By: Benyamin Davidsons
The years-long saga of a luxury condo sold by the government at a deep discount against the board’s will seems to have come to an end.
As reported by the NY Post, state judge Hon. Paul Goetz dismissed the final attempt by the condo board at 212 W. 18th St. to evict Morgan Stanley wealth manager Ron Vinder from the penthouse unit he purchased below value in 2020.
The posh 22-story Art Deco condominium, known as Walker Tower, located in in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood, became the center of drama when the top penthouse owned by Middle Eastern businessman Khadem al-Qubaisi was seized by the U.S. Department of Justice. As per Crain’s, Al-Qubaisi, was sentenced to prison in the United Arab Emirates for an economic scandal revolving around the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund known as 1MDB. In 2016, the penthouse was seized as part of a broad money-recovering seizure settlement. Mr. Vinder purchased the unit from the government in 2020 for the bargain price of $18.3 million. Al- Qubaisi had previously bought the home for nearly $51 million back in 2015. The condo board has been claiming that the sale was made against their bylaws and against their best interests. They have been fighting in court to evict Mr. Vinder, based on the board’s right of first refusal on all property purchases.
As per the Post, the condo board has been alleging that the sale was illegal, claiming that the government was supposed to sell the unit to the condo board, which would then relist it and sell it to a final buyer at a much higher price. The board claims that this transaction will considerably devalue the building’s other apartments. A federal judge had already dismissed the board’s claims, but the group had refiled the suit last July in Manhattan state Supreme Court.
This month the court upheld that decision, saying that the board can’t “relitigate the issue” simply because it was “dissatisfied” with the last ruling. Judge Goetz also awarded Vinder the attorney fees and costs associated with the case, as well as the right to continue living in the unit.
Walker Tower, named after famed architect Ralph Thomas Walker, was built in 1929 and reopened in 2013 being transformed by JDS Development Group into 47 luxury condominiums. Located between 7th and 8th Ave, the building offers shared amenities including a 24-hour doorman, concierge, library lounge with a bar, children’s playroom, fitness center with yoga room, sauna, landscaped common roof deck with dining area, sun lawn, observation area and covered cabana room, as per Street Easy. A five-bedroom unit on the 17th floor of the building, offering 3,865 square feet of space, is currently under contract for about $15 million. A different penthouse in the building, occupying the entire 24th floor and boasting 6,000 square feet of interior space, had been listed for $70 million.
