Stern, Cohen default on NY properties; Palm Beach home asking $188M finds buyer ... and more

The best national real estate stories from The Real Deal. Mar 30, 2024 [Share]( | [View in Browser]( | [$1 for 1 Month](     In today’s newsletter, we look at a pair of [major]( [defaults]( for two big names in New York real estate. Plus, the [priciest home in Palm Beach]( finds a buyer, Meridian gets [a new CEO](, and a multifamily syndicator [runs into trouble]( as his loan hits maturity. These stories and more below.   [Michael Stern defaults on Brooklyn’s tallest tower]( … [and Charles Cohen’s troubled debt surpasses $1B]( Significant defaults have become a norm across the country. This week, a pair of major players — Charles Cohen and Michael Stern — made headlines with hundreds of millions of dollars in troubled debt. Stern [defaulted on a $240 million mezzanine loan]( tied to Brooklyn’s tallest skyscraper, 9 Dekalb, which is known for its Gotham City vibes. The developer tried to offload a portion of the residential building last year, but no deal ever emerged. The building’s fate is uncertain. The lender, Silverstein Capital Partners, has scheduled a UCC foreclosure auction for June 10. But mezzanine foreclosures sometimes draw little interest. Will the lender take control? Or could an investor swoop in and purchase Silverstein’s stake? Stern can take solace in the fact that he might not have the largest loan default of the week. Cohen [defaulted on $534 million in debt]( tied to seven properties, mostly in New York and Florida. The default saddles the billionaire with debt of more than $1 billion when combined with another $635 million in past due loans. Cohen’s firm has maintained that they are working with lenders to work out all of the troubled loans. Meanwhile, Cohen’s lender, Fortress Investment Group, filed suit earlier this week seeking a $187 million judgment plus interest.     [I'm an image]( [Palm Beach’s most expensive home finds buyer]( A Palm Beach home with a $188 million price tag went into contract this week. The 21,000-square-foot house sits on its own 2.3-acre island and was developed by Todd Glaser. [I'm an image]( [Meridian names new CEO amid Fannie and Freddie blacklist]( Months after landing on a Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac blacklist, Meridian Capital Group has a new CEO. A former attorney for Fannie will take the helm while co-founder Ralph Herzka will become senior chairman. [I'm an image]( [Syndicator Nitya Capital fails to pay off $356M loan at maturity]( For much of last year, Nitya Capital’s multifamily properties were bringing in more than enough cash to make debt payments. Then the loan came due, and the firm failed to pay it off. As the loan lands in special servicing, Nitya is doing everything possible to rework the debt.   Advertisement   [I'm an image]( [Brand Studio From Vision to Reality: TRD Brand Studio Videos Amplify Your Real Estate Storytelling]( [I'm an image]( [Brookfield sells trophy LA tower for 50% below outstanding debt]( Brookfield has defaulted on $1.1 billion of debt tied to Downtown Los Angeles office properties. Now, it’s offloaded one of those properties, 777 Tower, for less than half the outstanding debt on the building. [I'm an image]( [More big brokerages likely to cut their own settlements, skip NAR’s terms]( NAR’s recent deal to settle antitrust lawsuits against it didn’t cover any brokerages with volume over $2 billion, more than 90 firms. Those firms could move to cut their own deals in the coming weeks. [I'm an image]( [Former StoryBuilt CEO avoids service as new allegations emerge]( Last year, developer StoryBuilt imploded with then-CEO Anthony Siela at the reins. Siela has been accused of "egregious mismanagement" and financial misconduct. But Siela has all but disappeared since his company’s failure. [I'm an image]( [Floating rates crush $240M in Chicagoland multifamily loans]( Floating rate loans have forced many multifamily players under water. In Chicago, more than $240 million worth of loans tied to three multifamily complexes have landed themselves on a watchlist in recent weeks. [I'm an image]( [How a Bay Area agent piloted her all-women sales team to the top]( Khrista Jarvis runs the top all-female residential team in the country, with her Coldwell Banker crew selling $425 million in homes in 2023. Jarvis sat down with TRD to discuss how she got her team to the top.   [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [LinkedIn]( [YouTube]( [Manage Newsletters]( | [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Subscribe]( | [Advertise]( The Real Deal 450 West 31st Street, New York, NY 10001 ©2024 TheRealDeal. All rights reserved. [View Online](