The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Chetrit buys national portfolio of 10K+ rental units

Posted: 20 Jun 2019 03:15 PM PDT

The Chetrit Group bought a portfolio of more than 10,000 rental apartments spread across the country. Chetrit bought the 55-property portfolio with buildings in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, New York, Tennessee and Texas, brokers who worked to finance the acquisition told The Real Deal. Roco Real Estate, based in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, sold the properties. Chetrit financed the deal with a $481 million loan from JP Morgan Chase, according to Robert […]

Steven Witkoff gets $33M for his penthouse at a West Village building he developed

Posted: 20 Jun 2019 03:00 PM PDT

Steve Witkoff has sold his West Village penthouse at 150 Charles Street for $33 million to an unknown buyer. Witkoff’s company developed the project in 2013, and Witkoff paid about $24 million to keep the penthouse for himself, according to the Wall Street Journal. The unit contains five bedrooms and spans about 4,600 square feet with an additional 2,500 square feet of terrace space. The building includes a 75-foot lap pool and a lounge with […]

“Men take risks and women don’t”: WeWork’s former head of compensation accuses company of gender pay discrimination

Posted: 20 Jun 2019 02:34 PM PDT

A former WeWork executive who oversaw compensation and benefits claims she faced retaliation after raising evidence of gender pay discrimination at the co-working company. In a lawsuit filed Thursday in New York State Supreme Court, Lisa Bridges accused company executives of ignoring “glaring” evidence of pay discrimination. Bridges, WeWork’s former senior vice president of total rewards, claims the firm’s current co-president, Jennifer Berrent, allegedly responded that “men take risks and women don’t.” “[Bridges] was told […]

Here are the week’s top luxury sales

Posted: 20 Jun 2019 02:15 PM PDT

Each week, The Real Deal and CityRealty look back at Manhattan’s priciest apartment sales.

Ponzi schemer’s East Hampton home seized by feds to hit the market

Posted: 20 Jun 2019 01:31 PM PDT

An unusual East Hampton home that finally found a buyer in 2015 after two years on the market is now poised to list again, albeit under less-than-ideal circumstances. The Arc House, built in 2010 and designed by Maziar Behrooz, will soon return to the Hamptons’ turbulent luxury home market as the U.S. Department of Justice prepares to list the property as part of its criminal case against admitted felon Joseph Meli, Bloomberg reported. A federal […]

Holy smokes: E-cigarette startup Juul takes space in Soho office building

Posted: 20 Jun 2019 01:00 PM PDT

This smokin’ startup is opening a new office in red-hot Soho. E-cigarette maker Juul Labs, most recently valued at north of $38 billion, has taken a new office at Stellar Management’s One Soho Square office redevelopment. The San Francisco-based startup signed a lease for a little more than 54,000 square feet in the building, sources told The Real Deal. Representatives for Juul and Stellar Management declined to comment. Asking rent for the space was $125 […]

Fortress could sell resi lender CoreVest for $400M

Posted: 20 Jun 2019 12:30 PM PDT

Fortress Investment Group is considering a sale of CoreVest, a residential real estate lender that it acquired in 2017. SoftBank-owned Fortress is “exploring strategic options including a sale” of Irvine, California-based CoreVest, Bloomberg reported. Sources told the outlet that the lender could be valued at $400 million or more. The firm offers short-term credit lines, bridge financing and loans on both portfolios and single properties. It claims to have closed more than $5 billion in […]

Meadow Partners sells W’Burg rental for $61M

Posted: 20 Jun 2019 12:00 PM PDT

Amid all the confusion over the new rent-stabilization laws, free-market rentals remain a sure thing. Meadow Partners sold its 100-percent free market Williamsburg apartment building for $61 million, sources told The Real Deal. A high-net worth private family purchased the 73-unit building known as the Rocket Lofts at 100 South 4th Street, sources said. The identity of the private family was not immediately known. Timothy Yantz, head of investments for Meadow Partners in the United […]

Revamped TWA Flight Center at JFK lands $270M loan

Posted: 20 Jun 2019 11:30 AM PDT

MCR Development has refinanced its TWA Flight Center redevelopment within John F. Kennedy International Airport for $270 million. The financing comes from Bank of America, according to property records. It refinances last year’s $230 million leasehold mortgage from M&T Bank and consolidates a new gap mortgage for $40 million. The project to turn the former Trans World Airlines terminal into TWA Hotel cost roughly $265 million, according to the New York Times, and recently reopened […]

Raphael Toledano reaches $3M settlement over tenant harassment

Posted: 20 Jun 2019 11:00 AM PDT

Controversial landlord Raphael Toledano has reached a $3 million settlement with the New York Attorney General’s office over accusations that he harassed tenants and violated rent-stabilization laws. Attorney General Letitia James’ office and the state’s Division of Housing and Community Renewal started investigating Toledano after tenants and community advocates complained that he was pushing tenants out of rent-stabilized units via harassment, dangerous construction work and other illegal means, according to the agencies. The investigation concluded […]

Why nonbank lenders trounced traditional banks in home lending in South Florida

Posted: 20 Jun 2019 10:45 AM PDT

Something about this moment seems all too familiar. Prior to the financial crisis, small mortgage companies were lending to thousands of homeowners throughout the country with the backing of credit lines from the largest banks. Now, more than a decade later, nonbank lenders are once again ramping up their mortgage lending in the U.S. and South Florida with credit lines from America’s largest financial institutions. These nonbank lenders such as Quicken Loans, Freedom Mortgage and […]

