Still stinging from the rejection of its casino bid, SL Green made a splash this week by agreeing to purchase the 36-story Park Avenue Tower at 65 East 55th Street in the Plaza District for $730 million, a cut from the roughly $925 million the Blackstone Group has poured into purchasing and renovating the building since 2014.
SL Green moved quickly to acquire the tower once it hit the market, anticipating other bids. Marc Holliday was clearly not interested in another defeat this fall.
Speaking of casino bids, one of the few who advanced to the next round of the process suddenly threw away his cards this week.
MGM Resorts — considered a shoo-in for one of its three casino licenses — withdrew its proposal for a $2.3 billion expansion of its Yonkers facility.
The gaming giant blamed the decision on “a newly defined competitive landscape” and noted that the remaining proposals were clustered in a “small geographic area.”
MGM also relied on receiving an initial 30-year license, but under rules the state issued last week, the Yonkers proposal would only be eligible for 15 years.
The Queens Aqueduct, Steve Cohen’s Metropolitan Park in Flushing and Bally’s Bronx project are the only ones left. The state doesn’t have to award all three available licenses, which means competitors can’t start counting their chips yet.
In other news, a lender is pursuing two extrajudicial foreclosures on equity interests tied to two phases of Fordham Landing, a multibillion-dollar mixed-use development along the Harlem River in the Bronx. Dynamic Star, led by Gary Segal and Brad Zackson, is developing the mega-project with Namdar and Gorjian Acquisitions.
A mysterious lender claims debt is owed on a $55.1 million loan tied to 320 West Fordham Road, as well as $18.9 million tied to a loan for 2371 Exterior Street, 2391 and 2401 Outside Street, and 2444 Outside Street.
Two foreclosure auctions are scheduled for December 2.
While Fordham Landing faces threats, the Brooklyn Mirage seems doomed. The owner of the East Williamsburg building has applied for a demolition permit for at least part of the live music venue, part of a larger space called Avant Gardner. The application concerns a complete demolition of 32,000 square meters.
The demolition would be the culmination of a tumultuous series of months that included canceled shows, bankruptcy filings and overflowing renovation costs.
Culturally, the Metropolitan Museum of Art is getting involved in its own real estate business.
The museum signed a deal to sell a pair of townhomes on East 82nd Street on the Upper East Side, for the latest asking $28 million. The buyer signed a contract two weeks after the homes were for sale and plans to convert them into one single-family home.
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SL Green buys Park Avenue Tower for $730 million
MGM drops out of the casino race
Dynamic Star’s troubled Bronx megaproject is facing new bankruptcies
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