Law firm sues landlord for security deposit
A relocated law firm has gone to Westchester Supreme Court on its own behalf to recover a six-figure security deposit it claims the firm”™s former office landlord on the Platinum Mile wrongly used to pay a mortgage servicer late last year.
Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edeleman & Dicker L.L.P. filed its claim for the $318,000 security deposit and monetary damages one day after foreclosure proceedings began in late February against the firm”™s former landlord in Harrison, Dryland Gannett 3 L.L.C.
A special loan servicer in Florida, LNR Partners L.L.C., said in its foreclosure filing in Westchester Supreme Court that Dryland owed approximately $27.1 million on a $35.3 million mortgage for 3 Gannett Drive when it defaulted on the loan in February. The owner of the class B building is an entity of Heritage Realty Services L.L.C. in Manhattan. Both Dryland Gannett and LNR Partners are defendants in the Wilson Elser lawsuit.
Wilson Elser was anchor tenant for 12 years at 3 Gannett Drive, in the former Gannett Office Park, until it relocated in the second half of 2013 to 1133 Westchester Ave. in White Plains. It has about 160 lawyers in its Westchester office.
Wilson Elser in its complaint said its former landlord in mid-December drew $318,000 from the bank security deposit credit account and deposited the money with LNR. The former tenant claims the withdrawal was unauthorized and breached terms of its lease regarding the security deposit, initially set at $1.64 million in 2001. Wilson Elser attorneys argued the landlord did not serve the firm with a notice of default or a 30-day period to cure any default, as required by the lease.
Attorneys for Dryland Gannett have until April 9 to answer the complaint in court.
Dave & Buster’s to open in Pelham Manor
The restaurant and entertainment chain Dave & Buster”™s has leased 41,300 square feet of space at Post Road Plaza in Pelham Manor, the shopping center”™s leasing and managing agent, Levin Management Corp., recently announced.
Headquartered in Dallas, Dave & Buster”™s operates more than 60 casual dining and entertainment complexes throughout North America.
“Dave & Buster”™s unique brand of cutting-edge entertainment and dining will be an excellent draw to Post Road Plaza and significantly augment the center”™s existing retail mix,” said Michael Cohen, Levin”™s vice president of leasing, in a press release. “We are confident Dave & Buster”™s will become a key amenity for local residents and a strong part of the community.”
Cohen negotiated the long-term lease for the New Jersey-based real estate management company. The tenant was represented by Tom Londres, of Metro Commercial Real Estate Inc., and Hugh Kelly and Erin Grace, of SRS Real Estate Partners.
Broker joins Houlihan Lawrence
Kurt Wiesenmaier, a former shipping association executive, has joined the Pelham office of Houlihan Lawrence as a licensed real estate sales person.
Wiesenmaier previously was vice president of client sales and operations at American Import Shippers Association, the oldest and largest shipping association in America with a member base of 140 companies. Before that, he was administrative officer of the India Outsourcing Initiative at AllianceBernstein.
Rockland industrial portfolio grows
Principals of Robert Martin Co. L.L.C. in Elmsford have purchased a fully leased multi-tenant flex building in Chestnut Ridge in Rockland County in a joint venture with MAG Real Estate Advisors Inc.
The buyer, RM MAG Chestnut L.L.C., paid $2.03 million for the 32,000-square-foot industrial property on a 2-acre site at 70 Red Schoolhouse Road, according to Rockland County land records. Building tenants include Clemente”™s Baseball and Softball Academy, Jade International Trading Co. and H&W Door & Hardware.
Michael Grossman, principal of MAG, said in a press release the new owners are planning a series of building upgrades “to further enhance the property”™s utility and create value.”
Greg Berger, managing director and partner of Robert Martin Co., said the purchase gives the Elmsford company and its partners a total of approximately 1.7 million square feet of industrial space in Rockland County, with more industrial acquisitions planned throughout the tristate area.
Kenneth Lundberg, of NAI James E. Hanson in Hackensack, N.J., represented the seller, and Jeff Kolodkin, of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, represented the buyer.
