New York County Lawyers' Association Building at 14 Vesey St. (Photo: Monika Kozak/ALM)

The long-anticipated sale of the New York County Lawyers Association's headquarters in Manhattan has failed to close after the prospective buyer defaulted and didn't appear at the real estate closing, according to the bar group's leader. Now, NYCLA's plans to move to new offices are on hold.

Stephen Lessard, the group's president, told the bar's members on Tuesday that NYCLA's board of directors terminated the sale agreement "due to a default by the prospective purchaser."

Lessard, a senior associate at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, said the developments were "deeply disappointing," but the bar group was "in discussions with other parties who are interested in purchasing our building."

"The board still firmly believes that it is in the long-term interest of the association to sell our building and relocate to a contemporary space that enables us to best serve our membership," Lessard said in a statement to the bar's members.

NYCLA's board authorized the sale of its majestic 90-year-old headquarters at 14 Vesey St. last year. The bar group has owned the building since the 1930s, Lessard said.

Lessard, in an interview Tuesday, said NYCLA had been ready to close on the deal since it got approval from the state attorney general's office last year and has been working with the prospective buyer, who had asked for a series of extensions.

But within the last few weeks, at a virtual closing, the buyer "failed to attend or tell us they weren't going to be there," Lessard said. He added that the buyer defaulted by failing to close when NYCLA was ready to close and couldn't give a specific reason why it was not ready to close.

While Lessard said NYLCA could not disclose the buyer's name or the amount of the sale, the Real Deal reported in April 2019 that Jack Terzi of JTRE Holdings was buying the property "for a price in the low $20 million range."

In a statement to ALM late Tuesday, Terzi, represented by attorney Stuart Ball, disputed that JTRE defaulted on the purchase of 14 Vesey St. Instead, he claimed NYCLA "attempted to force a closing (in the middle of the pandemic) notwithstanding that it had not corrected [a] title defect."

Ultimately, the failed closing for NYCLA means it has to delay its relocation to new headquarters at 28 Liberty St. owned by Fosun International. "This has put a crimp in our move to a new space," Lessard confirmed Tuesday.

Lessard said NYCLA is still aiming to move to the new location this year and to sell its Vesey Street building. He also said the delay won't put a strain on NYCLA's finances. "We've always been in a good financial position," he said, noting the move wasn't financially motivated in the first place.

The Vesey Street building, a New York City landmark, is the work of Cass Gilbert, the architect who designed the U.S. Supreme Court. But staying in the building presented challenges. It was difficult and costly to modernize and extend Wi-Fi throughout the building. With millennials less interested in attending events onsite, bar associations have been reevaluating the cost of maintaining ornate and historic headquarters.

Lessard, in his email Tuesday, sought to reassure members that they would not be affected, writing that the failed closing "does not have any impact on our ability to continue to deliver" quality membership services and resources.

"It will also not hinder us in carrying out our mission to promote the rule of law through our pro bono programs, public policy initiatives, and work with other bar associations, the courts, and educational institutions," he added.

NYCLA, like other bar associations, across the country, is operating remotely now. Lessard said NYCLA's virtual organization is delivering information to its members from courts and government daily; its CLE on-demand and live webinar portfolio continues to grow; and its committees and sections continue to meet and collaborate virtually. Meanwhile, NYCLA is planning on Thursday its first virtual annual meeting, where officers and directors are elected.

This article has been updated to include a statement from Jack Terzi disputing that JTRE defaulted on the sale agreement.