Vanbarton Group, church sued by foreign investors in fallout from HFZ debacle

Real estate investors beware: Don’t bet against God. Or at least not against religious institutions shielded by New York’s Religious Corporations Law. That lesson may have come too late for those who lost more than $60 million last year as insolvency enveloped HFZ Capital’s office development at 29th Street and Fifth Avenue. A group of foreign investors last week sued Vanbarton Group, which took control of the project as mezzanine lender through an April foreclosure