NEW YORK CITY—Gemini Real Estate Advisors has filed a Chapter 11 reorganization petition with the US Bankruptcy Court—in the Southern District of New York—on behalf of four of its investment vehicles. The assets, all hotels, are the Jade Hotel Greenwich Village, Wyndham Garden, Best Western Seaport and the Bryant Park development site. The four properties are located at 52 W.13th St., 37 W. 24th St., 33 Peck Slip, and 36 W. 38th St., respectively.
While the firm can't predict what prices the hotels will go for, the following bids are in for the buildings: Jade Hotel, $78 million; Wyndham Garden, $57 million; Best Western Seaport, approximately $37 million and the Bryant Park development site, around $26 million.
“After beginning the sales process ten months ago, and enduring numerous legal proceedings from our former president to block these transactions, we have secured buyers for the properties and anticipate a short stay in Bankruptcy Court that will culminate in an auction sale at the best possible price,” says Dante Massaro, president and CEO of Gemini Real Estate Advisors. “We believe that a Chapter 11 filing is the best way to move the sales forward and protect the interests of all parties. Our goal is to protect creditors and investors by ensuring a transparent process by which all creditors are paid in full and returns to investors are maximized.”
For the past 15 months, Gemini has had a number of lawsuits and restraining orders filed by its former president, William Obeid, according to the company. These legal actions have created roadblocks, an announcement from the firm adds, that have stifled the company's transactions and threatened the returns to hundreds of Gemini creditors and investors.
Gemini, manages more than three million square feet of properties and $750 million in value in 11 states across the United States. Based in Charlotte, N.C., the firm also has offices here.
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Rayna Katz
Rayna Katz is a seasoned business journalist whose extensive experience includes coverage of the lodging sector, travel and the culinary space. She was most recently content director for a business-to-business publisher, overseeing four publications. While at Meeting News, a travel trade publication, she received a Best Reporting award for a story on meeting cancellations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
