RCA in the commercial property press:

NY Mets Owner 90 Days Delinquent on Long Island Office Assets

Wall Street Journal reports: New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon appears to be striking out on a bet on the Long Island office market.

An affiliate of Sterling American Property Inc., a company owned by Mr. Wilpon and others that invests in commercial real estate, is more than 90 days delinquent on a securitized loan on the Woodlands Office Park, a 128,000-square-foot, three-building complex on Veterans Memorial Highway in Hauppauge.

Gregory Nero, general counsel for Sterling American said he couldn't confirm or deny the delinquency. Phil Wachtler, Mr. Wilpon's son-in-law and principal of the office park's manager Wachtler Knopf Equities LLC, said he wasn't aware of any delinquent payments. "I'm focused on getting tenants in buildings," he said. "The issue with the banks and the lenders is not something I'm involved in."

The problems at Woodlands Office Park are a sign that in the current commercial real estate downturn even well capitalized owners are clashing with lenders over troubled properties. Besides owning the Mets, Mr. Wilpon's main company, Sterling Equities, has purchased or developed over 23 million square feet of apartments, stores, office buildings and four major sports complexes.

But owners large and small have tried to restructure mortgages with creditors when the value of individual properties fall below the amount of their debts.

Long Island saw a lot of properties trade hands near the peak of the market. In 2007 alone, 62 Long Island office buildings traded for $1.8 billion, according to global commercial property research firm Real Capital Analytics. But sales slowed with the downturn: Last year, eight Island buildings went for just $39 million.

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Posted by: Nina Turner

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