Land under Dream Downtown hotel sells for $175M

Posted: 20 Jun 2019 10:00 AM PDT

The land under the trendy Dream Downtown hotel in Chelsea has sold for $175 million — though it won’t affect the hotel’s operations, according to the hotel’s management company. The buyer of the hotel and retail condominium units at 355 West 16th Street was Worth Capital Holdings 52 LLC, with Charles R. Holzer as managing member, property records filed Friday with the New York City Department of Finance show. Holzer appears to be the son […]

Jeff Sutton lands $90M refi for Madison Ave Gold Coast property

Posted: 20 Jun 2019 09:16 AM PDT

A month after a $90 million balloon payment was set to come due, Jeff Sutton’s Wharton Properties has refinanced the retail space at 747 Madison Avenue for three more years. The retail magnate secured a $90 million refinancing package from JP Morgan Chase for the property, currently home to Givenchy and Alexander McQueen, according to Tel Aviv Stock Exchange filings and New York City property records. The new debt replaces a previous loan from Goldman […]

Oleg Cassini’s UES mansion faces foreclosure

Posted: 20 Jun 2019 08:45 AM PDT

An Upper East Side townhouse once owned by late fashion designer Oleg Cassini is now facing foreclosure. Florida-based lender Lynx Asset Services, which holds a $9.5 million mortgage on the property at 15 East 63rd Street, filed a commercial foreclosure action in New York State Supreme Court last week. Court records show that Lynx sent Cassini’s widow a notice of default on July 13 of last year. According to the document, Marianne Nestor Cassini missed […]

New NYCHA head Gregory Russ’s $400K salary triggers outrage

Posted: 20 Jun 2019 08:00 AM PDT

The incoming head of the New York City Housing Authority is facing backlash over reports that he will take home a $402,000 salary. Mayor de Blasio recently appointed Gregory Russ for the post after months of deliberations and delays. Russ currently leads the Minneapolis’ public housing authority, and will take up the NYCHA position in August. Tenants, politicians and advocates in New York have criticized the appointment, noting that Russ will earn an unprecedented salary […]

Say ahhhh: Dentist’s 15 CPW pad hits market asking $27M

Posted: 20 Jun 2019 07:20 AM PDT

A dental mogul bought a 34th-floor apartment at 15 Central Park West for just under $9 million over a decade ago. And now he’s ready to sell it. Dr. Alexander Mikhailov, who owns multiple dental practices, is listing Unit #34C at the luxury complex in Lincoln Square for $26.5 million. Brown Harris Stevens’ Paula Del Nunzio has the listing. Should the pad sell at its asking price, the deal would come out to a little […]

Late fashion designer Kate Spade’s New York home comes to market

Posted: 20 Jun 2019 06:31 AM PDT

The former home of late fashion designer Kate Spade has been listed with an asking price of $6.35 million. The Lenox Hill co-op was purchased by Spade and her husband and business partner, Andy Spade, in 1999, according to the Wall Street Journal. Spanning about 3,000 square feet, it has three bedrooms, a corner library and views of Park Avenue. The listing agent, Randall Gianopulos of Sotheby’s International, declined to comment. Famed for her luxury […]

Feds lists Paul Manafort’s Trump Tower condo for $3.6M

Posted: 20 Jun 2019 06:00 AM PDT

For the second time this month, a luxury unit once owned by President Trump’s former campaign manager is hitting the market. Feds have listed Paul Manafort’s former Trump Tower condo for $3.6 million, according to an article from Realtor.com, which was republished by the New York Post. The former campaign manager bought the 1,500-square-foot Trump Tower unit in 2006 for the same price. Manafort, who pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy, turned over five […]

Education firm Kaplan takes two floors at 5 Columbus Circle

Posted: 20 Jun 2019 05:30 AM PDT

Kaplan International, a provider of standardized test prep and language education services, is expanding its operations in New York City. The company has signed a lease for 25,000 square feet on floors 4 and 5 of 5 Columbus Circle, a landmarked French modern style building also known as 1790 Broadway, the building’s landlords told The Real Deal. The 20-story office building is owned by a partnership that includes members of the families of shipping magnate […]

Former head of Kohl’s takes 50 UN Plaza PH

Posted: 20 Jun 2019 05:00 AM PDT

The top floors of 50 United Nations have in recent months been sold to diplomatic missions. Now, they’ll have to make room for a different kind of resident. Jay Baker, the former head of department store Kohl’s, and his wife Pat have purchased a penthouse in the Turtle Bay building on the 39th floor for $16 million, according to property records filed Wednesday. At that price, the 5,893-square-foot space pencils out to $2,715 a square […]

Why CEO churn in the resi business is hitting new highs

Posted: 20 Jun 2019 04:30 AM PDT

As the housing market nationwide sputters along, many real estate firms are accelerating deal flow in one key area: their C-suites. Since the start of last year, more than a dozen newly minted chief executives have seized control of the country’s largest residential companies, and some like Keller Williams’ Gary Keller and Zillow Group’s Richard Barton are taking a second shot at the job. At Realogy — the massive brokerage conglomerate that’s seen its market cap […]

Elliman’s CTO Jeffrey Hummel is out

Posted: 20 Jun 2019 04:00 AM PDT

At a time when brokerages are upping their tech game, Douglas Elliman is out a chief technology officer. After nearly four years at the residential brokerage, Jeffrey Hummel left his post in May. His departure comes at a time when firms are looking to invest in tech as a means of attracting and retaining talent. He’s now working as chief information officer of New Jersey-based GrayHair Software, which services the postal industry. When reached by […]