As seen in Commercial Observer

BY REBECCA BAIRD-REMBA FEBRUARY 5, 2024

The Kalimian family has reportedly sold its Upper West Side luxury residential tower, Aire, to the Gotham Organization and Carlyle Group, according to The New York Post.

A&R Kalimian Realty, which constructed the 43-story glass skyscraper at 200 West 67th Street in 2013, unloaded the tower for $265 million last week, the Post reported. The transaction has not appeared in public records yet.

The sale comes after the developer was facing default on a $196 million mortgage for the 310-unit building as A&R struggled to keep up with payments since 2017 and saw the building’s occupancy dip to 70 percent in 2020, as Commercial Observer reported last year. The property also includes 37,000 square feet of ground floor retail and a 115-space parking garage.

The loan — originally provided by JPMorgan Chase — was transferred to special servicing in June. Although Aire was 97 percent leased last June, the Kalimians were unable to square away new financing by the time the loan came due in November.

Current asking rents at the property range from $3,825 a month for a sub-400-square-foot studio to $13,000 a month for a three-bed, three-bath unit spanning 1,400 feet on the 33rd floor, according to Streeteasy.

The high-rise at West 67th Street and Amsterdam Avenue hit the market last month, according to Crain’s New York Business, after defaulting on the mortgage. A Moody’s spokesperson clarified that the property had entered maturity default, which is when a borrower cannot pay the balloon payment to the lender at the end of a loan term.

CBRE’s Darcy Stacom and Alana Bassen brokered the deal, per the Post, but didn’t return a request for comment. Spokespeople for Gotham, Carlyle and A&R declined to comment.

The Kalimians have also been fighting each other in court over who will take over the family real estate business, with A&R chief Albert Kalimian battling over control of the company with nephew Justin Amirian, according to various outlets and court documents.

Kalimian was even sued by Amirian over the Aire debt in late 2022, The Real Deal reported at the time. The suit, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, alleged that “an ill-advised decision by Albert Kalimian with respect to an interest rate swap on a property located at 150 Amsterdam Avenue (an alternate address for 200 West 67th Street) cost the beneficial partners of the lender LLC’s over $35 million in 2013.”

A state supreme court judge dismissed the suit in July.

Rebecca Baird-Remba can be reached at rbairdremba@commercialobserver.com