Heller and Stein to speak on office-residential conversion and troubled-asset strategies for lenders

Manhattan, NY Everyone talks about converting underutilized outdated office buildings into new badly needed housing. 

But which buildings are suitable for conversion, and more important, why? Further, does this give office building lenders and borrowers a magic bullet to solve their problems?

Woody Heller, a prominent investment sales broker in Manhattan, and Joshua Stein, a commercial real estate lawyer who regularly works on large development projects, will address those questions at a Mortgage Bankers Association of New York education workshop set for March 12^th.

The two-hour event, “Strategic Alternatives for Troubled Assets: Conversions; Valuations; and Workouts that Might Work,” will start at noon at TitleVest, 110 East 42^nd St. It includes lunch and confers 1.5 CLE credits. For more information or to register, visit: https://mbaofnyc.wildapricot.org/event-6048653. 

 Heller, founding partner of Branton Realty Services LLC, has for decades arranged some of the largest commercial real estate transactions in Manhattan. He actively advises building owners and lenders on the monetization of, and strategic advice for, commercial property, most recently with particular emphasis on residential conversions.

He focuses on office, residential, and specialty retail buildings, as well as development sites.  Some of his more notable sales include Citigroup Center at 54^th St. and Lexington Ave., the 50-story Madison Belvedere apartment building at 10 East 29^th St., the Rhinelander Mansion retail headquarters of Polo Ralph Lauren at 72^nd St. and Madison Ave., and the Drake Hotel development site at 432 Park Ave. He has also structured and restructured: participating and/or convertible mortgages, equity joint ventures, ground leases, the sale of partial interests, equity recapitalizations, and note sales, the most notable of which was the sale of the notes and mortgage encumbering the Chrysler Building. Heller has closed in excess of $12 billion in asset and note sale transactions involving in excess of 50 million s/f.

Stein, sole principal of his law firm, has written five books and over 500 articles on commercial real estate and real estate finance. For more than 25 years he has chaired the annual two-day real estate finance program of the Practising Law Institute.

Noting that values have fallen significantly in several real estate asset classes, especially office buildings, and that lenders are “no longer so willing to kick the can down the road,” Stein said “rising pressures are driving foreclosures and transactions. There is a great deal to discuss regarding alternative approaches to troubled assets, and especially the dynamics of conversions.”

Stein’s latest book is the New Guide to Ground Leases, a three-volume and 1,800-page work that includes an Encyclopedia of Ground Leases, a Model Ground Lease, and templates for two dozen other related documents (www.groundleasebook.com).

Now in its 15^th year, the law firm of Joshua Stein PLLC handles commercial real estate financing, leases (ground and space), development, hotel transactions, acquisitions, and consultation on real estate issues. Its clients range from global banks to major developers to individuals acquiring LLC interests in small buildings or signing a lease for their first retail space. The firm has five attorneys, with one or two typically assigned to each matter.

Stein also handles occasional expert witness and arbitration or mediation work.

For more information and to register for the March 12 program, visit https://mbaofnyc.wildapricot.org/event-6048653.