Bloomberg had the story this week, and I have since traced it through court records: Since 2021, the “board of managers” (is that what folks call a condo board?) of 443 Greenwich, aka the celebrity dorm between Desbrosses and Vestry, has been in court with its sponsor owners and architect over a laundry list of problems with construction, the lack of a certificate of occupancy, building code violations and misused repair funds.

The 443 Greenwich Street Condominium board of managers, “on behalf of itself and on behalf of each individual unit owner,” first sued the building’s owners (naming Nathan Berman, Jack Berman, Marc L. Fried) and architect (Cetra CRI Architecture, CetraRuddy Architecture and John A. Cetra) in New York State Supreme Court in December 2021. The complaint said that there are “defects and code violations present throughout the Building, including but not limited to, the roof, the parapets, the exterior walls, the interior walls, the Unit interiors, the public corridors, the public passageways, the stairs, the doors, the exterior windows, the interior windows, the electrical system, the heating system, the ventilation system, the air conditioning system, the drainage system, and the plumbing system.” The complaint goes on for 43 pages, outlining issues and promises not kept in the building’s offering plan.

The case has been wending through the courts for the past two years, with parts of the complaint supported and some denied, and appeals galore. The case was most recently in the court’s Appellate Division at the start of February, with the defendants’ arguments denied for the second time.

The building was purchased in 2012 for $150 million — it was last an empty office building, built in 1883 — and converted in 2014/2015 into luxury apartments.

It soon became a haven for celebrities, since it has a below-grade parking lot that allows folks to get out of their car unseen by passers-by. Over the years it has been the home of Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, Harry Styles, Justin Timberlake; recently Bill Gates’ daughter bought race car driver Lewis Hamilton’s nearly $50 million loft.

Bloomberg reports that there is $376 million hanging in the balance: “In their most recent complaint, filed in New York state court in July, the owners asked for a total of $376 million, much of it in punitive damages, for 11 claims, including breach of contract and negligence. Lawyers not involved in the case say many of the claims are duplicative, and that the suit is really seeking around $100 million. That’s in line with the $250 million that owners at 432 Park Ave., a much-larger luxury condo tower also allegedly beset by leaks and other issues, are seeking in their suit.”