Will Whittle be around next year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is the building sold? Was the auction delayed or canceled? The auction is not listed on the auctioneer's site.

Link to auction site?

[Anonymous]

Do whittle kids go to this school? Or only big kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is the building sold? Was the auction delayed or canceled? The auction is not listed on the auctioneer's site.

Link to auction site?

https://realestate.alexcooper.com/foreclosures

They were named as the auctioneer in the WBJ article but there is no active listing on their site -- so maybe someone did a one-off deal with the bank?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do whittle kids go to this school? Or only big kids?

Pretty soon, no kids 😂

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is the building sold? Was the auction delayed or canceled? The auction is not listed on the auctioneer's site.

Link to auction site?

https://realestate.alexcooper.com/foreclosures

They were named as the auctioneer in the WBJ article but there is no active listing on their site -- so maybe someone did a one-off deal with the bank?

As I understand it, foreclosure auctions require potential bidders to pre-qualify for the bidding. There would be a deadline to register for that, and the provide documentation of ability to pay some reserve amount (perhaps the amount remaining on the mortgage). If nobody shows up by the deadline to submit their finances, you can just cancel the auction.
Would guess that is what happened here, given what a White Elephant this building is. Also possible that a different auctioneer is being used and we don't see that one online.
The pre-qualification makes perfect sense. Otherwise, CW himself could show up at the auction, outbid everyone, and then say .... what he always says ... the money is coming! just got to finalize the finalmost last bits on it, but the money is dying to get here.

So who is the lender here? Some bank? The building will become REO, as they say.

[Anonymous]

Is this an old or new advertising brochure and website? https://www.4000conn.com/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is this an old or new advertising brochure and website? https://www.4000conn.com/

Old. The dates say 2014.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is the building sold? Was the auction delayed or canceled? The auction is not listed on the auctioneer's site.

Link to auction site?

https://realestate.alexcooper.com/foreclosures

They were named as the auctioneer in the WBJ article but there is no active listing on their site -- so maybe someone did a one-off deal with the bank?

As I understand it, foreclosure auctions require potential bidders to pre-qualify for the bidding. There would be a deadline to register for that, and the provide documentation of ability to pay some reserve amount (perhaps the amount remaining on the mortgage). If nobody shows up by the deadline to submit their finances, you can just cancel the auction.
Would guess that is what happened here, given what a White Elephant this building is. Also possible that a different auctioneer is being used and we don't see that one online.
The pre-qualification makes perfect sense. Otherwise, CW himself could show up at the auction, outbid everyone, and then say .... what he always says ... the money is coming! just got to finalize the finalmost last bits on it, but the money is dying to get here.

So who is the lender here? Some bank? The building will become REO, as they say.

The filing with the DC Recorder of Deeds indicated the principal lender is Axonic Capital, although the original lender was Ladder Capital. Presumably Axonic bought the non performing loan for less than face value during the pandemic? But yes, the building is a White Elephant and has been for a long time - long before Whittle showed up.

[Anonymous]

The original construction financing was $225 million to fund Renzo's renovations - structured as $170 million construction loan and $55 million mezzanine financing. Ladder originated the $170 million construction loan but Axonic and another firm took down a $120 million senior portion of that. 601W, the landlord, bought the building for $85 million from Intelsat in 2012 and another equity investor came in with a $15 million investment subsequently. All of this is available from public records.

Safe to say the mezz and equity have been wiped out. If Axiom can recover its $120 million outlay, there is still value destruction of ~$200 million on the real estate alone. Not to mention the untold millions more the WSS investors poured into the school and the few millions more the parent body seems to have funded to prop up the school. Plus the trail of unpaid contractors and vendors that add up to at least another $30 million.
Truly Whittlesque

[Anonymous]

Any updates?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The original construction financing was $225 million to fund Renzo's renovations - structured as $170 million construction loan and $55 million mezzanine financing. Ladder originated the $170 million construction loan but Axonic and another firm took down a $120 million senior portion of that. 601W, the landlord, bought the building for $85 million from Intelsat in 2012 and another equity investor came in with a $15 million investment subsequently. All of this is available from public records.

Safe to say the mezz and equity have been wiped out. If Axiom can recover its $120 million outlay, there is still value destruction of ~$200 million on the real estate alone. Not to mention the untold millions more the WSS investors poured into the school and the few millions more the parent body seems to have funded to prop up the school. Plus the trail of unpaid contractors and vendors that add up to at least another $30 million.
Truly Whittlesque

Safe to say that the $170 construction loan and the additional mezzanine tranche was assumed by WSS? Given the limited run history of WSS, presumably the loans were secured either by a personal guarantee from CW or equity in WSS? While both are seemingly worthless, it imputes a march toward bankruptcy.

