Zeckendorfs Make Another Splash, Acquiring Former Ceruzzi Condo Project From Lender
Zeckendorf Development is on track to buy a condo project on the Upper East Side after its former developer, Ceruzzi Properties, lost the site to its lender.
Zeckendorf is set to acquire the property, a 61-unit development known as The Hayworth, for roughly $250M, The Real Deal reports. It is currently in the hands of the Children’s Investment Fund, a UK-based lender. The lender took over the building in 2019, when Ceruzzi, which had been looking at a $375M sellout on the project, fell behind on a construction loan following a slowdown in the condo market and the unexpected 2017 death of Ceruzzi’s founder.
The Hayworth condo is the second Zeckendorf acquisition to make headlines this month. In early February, the developer signed a secretive deal to spend $1B developing a 36-story luxury tower at 570 Washington St. in the West Village, the New York Post reported. Zeckendorf and its partner Atlas Capital Group haven't yet disclosed the sum paid to the current owner of that property, Westbrook Partners.
Brothers Arthur and William Lie Zeckendorf are the current heads of the development firm founded by their grandfather in the 1940s. William Zeckendorf Sr. was one of the most significant figures in New York City real estate through to the 1960s, selling the United Nations the land where its headquarters remains and building the Kips Bay Plaza complex.
Today, the Zeckendorf brothers continue to pursue lucrative luxury real estate deals. In 2007, they developed 15 Central Park West, which became one of the most lucrative condos in NYC’s history. Zeckendorf sold all 202 of its 15 Central Park West luxury condos within two years, resulting in $1.8B for the firm and its investment partners, Curbed reported.
The developer has also overseen luxury constructions including 515 Park Ave. and 18 Gramercy Park, as well as Union Square’s mixed-use Zeckendorf Towers and the Worldwide Plaza in Midtown.
