Foreclosure verdict on Midtown supertall 111 West 57th Street postponed

The suspense surrounding the future of the skinny supertall at 111 West 57th Street has been prolonged just a little bit longer. A New York State Supreme Court judge who was set to rule on whether foreclosure proceedings on the building could move forward has decided to postpone announcing her verdict until Monday, Crain’s reports.

Just last month we learned that one of the investors on the project, AmBase, had filed a second lawsuit against developers Michael Stern of JDS and Kevin Maloney of Property Markets Group, trying to prevent the foreclosure from moving forward.

The lawsuit followed a move by another investor; Spruce Capital purchased $25 million of the mezzanine debt at the building and started a foreclosure process that would transfer ownership directly without it being shopped on the market, according to The Real Deal.

AmBase alleges that the developers are working together with Spruce to take AmBase out of the picture, along with its $66 million stake. AmBase and the developers have been fighting for a while now; JDS and PMG claim AmBase is blocking funds, and AmBase says the developers are trying to get the investor off the project.

In the midst of all of this chaos, construction has still been moving forward on the condo, which will eventually stand 1,428 feet tall (if everything works out in the end). The building is now being fitted with its terracotta and bronze facade, and construction is supposed to wrap in 2018 or 2019.

• Steinway Tower owner fights to hold on to $1 billion condo spire [Crain’s]
• Judge delays 111 West 57th Street foreclosure ruling [TRD]
• Midtown supertall 111 West 57th Street starts to get its terracotta facade [Curbed]
• 111 West 57th Street may be imperiled by cost overruns [Curbed]