The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Joseph Beninati was once the face of an ambitious Manhattan development that would have put him on the map of high-stakes New York real estate. But the greenhorn developer fizzled out as quickly as he arrived on the scene, and now his botched plans have placed him in financial ruin. Beninati filed for personal bankruptcy in Texas this week, listing some $24 million in liabilities — mostly from the personal guarantee he owes from his

Clothing retailer Express will close 100 stores by 2022, joining the growing group of retail chains that have announced large-scale closures in recent years. The announcement, part of Express’s plan to reduce costs by $80 million over the next three years, led the company’s stock price to jump 20.7 percent, up to $5.01 per share as of the market’s close on Wednesday. Express said it expects to save $25 million through process improvements, including inventory

Instead of popping bottles, Flo Rida will be filling them up. The rapper, singer and songwriter is partnering with Fort Lauderdale businessman Victor G. Harvey Sr. to create Victor George Vodka, a partnership that includes building a distillery in the Sistrunk neighborhood. Flo Rida, whose real name is Tramar Lacel Dillard, and Harvey are planning a 13,000-square-foot facility at 1012 Sistrunk Boulevard, according to a press release. The project will have a 4,500-square-foot distillery, a

After a year of setbacks in the New York real estate market, broker confidence surprisingly shot up toward the end of 2019 thanks to promising leasing activity from the tech sector. Brokers on both the commercial and the residential sides of the business reported confidence increasing 13 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, according to the Real Estate Board of New York’s quarterly Broker Confidence Index report. Brokers gave a confident index

The Daten Group has landed $58.5 million in financing from SL Green for a mixed-use building Daten is planning in Clinton Hill, the company announced Tuesday. The firm purchased 540 Waverly Avenue from Verizon in December for $17.25 million. It plans to build a nine-story apartment building at the site with 6,000 square feet of retail space and a 56-car enclosed parking garage. The project will stand 95 feet tall and span 117,000 square feet

Cloud-based brokerage Fathom Holdings, which charges agents a flat fee per deal, wants to raise $14 million through a planned public offering. The 10-year-old company, which has more than 3,600 agents nationwide, filed a registration statement recently with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Fathom’s S-1 filing shows it has experienced revenue growth since 2017, but has also seen a streak of net losses. And while its agent base has grown substantially, the firm acknowledged its

Three months after shutting its Chelsea office — and amid a tough market — Bond New York has acquired Caliber Associates, a 56-person rental brokerage based in Midtown, the firms announced Wednesday. Founded in 2005 by Shai Gruber, Caliber is run by Gruber and partner Levi Adir. Both will become managing directors at Bond, where they will manage the day-to-day operations of their agents. “The decision to bring Caliber under the BOND umbrella was rooted

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has revived efforts to require union-level wages on certain publicly funded projects. Under the governor’s proposal — which was included in the state’s proposed 2021 budget — owners would pay construction workers prevailing wages on projects where public funds are covering at least 30 percent of overall construction costs and such costs exceed $5 million. As with the version of the bill proposed by last year, the measure includes a carveout for

Fairway Market has disputed an explosive report that it plans to shut down, writing on Twitter that it “has no intention to file for chapter 7 [bankruptcy] or liquidate all of its stores.” “All 14 stores remain open for business, offering a complete range of high quality, specialty food products,” the company wrote, “and we look forward to seeing our customers and employees.” Fairway posted the tweet on Wednesday morning in response to a New

The tough political environment was the topic du jour at REBNY’s 124th annual banquet last week. From the new state rent law passed in June to the proposed pied-à-terre tax, executives at some of the city’s busiest real estate firms shared one sentiment: It’s only getting harder to do real estate in New York City. Some are even considering wrapping up their deals here and moving on. Watch the video above to hear what they

WeWork has severed ties with two more startups that joined the office space company before its downfall. The office-space giant announced Wednesday it had sold software company Teem and divested its stake in the Wing, a co-working startup focused on women. It is the latest push by WeWork to cut non-core businesses from its portfolio, as the company has sought to minimize costs following its well-publicized implosion last year. “These sales mark the latest progress

Sheldon Silver’s conviction in a real estate corruption case was upheld Tuesday by a federal appeals court, although he was absolved of another scheme. The former New York State Assembly speaker had been sentenced to seven years prison in 2018 after he was found guilty on counts of money laundering and extortion, in a scheme that involved developers Witkoff Group and Glenwood Management. A panel of three judges in the United States Court of Appeals

A partnership led by New York investor Michael Shvo is buying John Buck Company and Morgan Stanley’s “Big Red” downtown office tower for $370 million, The Real Deal has learned. Shvo and partners Deutsche Finance and BLG are under contract to purchase the 45-story iconic red office tower at 333 South Wabash Avenue, according to a source familiar with the deal. The tower had previously been headquarters of CNA Financial. John Buck and Morgan bought

The big tech takeover of Penn Plaza continues. Apple is in talks with Vornado Realty Trust to take space at the 1.15 million-square-foot 11 Penn Plaza, according to the New York Post. The iPhone-maker is reportedly considering taking a 200,000-square-foot space that is currently leased to Macy’s. It comes after Apple lost out to Facebook for office space at Vornado’s redevelopment of the James A. Farley Post Office building. Apple was reportedly looking to take

A location-data startup that tracks tens of millions of cell phones and provides information to landlords and brokers has raised $12 million. The firm, Placer.ai, uses cell phone data to track pedestrian traffic in retail properties and provides feedback to building owners on the performance of retail assets and how many people visit them. The California-based company announced the series A funding round Wednesday, bringing its total funding to $16 million. The latest round was

Work has ceased at a hotel tower on Trinity Place because, according to a new lawsuit, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is trying to “strong-arm and suffocate” the developer. Peter Zen’s FIT Investment Corp. claims the MTA wrongfully issued a stop-work order at 50 Trinity Place, where FIT is building a 173-key hotel. The agency allegedly halted work earlier this month to enable another developer, Trinity Place Holdings, to work on an elevator at the Rector