Jacob Chetrit has filed suit in New York State Supreme Court against Charles Dayan of Bonjour Capital for allegedly failing to pay his share of a reduced settlement in the foreclosure case at 5 Beekman Place that the two investors had planned to convert into a 200-room luxury hotel.

The building, which is across from City Hall Park, is notable for its very ornate, dark red facade and its very impressive, 9-story high, large atrium. It was erected in 1883 and the partners had acquired it from Ruby Schron of Cammeby's International in 2008 for about $61 million.

According to an article by David Jones today at therealdeal.com, "The lender, San Francisco-based Pacific National Bank filed suit in August 2009, alleging that Chetrit and Dayan defaulted on a $45.75 million loan. Under a settlement deal signed last month, U.S. Bank, which later acquired the assets from Pacific National, agreed to accept a $21 million payoff if made within 90 days, or $22 million if made within 180 days, forgiving the remaining balance. Chetrit, in his lawsuit, claims that he and Dayan each agreed to pay $4.25 million by October 2010. Chetrit claims he fronted Dayan's share of the money to U.S. Bank....Dayan did not return repeated calls for comment. Jay Lefkowitz, who represents Dayan in the Chetrit suit, was not immediately available for comment. Stephen Ellman, the attorney representing the lenders, wasn't immediately available for comment.

Meister also filed a motion Aug. 12 to appoint a temporary receiver for the property. Lefkowitz, in a letter sent yesterday to Judge Shirley Kornreich, requested additional time to answer the motion by Aug. 25.

In a June 18, 2010 article at wsj.com, Josh Barbanel wrote that "The Chetrit Group is a real-estate investment company owned by the family of Moroccan-born Joseph Chetrit and is one of the owners of the Willis Tower in Chicago, the country's tallest building, formerly known as Sears Tower. Bonjour Capital is headed by Charles Dayan, a creator of the Bonjour jeans brand."

"The Temple Court building," the article continued, "was put up in two stages beginning in 1881, as part of a wave of construction of tall, fireproof buildings with elevators that went up in lower Manhattan at the dawn of the skyscraper. A landmark designation report by the city said it was the earliest surviving building from that period. It is built around a nine-story central atrium surrounded by Victorian iron railings on every floor. At the top is a pyramid-shaped skylight of glass and ironwork."

The article said that after the Chetrit-Bonjour group "put up $22 million in cash for the building," Pacific National Bank provided a $45.7 million mortgage and the foreclosure action in September "said the developers had fallen behind in interest payments" but "in a response, the developers said that Pacific National had promised to provide an additional $44 million in construction loans, but backed out of the deal during the credit crunch. In October, regulators closed the bank, turning its assets over to US Bancorp of Minneapolis."

The Temple Court Building and Annex consists of two connected structures on the designated Landmark Site. The nine-story Temple Court Building was commissioned by Eugene Kelly, an Irish-American merchant-banker, and built in 1881-83 to the design of architects Silliman & Farnsworth.

Its facade is red Philadelphia brick, tan Dorchester stone, and terra cotta above a two-story granite base and the design employs Queen Anne, neo-Grec, and Renaissance Revival motifs.