Ultimately, and this is a real question, do the renovations to the building ultimately make it markedly more valuable for the landlord to land future prospective tenants (spending $225M in renovations should certainly help) or less valuable (as perhaps only a school would get any value from the work and it’s hard to see any of the privates - even the overcrowded ones - moving to the space).

The only thing more insane than the chain reaction of destruction that Whittle’s fantasies have caused are the institutions foolish enough not to see the slowest and most obvious freight train limping down the tracks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The original construction financing was $225 million to fund Renzo's renovations - structured as $170 million construction loan and $55 million mezzanine financing. Ladder originated the $170 million construction loan but Axonic and another firm took down a $120 million senior portion of that. 601W, the landlord, bought the building for $85 million from Intelsat in 2012 and another equity investor came in with a $15 million investment subsequently. All of this is available from public records.

Safe to say the mezz and equity have been wiped out. If Axiom can recover its $120 million outlay, there is still value destruction of ~$200 million on the real estate alone. Not to mention the untold millions more the WSS investors poured into the school and the few millions more the parent body seems to have funded to prop up the school. Plus the trail of unpaid contractors and vendors that add up to at least another $30 million.
Truly Whittlesque

Safe to say that the $170 construction loan and the additional mezzanine tranche was assumed by WSS? Given the limited run history of WSS, presumably the loans were secured either by a personal guarantee from CW or equity in WSS? While both are seemingly worthless, it imputes a march toward bankruptcy.

Ultimately, and this is a real question, do the renovations to the building ultimately make it markedly more valuable for the landlord to land future prospective tenants (spending $225M in renovations should certainly help) or less valuable (as perhaps only a school would get any value from the work and it’s hard to see any of the privates - even the overcrowded ones - moving to the space).

The only thing more insane than the chain reaction of destruction that Whittle’s fantasies have caused are the institutions foolish enough not to see the slowest and most obvious freight train limping down the tracks.

Not a commercial real estate expert but I don't believe WSS would have direct exposure to the loan since it is typically taken out by the landlord to fund the TI and secured against the property (hence the foreclosure). WSS may have made some explicit or implicit guarantees to the landlord - they certainly signed a lease which would in theory be the ultimate guarantee of future rent payments (but not when the tenant's name is Whittle)!! WSS did pay a hefty $50+ million security deposit which undoubtedly is long since forfeited - more value destruction Whittle-style.

The space may have happily been snapped up by WeWorks in different times when Adam Neumann was still pretending to the world that it was a $100 billion company - but that's not an option. With all the indoor gyms, theaters, etc, hard to see it as a corporate campus for anyone other than a really large tech company and I can't think of any that size that don't already have a fabulous HQ. It really is the ultimate White Elephant and even more so with the $225 million of "improvements".

Your point about Chris' enablers is spot on but the man has been convincing smart people to do ridiculous things his entire career... if we can call serial grifting a career. The parties involved here have plenty of company.

[Anonymous]

What is the current status of the school? Are kids still attending?

[Anonymous]

There's "whittle" chance that the school will last.

What's Mandarin for Ponzi scheme?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is the building sold? Was the auction delayed or canceled? The auction is not listed on the auctioneer's site.

Link to auction site?

https://realestate.alexcooper.com/foreclosures

They were named as the auctioneer in the WBJ article but there is no active listing on their site -- so maybe someone did a one-off deal with the bank?

As I understand it, foreclosure auctions require potential bidders to pre-qualify for the bidding. There would be a deadline to register for that, and the provide documentation of ability to pay some reserve amount (perhaps the amount remaining on the mortgage). If nobody shows up by the deadline to submit their finances, you can just cancel the auction.
Would guess that is what happened here, given what a White Elephant this building is. Also possible that a different auctioneer is being used and we don't see that one online.
The pre-qualification makes perfect sense. Otherwise, CW himself could show up at the auction, outbid everyone, and then say .... what he always says ... the money is coming! just got to finalize the finalmost last bits on it, but the money is dying to get here.

So who is the lender here? Some bank? The building will become REO, as they say.

The filing with the DC Recorder of Deeds indicated the principal lender is Axonic Capital, although the original lender was Ladder Capital. Presumably Axonic bought the non performing loan for less than face value during the pandemic? But yes, the building is a White Elephant and has been for a long time - long before Whittle showed up.

Ax Capital?!