Midtown supertall 111 West 57th Street resolves some of its legal troubles

It looks like the skinny supertall at 111 West 57th Street won’t be imperiled after all. After months of troubling news, the developers behind the project finally got a favorable verdict this week. A State Supreme Court judge allowed a “strict foreclosure” proceeding to move forward on the building, which means JDS and Property Markets Group (the developers) can voluntarily hand over ownership of the site to their mezzanine lender, Spruce Capital.

Crain’s first reported on this development, which will likely come as a relief for JDS and PMG; they were battling another partner on the project in court. That investor, AmBase, was hoping for an injunction on the foreclosure proceeding. AmBase has been fighting JDS and PMG for a while now alleging cost overruns, and in regards to the foreclosure claimed that the developers were working together with Spruce Capital to take AmBase out of the picture entirely.

A source has informed Crain’s that with the foreclosure now approved, the developers will either team up with Spruce to move forward on the project or add in another investor into the mix.

• Steinway Tower owner loses bid to hold on to $1B condo project [Crain’s]
• Foreclosure verdict on Midtown supertall 111 West 57th Street postponed [Curbed]
• 111 West 57th Street may be imperiled by cost overruns [Curbed]