Oh NO! ‘Ultra-Luxe Private Club’ Sues Transamerica Pyramid Owner
It’s a dark day for the new billionaire’s Club slated for the Transamerica Pyramid.
A tragic tale of millionaires suing billionaires over their poor planning, let’s dive into the irony…
The ultra-luxe, private members club ‘CORE’ filed a lawsuit yesterday against their billionaire real estate mogul partner Michael Shvo, alleging he did not pay his bar tab, committed fraud, and ‘misled the public’ concerning their new private club in NYC and their new club due to open in his $1 billion-plus plan to revive the iconic Transamerican Pyramid in San Francisco.
Ah yes, the new ‘private’ club that charges between $15,000 and $100,000 to join may not open on time!…WHATEVER WILL THE POOR ‘PUBLIC’ DO!
The Transamerica Pyramid as viewed during the annual St. Stupid’s Day Parade. Photo by @alexmaksf
According to the lawsuit, Shvo approached CORE in the spring of 2020 with an offer to invest $100 million to open up 3 locations in NYC, San Francisco and Milan…then the pandemic hit…
In the lawsuit CORE: Holdings alleges that Shvo and his partners lied about his dealings with CORE AND enriched himself via fraud and ran up an unpaid $80K bill from personal use of CORE’s facilities!
To put that in perspective, an $80k bill to a billionaire is like an $80 bar tab to you or me. Hmm, where else have I heard about a New York real estate mogul misleading the public and not paying his contractors lately?
CORE is seeking the recovery of more than $600 million in damages, the cancellation of existing agreements between Shvo and CORE, and the termination of its lease in San Francisco! The initial deal between the two parties was made in 2020, to have CORE Open and run their ultra-luxe clubs in Shvo’s buildings in NYC, San Francisco (Transamerica Pyramid), and then Milan.
https://thecoreclub.com/locations
You must appreciate the irony of CORE suing its partner to leave their agreement and vacate the properties over ‘mismanagement and misleading the public’, while their company website still has the bold words: “Now, CORE: has found new homes in two of the 21st century’s most unique centers of gravity: Milano and San Francisco”, plastered across their ‘locations’ landing page.
https://thecoreclub.com/locations
In New York, where the lawsuit was filed, CORE accused Shvo of mismanaging the construction of their new club facilities that left the company “without a usable space for their members and forcing them to scramble to extend their former lease so they could stay in their old location at the significant cost of $800,000.”
The lawsuit also states, “Shvo’s callous disregard for Plaintiffs’ predicament was evident in his dismissive response to their concerns, urging them to simply “move [their employees] anyway” despite the lack of insurance coverage due to the lack of TCO making insurance impossible and to “hire illegals to wash the plates” when the hot water was not connected.”
Sacre bleu! You can read the whole lawsuit here. And yes, it is as cringe as it sounds.
via Google Maps: Core Club in Manhattan 711 Fifth Ave. The owners are suing developer Michael Shvo for fraud and breach of contract.
CORE NYC also alleges that their billionaire members were forced to “suffer from ongoing hot water issues, creating an unacceptable environment for members”! It also states, “Shvo arbitrarily cut out all strip lighting installation and ceiling light coves from the project, leaving the club dimly lit and aesthetically unappealing”!
Oh my god the horror!
Meanwhile, in San Francisco Shvo’s team has been taking press on visits to the new Transamerica Lobby and its construction of new private “cutting-edge fitness facilities, lounge and conferencing spaces.” and “exclusive tenant-only bar with panoramic views of San Francisco’s skyline.”
It truly would be tragic if the building’s new billionaire tenants were deprived of an ULTRA-LUX CORE CLUB EXPERIENCE! They might have to slum it at the current private club down the street known as The Battery.
The Battery only charges $2,800 dollars a year for membership, pfft! That’s hardly ‘ultra-lux’! YUCK!
Shvo speaking about his vision for Transamerica Pyramid and the return of office workers in San Francisco
Shvo told reporters on June 12, 2024, that come September, the private bar and lounge would debut on the pyramid’s top floor while a restaurant will open on its first four floors and that the Core Club would open in the pyramid next year.
In Shvo’s defense, Morris Missry, an attorney with Wachtel Missry LLP, who is representing Shvo and the defendants, said in a statement. “The lawsuit filed today is a desperate attempt to bail out the owners of Core Club from fulfilling the very clear obligations they committed to in a series of binding written agreements.”
The statement continued, “We will not be threatened or pressured into providing rent reductions or other undeserved concessions and will aggressively defend this lawsuit.”
Shvo also announced a partnership with TEDAI, TED’s global artificial intelligence conference that is taking place in venues across San Francisco on Oct. 22-23.
The architects behind the Transamerica Pyramid upgrades and the new luxury restaurant and shop buildings nearby are Foster + Partners, the same firm that designed Apple’s “Spaceship” campus in Cupertino. The plans do look nice, there’s even a row of cherry trees along the revitalized corridor.
The Redwood Forest Park behind the Transamerica pyramid was thankfully protected, expanded, and will remain open to the public…apparently this September…
On a serious note, the only real tragedy here is how when the ultra-rich fight, it’s usually the contractors, servers, and working people who are not getting paid, and suffering the most, while these two elitists point fingers at one another.
