The William Vale hotel drama appears to be coming to an end.
A venture led by health care executive Avi Philipson is set to buy the debt and an equity stake in the Williamsburg hotel from All Year Holdings’ Israeli bondholders. The bondholders approved his proposal earlier this month and the deal is set to close in July, according to a filing in bankruptcy court.
Philipson emerged with a bid at the 11th hour after a deal with Brooklyn landlord Zelig Weiss seemed all but done.
It was Weiss’s second attempt to take control of the spaceship-looking office and hotel complex in northern Brooklyn. Weiss had a 50 percent stake in the property and had been accused by an All Year entity of siphoning money out of the property.
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The bondholders ultimately went with Philipson’s offer to buy the debt on the property for $157 million. Philipson and his partners, which include Whalley Capital’s Stephen Gorodetsky, will also receive a 50 percent equity stake in the property, according to the filing. The Philipson group also increased by $2 million the principal on debt it plans to issue to pay unsecured claimholders.
After Philipson’s group submitted its proposal, Weiss submitted his own, which the bondholders rejected, according to a filing.
“The William Vale is a unique property with an iconic design in a superb location,” said Gorodetsky in an email. “We look forward to it realizing its full potential through lease-up of the retail and office space.”
The William Vale was co-developed by Weiss and Yoel Goldman of All Year in 2016. The Brooklyn landlords then had a falling out and sued each other. Goldman and All Year later ran into financial trouble, facing foreclosures, and in 2020 Goldman had to cede decision-making to restructuring officers.
The William Vale was a crown jewel of All Year’s portfolio. A number of investors attempted to make an offer for it including Monarch Alternative Capital and Richard Wagman’s Madison Capital.
Philipson has gone after All Year’s real estate before: His Graph Group and Rubin Schron’s Cammeby’s International recently reached a deal to buy All Year’s portfolio of more than 100 properties in Brooklyn out of bankruptcy.
Philipson, whose Twitter photo does not show his face, operates nursing homes and holds an ownership interest in the Cold Springs Hills Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in Woodbury, New York.
His father, Bent Philipson, is a controversial operator of nursing homes on Long Island and throughout the country.