Argo Real Estate made headlines with its fast-selling luxury condo project at 64 University Place.
Not so quick was the construction to actually finish the building, according to a lawsuit filed by Argo against its construction manager.
The developer in the complaint alleges CNY Residential, which it agreed to pay over $38 million for its work, didn’t properly oversee its subcontractors, leading to delays in the building receiving its Temporary Certificate of Occupancy.
The developer is seeking at least $13 million in the lawsuit claiming defective work, delays and breach of contract.
Construction was initially slated to start in Dec. 2021 and run through Aug. 2023, at which point the building would receive its TCO, according to the complaint. An adjusted deadline of Feb. 2024 was not met, according to Argo, and the building did not receive all its TCOs until this past November.
The delays were due to CNY’s inability to manage its subcontractors, Argo claimed in the suit.
The complaint lays out a domino effect of delays, citing an example where two subcontractors’ dilly-dallying in installing glass and the building’s rear facade held up rear scaffolding, which led to delays in roof and courtyard work.
The glazing and window work, which was originally planned to take 90 days, instead took 400 days, according to the complaint. Argo also took issue with the work quality, stating that it “was deficient and incomplete, and performed with total disregard for professionalism and workmanship.”
The developer blamed some of the delays on an allegedly sparsely attended worksite, which it attempted to mitigate with an overtime program to no avail, according to the complaint.
Argo alleged that in speaking with the subcontractors about a lack of attendance during a four-month period in 2024, “it became apparent” that the low worker turnout was due to CNY not paying its subcontractors despite receiving money from Argo.
CNY also refused to release accounting records, Argo alleged, and the developer ended up paying some subcontractors out of pocket, according to the complaint.
CNY did not respond to a request for comment.
Despite the alleged turmoil on the job, 64 University Place had no problem raking in residents. The 28-unit property, with sales led by Douglas Elliman’s Fredrik Eklund and John Gomes, inked 24 contracts in under two weeks.
Eklund himself bought a $3.4 million two-bedroom condo at the Greenwich Village development, which comes out to $2,400 per square foot for the 1,400-square-foot unit. Gomes also bought in the building, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Argo and Bsafal purchased the property in 2019 for $30 million from Bernard-Charles.
Read more
Residential
New York
Fredrik Eklund buys at Argo’s Greenwich Village condos
Residential
New York
Argo's Greenwich Village condo sees quick-fire sales