Chinese development company in hot water over unpaid common charge
By Lois Weiss
A Chinese company that developed a luxury condominium on the Brooklyn waterfront owed over $250,000 in common charges, putting the board’s finances into unchartered territory.
The Oosten, a 216-unit Brooklyn high-rise, was touted in 2015 when Dutch architect Piet Boon designed his first US building. It has an interior garden, roof deck, a spa, townhomes and a prime location in Williamsburg at 429 Kent Ave.
Its Chinese developer, Xin Development, is the subsidiary of Beijing-based Xinyuan Real Estate Co., an NYSE-listed company that will report earnings on Friday.
This month, the board’s attorney, Adam Leitman Bailey, filed liens against 43 of the units for unpaid charges from October 2018 through Jan. 1, 2019, totaling $252,752.23. He declined to comment.
There is also litigation with a contractor who is owed about $470,000.
Xin is also being sued by Halstead Property Development Marketing, which claims it is owed $1.3 million after being dropped from the building’s sales and marketing. At that time, 49 units remained.
Apartments have sold at prices ranging from $6,495,000 for a six-bedroom penthouse to $698,000 for a one-bedroom.
About $5 million in EB-5 money was used for this project. Its other construction loans from Fortress Credit have been satisfied.
In December 2017, Xin turned over local management of the Xin projects, including the Oosten, to Kuafu Properties under a joint venture called Xin Fu Development, The Real Deal reported.
StreetEasy lists the current agent as Silk Realty Group, a firm that shares offices and executives with Kuafu, which did not return a request for comment.
So far, city property taxes appear to have been paid.
Real estate attorney Steve Wagner, who is not involved with the building, declared of the unpaid funds, “It’s a punch in the kidneys and one of the reasons people are concerned when there are a number of units held by a sponsor.”
Generally, Wagner said sponsors don’t walk away.
“But if they don’t pay, there can be very serious problems for the condo,” Wagner said.
Because there does not appear to be a mortgage, when and if individual units do sell, the board may get paid, Wagner added.
As the Chinese were celebrating their new year of the pig, a response from Xin’s Beijing headquarters was not forthcoming.