Banyan Shows President the Door

The board of trustees of Banyan Strategic Realty Trust has “suspended” its president/CEO, Leonard G. Levine, and named an interim president/CEO from its own membership, Larry Schafran. The move comes only a month after the board authorized Chicago-based Cohen Financial to take all of Banyan’s real estate holdings to the open market, either separately or as a package.

According to a statement released by Banyan, the board has now initiated an arbitration proceeding with the ultimate aim of sacking Levine for “just cause,” though it did not specify the causes. None of the parties involved were available for comment, but sources familiar with the matter told GlobeSt.com that the board of trustees and the REIT’s management were at odds over the disposition of the properties, with management strongly against hiring any outside party to market them. Also, a group headed by Levine had been negotiating to buy the properties, but was unable to conclude a deal with the board.