The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Despite looting, NYC reopening on track: Cuomo

Posted: 04 Jun 2020 03:00 PM PDT

Welcome to Plywood City. Grand opening is in four days. With the Big Apple’s scheduled reboot nearly at hand, banners, balloons and ribbons are nowhere to be found. Instead, boarded-up storefronts mar the landscape and an evening curfew remains in place. But the show will go on, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo. “New York City enters phase one Monday,” he declared Thursday at his daily coronavirus press conference. In an earlier radio interview, the governor

Brookfield buys out another tenant at 666 Fifth

Posted: 04 Jun 2020 01:30 PM PDT

Brookfield has bought out another tenant at 666 Fifth Avenue in the leadup to its massive renovation of the tower. The tenant that accepted the $8.5 million buyout is listed as Kadima Realty Associates and was based on the 15th floor, according to property records. The deal marks Brookfield’s fifth buyout of the year in the Midtown property for a total of $22.7 million. Brookfield purchased a 99-year ground lease from Kushner Companies for the

Construction industry looks for solid ground

Posted: 04 Jun 2020 12:00 PM PDT

In the best of times, construction is a complicated business. Labor problems, demanding developers, financing issues, bad weather — any number of things can disrupt a project. Now add a global pandemic, government-ordered shutdowns and a collapsing economy. In New York, the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S., changes to construction rules whipsawed developers and contractors. Confusion about government orders and fear of Covid-19 also plagued projects in South Florida, Los Angeles and

Former housing czar takes swipe at de Blasio

Posted: 04 Jun 2020 11:50 AM PDT

Former New York City Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen isn’t impressed by her former boss’ plan to cut $2.3 billion from the city’s capital budget — a move some have estimated will delay the financing of 21,000 affordable housing units. “I think it’s one of the most short-sighted things I’ve ever seen. I think it is pennywise and pound foolish,” she said during a TRD Talks Live panel Wednesday. “The debt service on that capital budget

Security professionals report uptick in demand after looting

Posted: 04 Jun 2020 09:35 AM PDT

Security professionals say they’ve seen an increase in demand after nights of looting in New York City. Retired police detective Bo Dietl told the Wall Street Journal that his firm, Beau Dietl & Associates, had received a high volume of calls this week and is now patrolling more than 50 additional buildings. Several residential buildings have also brought in additional doormen or armed guards. “The demand for armed and unarmed security guards across every market

“We must do better”: Real estate leaders move to address discrimination in industry

Posted: 04 Jun 2020 08:30 AM PDT

Nationwide protests over the killing of George Floyd at the hands of police have quickly shifted to a larger discussion about the need to address systemic racism and discrimination, including in the business community. Now, some leaders in the real estate industry — long criticized for its lack of diversity — have begun donating and directing funds to minority-owned companies and civil rights groups, in an effort to provide greater opportunity. Some companies have said

Klövern, GDS finance 417 Park Ave with $100M in Swedish bonds

Posted: 04 Jun 2020 08:00 AM PDT

Klövern AB and GDS Development Management are set to finance their latest acquisition by tapping an uncommon source of capital for New York real estate: the bond market in Klövern’s home nation of Sweden. The developers have secured a $100 million mortgage for the co-op building at 417 Park Avenue in Midtown East, according to property records filed Wednesday. The lender named on the document, Nordic Trustee & Agency AB, is acting as agent on

Landlords control fate of small businesses as shutdown wears on

Posted: 04 Jun 2020 07:15 AM PDT

Along Brooklyn’s Fifth Avenue, large numbers of small-business owners are in talks with their landlords about rent relief as the shutdown heads into its third month. For some, the outcome of those talks can mean the difference between staying open and closing for good, according to the Wall Street Journal. Vera Tong, one of the owners of Du Jour Bakery in Brooklyn, said she became frustrated when her landlord suggested a number of grants she

Townhouse owners make federal case of cell tower next door

Posted: 04 Jun 2020 06:30 AM PDT

When Gerald Kerner bought an Upper West Side townhouse with his wife in 2012, he noticed something unusual on the next roof. The cluster of electrical equipment, he realized, was a cell phone tower. What’s more, there were antennas attached to his chimney that had been “painted to look like the brickwork,” according to a lawsuit he has filed in New York’s Southern District Court. The federal lawsuit, against Sprint and T-Mobile, follows years of

WeWork, SoftBank hit with class action over failed IPO

Posted: 04 Jun 2020 06:00 AM PDT

A group of investors have filed a class action lawsuit against WeWork — the latest of a series of disputes stemming from the company’s failed public offering. In a complaint filed Wednesday in San Francisco’s federal court, the investors claimed WeWork executives overhyped the company’s business plan in order to sell stock, Bloomberg reports. Further, they said the executives minimized losses as “strategic investment spending that would lay the foundation for profitability.” “As would later

Brookfield’s Brian Kingston on the firm’s mall strategy, $5B retail relief plan and response to George Floyd protests

Posted: 04 Jun 2020 05:15 AM PDT

UPDATED, June 4, 10:31 a.m.: Brookfield has been in the news a lot since the pandemic hit. The global investment giant’s private equity firm Oaktree Capital Management is looking to raise $15 billion for a distressed-debt fund, and Brookfield Asset Management has announced plans to launch a $5 billion fund for struggling retailers. Brian Kingston, CEO of Brookfield Property Partners, spoke to The Real Deal in June about the company’s rent negotiations with mall tenants,

TRD Insights: Manhattan office leasing inches up

Posted: 04 Jun 2020 04:30 AM PDT

Manhattan’s office leasing market last month continued to slowly rebound from a brutal March, though leasing volume was still less than half of historical levels. Leasing activity across the borough’s main office markets totaled 1.42 million square feet, up 5.2 percent from April but less than half the amount seen a year before, according to research from Colliers International. Leasing activity varied significantly by submarket. Midtown’s volume of 970,000 square feet was in the ballpark

Simon Property Group sues Gap for $66M in unpaid rent

Posted: 03 Jun 2020 06:03 PM PDT

The gloves are off between the biggest mall operator in the country and one of its most important tenants. Simon Property Group is suing Gap Inc. for its alleged “failure to pay more than $65.9 million in rent and other charges due,” according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday that was reviewed by The Real Deal. The complaint, filed in Delaware state court, marks an escalation in the battle between multinational retail tenants and the real