Hyde Park developer files for bankruptcy to forestall $8.1M foreclosure

A Hyde Park real estate development company that has $103 million in assets and only $14 million in liabilities has nonetheless filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Kenwood Commons LLC said it is facing an imminent foreclosure, according to a declaration by manager Jacob Frydman, but intends to reorganize the project either by refinancing or selling properties.

Kenwood Commons is based at Frydman’s $45 million house in Hyde Park but the proposed development is at the former 75-acre campus of the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Albany.

Kenwood Commons bought the property for $18 million in 2017, according to news accounts, and the following year proposed a $500 million project with condominiums, townhouses apartment buildings, hotels, and an arts and cultural center.

The project stalled as it was beset by overdue taxes, money owed to contractors and loan debt, according to a Historic Albany Foundation timeline.

TBG Funding sued Kenwood Commons for foreclosure and is owed $8.1 million, according to an Albany County Supreme Court notice. Kenwood petitioned for Chapter 11 reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Poughkeepsie, March 28, two days before the foreclosure sale was to take place, thus pausing the action.

The bankruptcy filing also cites pending or threatened court judgments for Marjam Supply Company and Securitas Security Services.

Last year, creditors of a Kenwood Commons affiliate, Deluxe Building Solutions LLC, also managed by Frydman, petitioned bankruptcy court in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania for involuntary Chapter 7 liquidation. The case is pending.

Frydman describes himself as an investor of real estate projects on the East Coast. He has participated in transactions valued at more than $2 billion, according to his personal website. He is CEO of Frydco Capital Group, a private family office. He has been a guest lecturer on real estate finance at Columbia University. He has spoken about commercial real estate trends on Bloomberg TV, CNBC and Fox News. And he has been active with nonprofit organizations in the Hudson Valley.

He recently put his home in Hyde Park up for sale. The 10-acre estate on Rockledge Lane fronts on the Hudson River, includes a sculpture garden, helicopter landing pad, salt-water pool, indoor pool, staff apartment and guest house, and a garage for 9 to 18 cars and a car wash. The 14,800-square foot, limestone and glass house was designed by architect Lee Ledbetter and built in 2009.

The asking price is $45 million but Redfin.com estimates it is worth $38.6 million.