Turns out that fire sale at Williamsburg’s Warehouse 11—which reportedly involved a whole mess of units going into contract for less than $600 a foot—was primarily stoked by lender pressure, according to an article in the Real Deal. The magazine reports that while “a spokesperson for Aptsandlofts.com said the price slashing is due to market conditions, but a source with knowledge of the situation said the fire sale marks an effort to ratchet up cash before a lender-imposed March 31 cut off date. Developer McCaren Park Mews LLC initially faced a Dec. 21, 2009 deadline to buy back the debt, according to bankruptcy filings. But, the developer had been ‘able to renegotiate terms with the bank,’ the spokesperson said, and extend the closing deadline to March.” The story says the building’s developer needs to come up with around $30 million to buy back the debt, which was originally around $50 million.
Warehouse 11 races against clock [The Real Deal]
Price Cuts Lead to Feeding Frenzy at Warehouse 11 [Brownstoner] GMAP