and an $85 million junior mezzanine loan on the property but took to the courts earlier this year after RFR defaulted on the debt in Februrary, according to court records.
Aside from the mezzanine loan troubles, RFR has been facing issues with its $222 million commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) loan collateralized by the 530,000-square-foot 285 Madison and was granted a short-term extension on it in July.
The judicial action came a month after Cooper Union made moves to terminate RFR’s ground lease on the Chrysler Building and take control over the building at the end of September.
A legal dispute between the school and RFR has prolonged matters at the New York City landmark, with RFR accusing its landlord of “acting in bad faith” by refusing to renegotiate the terms.
Earlier in September, a $247.2 million CMBS loan for the Stamford Plaza Portfolio in Connecticut went to special servicing after reaching its 2024 maturity date, Commercial Observer reported at the time.
It’s also facing foreclosure on 475 Fifth Avenue after failing to pay off a $180 million loan tied to the 23-story office building in August, as well as One Jackson Square in the West Village and 219 East 67th Street, where it defaulted on $22.4 million in loans around the same time.
Despite all the troubles, RFR previously told CO that it was planning to resolve all of its debt problems without having to sell its top-tier assets.
Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.
