And fortunately, 2020 is nearly in our hindsight as well.
There are reasons to be optimistic heading into next year with the first vaccines being administered. A possible return to normal life seems within sight, suddenly. But, clearly, there is still pain all around. There’s the human toll with more than 300,000 deaths in the U.S., an unimaginable number. There’s the financial toll too. In our corner of the business world, many real estate players are struggling to ride out the pandemic and economic storm that have disrupted everything. In our cover story this month, we take a look at HFZ Capital Group, which could possibly implode in one of the biggest boom and bust stories of the era. Ziel Feldman’s firm has continually made big bets since the Great Recession, paying record amounts for land along Manhattan’s High Line and stretching itself with a big portfolio of condo projects.
Ziel Feldman (right), Nir Meir and the XI (Illustration by Zach Meyer)
“What’s the latest?” read the text that popped up on Nir Meir’s phone one Thursday afternoon in July. “Running out of time.”
The message to the HFZ Capital Group managing principal was from Adam Gibbons, an executive at CIM Group. The lender was awaiting an overdue payment on $90 million of mezzanine debt it holds on four prewar Manhattan apartment buildings HFZ is converting to condominiums.
“On it,” Meir wrote back. “2 min.”
Four hours later, a reference number popped up on Gibbons’ phone. It seemed the $2.3 million HFZ owed had been wired.
HFZ s Ziel Feldman Takes Over and Partner Nir Meir Is Out: Sources therealdeal.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from therealdeal.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Latisha Thompson, an attorney with Morrison Cohen who represents HFZ, said there is currently no date or timeline for when a new foreclosure sale will occur.
The sale could have allowed either CIM or a new investor to ultimately take control of the four condo conversion projects: 88-90 Lexington Avenue, The Astor at 235 West 75th Street, and Fifty Third and Eighth at 301 West 53rd Street. CIM held four junior mezzanine loans with a balance of $89.5 million that had equity interests in the four condo projects.
HFZ and its lender had been negotiating loan modifications over the summer, but the developer claims that CIM had no intention of restructuring the loans. Instead, HFZ alleges CIM planned to make a “credit bid” at the auction, which would allow the lender to take control of the collateral of the properties. (The credit bid would allow CIM to make a bid with the debt that HFZ owes).