The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Harbor Group sued after defaulting on $40M loan at Midtown retail space

Posted: 29 Sep 2020 04:05 PM PDT

The Canadian bank CIBC has a message for Harbor Group International: Pay up or hand over the keys to its retail space on Fifth Avenue. CIBC is suing companies tied to Harbor Group for failing to meet its debt payments on a $40 million loan the real estate investment firm used to acquire the 18,000-square-foot retail portion of a 33-story Midtown condo building. The suit alleges that Harbor Group failed to make its monthly loan

Manhattan vacancies hit a record, 007’s Malibu manse hits the market, and Spire gets acquired: discover this week’s Residential Round-Up

Posted: 29 Sep 2020 02:13 PM PDT

In Manhattan, vacancies hit record lows; in LA, former 007 star Pierce Brosnan put a six-digit price tag on his Malibu manse. Back in NYC, brokerage Oxford Property Group acquired Spire, ballooning to nearly 800 agents. There are plenty of problems for resi professionals in today’s market, but boredom isn’t one. With breaking resi news flooding in from the East Coast to the West, it’s hard for even the savviest agents to keep up. Now,

Top developers on their reasons for doubling down in South Florida market

Posted: 29 Sep 2020 01:50 PM PDT

For some Miami developers, the last few months have provided an opportunity to “double down.” “Our affordable division is extremely active,” Jon Paul Pérez, executive vice president of Related Group, said during The Real Deal’s latest episode of Coffee Talks. Pérez noted that Related has broken ground on three projects in the last 45 days. Another guest on the episode, Dezer Development founder Gil Dezer, also remains bullish on building across Miami. Last week, Dezer

Landlords, tenants react to Cuomo’s latest eviction ban

Posted: 29 Sep 2020 01:23 PM PDT

UPDATE, Sept. 29, 5:55 p.m.:Landlords’ hopes for an end to the state’s limits on evictions were dashed Tuesday after Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued his latest executive order. In the order, issued Tuesday afternoon, Cuomo broadened the scope of existing legislation to apply to pre-Covid evictions, rather than extending a blanket pause on commercial and residential evictions that lapses on Oct. 1. A spokesperson for Empire State Development said the executive order extends the provisions of

Retail bankruptcies on pace to rival 2010: report

Posted: 29 Sep 2020 01:00 PM PDT

It’s been a difficult year for retailers, and things may get worse before they get better: The number of bankruptcy filings by retailers this year could outpace those filed in the wake of the Great Recession. As of Sept. 29, nearly 30 retailers filed for bankruptcy, leading to almost 6,000 store closures, according to a biannual bankruptcy report from BDO International, a financial services firm. That’s on pace to beat 2010, when 48 retailers filed

“On the verge of a tragedy:” The stark numbers of a pandemic-hit NYC

Posted: 29 Sep 2020 11:00 AM PDT

About 24,000 New Yorkers have lost their lives to the coronavirus. The city’s unemployment rate is 16 percent — twice the national average. And just 10 percent of Manhattan workers have returned to the office, putting into question the value of the city’s prime office stock. Personal income tax revenue is projected to drop by $2 billion this fiscal year. Only a third of hotel rooms are occupied, and Manhattan apartment vacancies crept over 5

Colony deal puts Highgate among biggest hotel owners

Posted: 29 Sep 2020 10:35 AM PDT

Highgate’s deal to purchase a $2.8 billion portfolio of hotels from Colony Capital will catapult the company into the upper ranks of the nation’s largest hotel owners. The privately held hospitality firm, launched in 1988 by brothers Mahmood and Mehdi Khimji, will have the fifth-largest portfolio in the country when it finalizes its deal with Colony, which is scheduled to close early next year. Highgate owns more than 34,000 rooms, according to figures from

Arker Companies begins massive redevelopment of former Queens hospital

Posted: 29 Sep 2020 09:55 AM PDT

Arker Companies is moving forward with its plans to build a thousands of apartments at a former hospital site in Queens. The developer filed a permit application for construction of a 257-unit, 220,478-square-foot mixed-use building at 51-19 Beach Channel Drive in Edgemere, according to PincusCo. That building will be part of a larger 9.3-acre, 11-building development that’s replacing the former Peninsula Hospital. Arker, along with its partner Northeast Brooklyn Housing Development Corporation, plans to build

