By Patrick Hedlund
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
STUYVESANT TOWN — The current mortgage holder of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village has reportedly taken a step toward pursuing a tenant-led buyout of the 56-building complex.
CW Capital, the asset company that holds the property's first mortgage — which gives it precedence over other lenders — is arranging to meet with the tenant association's financial adviser to explore the possibility of converting the complex's 11,227 units into co-ops, the New York Post reported.
CW Capital is planning to provide the tenants' buyout adviser, Moelis & Co., with the current rent rolls to help determine the feasibility of a co-op conversion, the paper reported.
The move comes after CW Capital filed a lawsuit to block foreclosure proceedings sought by a joint venture between a hedge fund and a real estate investment firm, which purchased $300 million in secondary loans in an attempt to grab control of the property.
CW sued the joint venture, led by Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital, on Aug. 13, arguing that the partnership first needs to pay off the property’s initial mortgage, of some $3.7 billion, before it can foreclose.
The partnership initially stated it would seek to complete a non-eviction co-op conversion of the complex.
The tenants association has made clear its goal is to give the complex’s 25,000 tenants the opportunity to buy their units, or stay on as rent-regulated renters under its own restructuring plan.
A spokesman for the partnership called CW's attempt a "Hail Mary," noting that the move "is filled with half-promises it knows it can't keep," the Post reported.
