Chetrit Group's Holdings Fairing Surprisingly Well After Downturn
Commercial Observer reports: A recent story in the New York Observer told the story of New York-real estate mogul Joseph Chetrit, relying on commercial property transaction data logged by Real Capital Analytics (RCA) to describe the legend’s recent deals. As a member of a wealthy Moroccan family, Mr Chetrit came to the US in the early 1990s as a textile importer/exporter. He began purchasing outer-borough apartment buildings and then commercial buildings in Manhattan by the middle of the decade.
It was in 2004 that Mr Chetrit led a consortium to purchase Chicago’s Sears Tower (now Willis Tower), setting the stage for a mid-decade splurge on commercial properties during the peak of the market. Among his purchases included Manhattan’s Standard Oil Building and a series of mixed-use properties on Sixth Avenue. The Observer identified nearly $2.0 billion in deals to Mr Chetrit’s name during these most active years.
Of particular interest were Mr Chetrit’s acquisitions of the International Toy Center on Fifth Avenue and his more-recent deal for the Chelsea Hotel, both in Manhattan. His intention to convert the Toy Center to condos (and remove the existing toy companies in the process) earned him much bad press in the New York papers, which he likely hopes to make up for with a renovation of the historic Hotel Chelsea.
And though Mr Chetrit’s firm, the Chetrit Group, has weathered the downturn better than comparable companies, signs of distress have cropped up in recent months. The Observer cited RCA data to state that the Chetrit Group’s 123 Williams Street in Manhattan – a 27-story office property the firm purchased in 2005 – went into special servicing earlier this year, with nearly $80 million in outstanding debt. Chetrit’s Five Beekman Street has actually fallen into foreclosure.
View the full article on Commercial Observer: Chetrit Group's Holdings Fairing Surprisingly Well After Downturn
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Posted by: Nina Turner