Zillow co-founder Spencer Rascoff to start blank-check company

Posted: 29 Sep 2020 09:27 AM PDT

The co-founder of Zillow and Hotwire is the latest high-profile real estate figure to join the blank-check craze. Spencer Rascoff is co-chairing a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC), also known as a blank-check company, that will be seeking to invest in a tech unicorn and take it public, according to Inman. Rascoff will be joined by co-chair Alexander Klabin, who will soon become executive chairman of Sotheby’s Financial Services. Robert Reid, a former senior managing director

Inside Metro Loft’s new design for 175 Water Street

Posted: 29 Sep 2020 08:00 AM PDT

AIG’s longtime Financial District headquarters is getting a major overhaul from a company best known for converting offices to residential properties. Nathan Berman’s Metro Loft Management and prolific office architects Gensler unveiled plans for the 31-story office building at 175 Water Street, which AIG has occupied for more than 20 years. Its glass-and-stone exterior will be replaced with something more “sleek and modern,” according to a release, and the current ground-floor privately owned public space

Just 10% of Manhattan employees are back at the office

Posted: 29 Sep 2020 07:30 AM PDT

Nearly three months after New York City began allowing nonessential workers to go back to their offices, most employees are still working from home. Only about 10 percent of Manhattan workers have returned to their offices as of Sept. 18, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing data from CBRE Group. That’s a slight uptick from the 6 to 8 percent who went back to their offices in July, a month after the city allowed nonessential

Brooklyn developer duo hit with foreclosure lawsuit

Posted: 29 Sep 2020 06:45 AM PDT

Brooklyn developers Joseph Brunner and Abe Mandel are caught in a foreclosure lawsuit involving close to $20 million in mortgages for a Bushwick building. The lender, Benefit Street Partners Realty, charged in a suit filed in New York State Supreme Court that the developers, operating as 121 Morgan Holdings and Morgan BMB, defaulted on three mortgages totaling $19.75 million. The developers also allegedly failed to meet multiple deadlines to complete improvements to the former manufacturing

ButterflyMX raises $35M to grow smart-intercom business

Posted: 29 Sep 2020 06:00 AM PDT

UPDATED: Sept. 29, 11:15 a.m.: Smart-intercom startup ButterflyMX has raised $35 million in growth capital to meet surging demand for contactless entry in apartment buildings. The round, led by Volition Capital, brings the company’s total funding to $40 million. Founder Cyrus Claffey said the company will use the money to develop additional products and tap new verticals, including commercial real estate. Egis Capital, RiverPark Ventures and Stifel Financial Corp., also participated in the round. Founded

Compass makes good on diversity pledge, adding Charles Phillips to board

Posted: 29 Sep 2020 06:00 AM PDT

UPDATED: Sept. 29, 10:50 a.m.: Compass, making good on a call for companies to diversify their boards, has tapped software executive Charles Phillips as an independent director. Phillips, a former president of Oracle Corp., is the third independent director to join Compass’ board. His addition makes the board 50 percent Black. Women comprise one-third of the board. In a statement, Compass Chairman Ori Allon said Phillips’ depth of experience adds an “authoritative voice” as the

@properties to franchise its brand

Posted: 29 Sep 2020 05:00 AM PDT

In 2018, Chicago’s @properties defended its home turf from national competitors with a massive billboard cautioning locals not to “ask for directions from a tourist.” But now the firm itself has found the allure of national growth hard to resist. The residential brokerage is plotting its own expansion by franchising its brand, the company said Tuesday. “Our goal is to become the fastest-growing brand in the country,” said co-CEO Thad Wong. “We won’t bite off

Rezoning Gowanus, de Blasio’s shot at redemption, is no sure thing

Posted: 29 Sep 2020 04:30 AM PDT

Local opponents can’t stop the city’s next big rezoning — but Mayor Bill de Blasio could. This time, Gowanus is the battleground. But the fight differs in crucial ways from the one the mayor let die in nearby Sunset Park. Most notably, the City Council member who represents Gowanus, Brad Lander, is willing to approve a rezoning over the objections of locals, where Sunset Park’s Carlos Menchaca was not. Still, Lander needs action from the

Will real estate take the stage at Trump-Biden debate?

Posted: 29 Sep 2020 04:00 AM PDT

The first presidential debate between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden airs tonight, and will focus on the coronavirus pandemic, the economy, racial unrest and the candidates’ records among other preselected topics. But given Trump and Biden’s shared penchant for off-the-cuff remarks, will they stay entirely on topic or will eviction bans, retail bankruptcies and other real estate issues come up? If so, here’s what we can expect them to discuss. 1.