Cohen Brothers Realty defaults on debt tied to properties including Arrowwood

March 28, 2024 at 1:44 a.m.

Charles Cohen speaks before the Rye Brook Board of Trustees on Dec. 12, 2023 when he and his attorney presented a sketch plan for the former Doral Arrowwood site on Anderson Hill Road. (Dick Hubert/Westmore News)

Billionaire Charles Cohen’s redevelopment of the former Arrowwood property is troubled by massive debt, according to a carefully researched story on the real estate website Real Deal by Suzannah Cavanagh published Tuesday, Mar. 26.

To quote Cavanagh’s story:

“The head of Cohen Brothers Realty, through a handful of entities, defaulted on $534 million in debt tied to seven properties: a Florida design center, Westchester redevelopment site, New York office tower, Fort Lauderdale hotel and three theaters in as many states.

The firm’s lender, a subsidiary of Fortress Investment Group, filed suit Monday asking for a $187 million judgement—Cohen’s payment guaranty—plus interest, legal fees and expenses related to the default, court documents show.

Cohen does not intend to roll over.

‘We want to take the high road—we don’t litigate in the papers and we intend to defend,’ said David Cohen, senior vice president at Cohen Brothers.

A Fortress spokesperson declined to comment.”

The Real Deal story went on to elaborate:

“Fortress’ filing is only the latest headache for Cohen Brothers. In October, the firm fell delinquent on $635 million in other loans backed by New York City office properties. The company said at the time that it was ‘working with lenders to bring any past due loan payments current.’”

After listing all the other properties where Cohen Brothers is late in paying back debt, the Real Deal story concluded: “All told, Cohen Brothers is now late on at least $966 million in debt.”

The Westmore News last reported on Cohen’s plans for the former Arrowwood property in its Jan. 5 edition after he made a presentation of his sketch plan for the Anderson Hill Road site to the Rye Brook Board of Trustees. That plan was favorably received, and the Cohen team then set off to draw up detailed architectural plans and a formal application that will ultimately be reviewed by the Rye Brook Village Board.

In the interim, preliminary demolition started on the interior of the former Arrowwood buildings. That property is fenced off and the Westmore News could not get a close-up view of the progress of those efforts.

Cohen Brothers is not the only New York real estate organization to be in the news regarding the current value of its commercial real estate holdings.

Readers interested in understanding the full scope of Cohen Brothers’ real estate and other investments can visit the company’s website at https://www.cohenbrothersrealty.com/