Realty Check rarely strays beyond the Big Apple but we couldn’t resist this tale of intrigue in Michael Gross’s new book, “Treasured Island: The Story of St. Barth . . . and Its Barbarians, Billionaires, and Beauties.”
Izak Senbahar, the New York developer of trophy properties such as jinga puzzle-like 56 Leonard St., glass-wrapped 165 Charles St. and the redesigned Mark Hotel, twice lost out in a struggle over luxury beach resort hotel Taiwana. Senbahar and his partners first thought they bought it from hotelier Jean-Paul Nemegyei in 2005 — but the Caribbean island’s backstage maneuvering left them them high and dry.
Nemegyei borrowed millions of dollars from Frederic (“Melon King”) Gabert after a hurricane wrecked the place in 1995. Ten years later, Senbahar, Goldman Sachs executive Dan Neidich and a third partner who later dropped out agreed to buy the property for about $30 million. The deal included a $1.5 million deposit to Nemegyei written up as a mortgage.
But in 2009, Gabert called in the loan, leaving Taiwana essentially bankrupt. French courts ordered the hotel sold and voided the sale to Senbahar and Neidich.
The two appeared to prevail in a foreclosure sale, but they lost out a second time when Swiss financial firm Hill Street Partners, backed by Douglas Elliman, leapt in to pay more for the hotel and take Nemegyei off the hook.
Taiwana was later sold to a LVMH hotel subsidiary and absorbed into a different property.
But at home, Senbahar can be glad that his Alexico Group recently completed a $345 million refinancing package of the Mark Hotel led by Deutsche Bank — continuing the glam property’s post-pandemic stabilization with no unpleasant surprises in sight.