By Daniel Geiger
The Laboz brothers are close to acquiring the mortgage and deed to 408 Broadway, a roughly 75,000 s/f property in Soho for around $32 million, according to sources.
The building was purchased in 2008 by the New Jersey-based real estate investment firm Vanick Properties for $29 million, according to city records. In August of that year, Vanick leased the five story building’s 14,300 s/f fourth floor to the music publication Spin Magazine. It appears, however, that the building eventually went into default.
A person with knowledge of the deal said that the Utah-based lender, Capmark Bank, which had placed about $32 million of debt on the property with Vanick Properties has arranged to sell the debt to the Laboz brothers, Albert, Jody, and Jason, who operate a real estate investment company called United American. The deal includes the deed, which Vanick was likely paid to hand over by the bank without dragging the property into a foreclosure suit, the source said.
The ground floor retail space, located at the southern tip of a profitable shopping strip in Soho, is currently leased to an OMG jeans shop. Many of the loft office floors in the building are vacant.
The Laboz brothers own a number of office properties in Soho and recently acquired nearby 449 Broadway for $15 million.
A person who answered the phone at Vanick said the firm could not comment. Calls to Capmark were not returned by press time.
