The glamorous apartment tower at 15 Broad St., home to celebrities and Wall Street moguls, is also full of dangerous glitches, unfinished work and funny smells, according to a $20 million lawsuit just filed against converter Shaya Boymelgreen and his Africa Israel International Investments.
The 330-unit address, known as "Downtown by Starck" after interior designer Philippe Starck formed it out of two adjoining buildings, including the landmarked former home of JPMorgan, has been one of the city's most heavily-hyped condo conversions.
Now, the suit -- filed by the four members of the 11-person condo board who are not controlled by Boymelgreen and by some apartment owners -- claims he reneged on certain promises to buyers, including a movie theater that can't be used at all because it falls short of Building Dept. code.
They claim he left the place overlooking the New York Stock Exchange "rife with defects" including "abject" lack of fireproofing, conditions in violation of Building and Fire codes, water leaks and insulation so poor that "noise and odors easily travel from one apartment to the next."
The suit also claims Boymelgreen deliberately failed to make improvements required to receive a permanent certificate of occupancy. According to the complained, this strategy was designed to let Boymelgreen remain in control of the board even though he no longer owns any units -- which he's allowed to do until a permanent C of O is issued.
It says Boymelgreen "has the audacity to use its control of the condo's board . . . as leverage to pressure its unit owners into accepting conditions that are far less than what the sponsor and its associates promised them."
The plaintiffs' lawyer, Steven D. Sladkus of Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz, said, "One would expect that when one spends millions of dollars on an apartment, one should get a first-class building."
But Laurie Golub, general counsel for Africa Israel USA, called the suit "wholly without merit" and "commenced by certain owners in a calculated attempt to maximize leverage over the sponsor during ongoing negotiations. We will aggressively defend this action."
Natalie Portman and Mariah Carey have reportedly rented apartments in the building.
A recent Times story about media entrepreneur Claude Grunitzky's loft there called 15 Broad St. "one of the more opulent places to hang one's hat" in town. The Observer last summer re ported that Exis Capital Manage ment founder Adam Sender bought three units for $8.3 mil lion in 2007.
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It soon will be check-in time again on Eighth Avenue.
The sale of the giant Milford Plaza Hotel to Highgate Holdings and Rockpoint Group just closed for what a reliable source termed "more than $230 million" -- higher than earlier reports predicted. We first reported in July that Philip Milstein's Ogden CAP Properties had put the shuttered, 1,300-room Eighth Avenue inn on the market.
The buyers said last night they'll perform a "far-reaching upgrade" to the Milford Plaza's infrastructure and public space, completely renovate guest rooms and develop "complementary" restaurant and retail components.
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Madison Capital has quietly taken control of two prominent buildings -- 655 Fifth Ave. and 100 Broadway -- from Hiro Realty in a structured transaction that values them at $200 million, sources said. But the deal is a bit of a mystery.
Madison Capital, which boasts a $900 million portfolio of 16 city properties, snatched up the two semi-trophies last month. Madison's Web site describes its takeover of 655 Fifth as a "long-term investment." The East 52nd Street mini-trophy is home to retailer Ferragamo, which leases the whole building.
The 100 Broadway tower is a landmarked, 350,000 square-foot prewar office building between Pine and Wall streets. It's 70 percent occupied, including a huge Borders bookstore. Madison says it plans to reposition the address through capital investment and aggressive leasing.
But how exactly did Madison get hold of them?
Hiro, a once-mighty Japanese company, seems to be under strain in New York. Last week, we reported that an expected 240,000 square-foot lease by A&E at Hiro's 150 E. 42nd St. fell through when A&E changed its mind at the last minute.
At 100 Broadway and 655 Fifth, sources said, Madison Capital controlled the debt and Hiro turned over the deeds in lieu of foreclosure.
Madison Capital managing director of acquisitions David Steinberg did not respond to detailed messages left at his office.
Hiro's lawyer, Marty Polevoy of DLA Piper, didn't get back to us either
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