The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Fortress Investment chairman buys steeply discounted Zaha Hadid penthouse

Posted: 01 Oct 2020 04:10 PM PDT

Related Companies’ sale of a penthouse at its Zaha Hadid-designed condominium in West Chelsea may become the poster child for Manhattan’s strong buyers’ market. The developer first listed the top-floor unit at 520 West 28th Street in 2016 for $50 million, or $7,296 per square foot. Four years later, amid a global pandemic, the 6,853-square-foot condo has sold for $20.2 million, 60 percent less than Related was initially seeking, public records show. The buyer, Wesley

Half of NYC’s restaurants and bars are doomed: audit

Posted: 01 Oct 2020 03:13 PM PDT

The pandemic has battered New York City’s hospitality industry, and a new audit released Thursday by the state comptroller sheds some light on exactly how bleak the forecast is for its restaurants and bars. The answer is, very bleak. As of Sept. 23, about a third of the restaurants and more than half of the bars that were open before the pandemic have stopped operations, according to Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s report. About the same number

NYC buildings are getting energy efficiency grades

Posted: 01 Oct 2020 02:30 PM PDT

At the end of this month, the owners of tens of thousands of buildings in New York City will be required to post a letter grade based on their properties’ energy efficiency. All buildings larger than 25,000 square feet must post a letter grade based on a federal rating system by Oct. 31. The grades — similar to those posted on restaurant windows — are based on an Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star tool, which

Manhattan office leasing could hit lowest level of this century

Posted: 01 Oct 2020 02:20 PM PDT

Manhattan’s office market continues to slump. In the third quarter, deals were inked for 4.81 million square feet of office space, just half of what was leased during the same time last year. That brought the year’s total to 14.81 million square feet, also down 50 percent from the same period in 2019, according to Colliers International’s quarterly market report. If the pace of leasing continues for the rest of the year, leasing volume in

Hackman and the City: Hackman, Square Mile buy Silvercup Studios

Posted: 01 Oct 2020 02:15 PM PDT

Hackman Capital Partners and Square Mile Capital closed on their purchased the New York City studio behind Mad Men, Sex and the City and The Sopranos. The investors bought Silvercup Studios from brothers Stuart and Alan Suna, whose family founded the film and television studio nearly four decades ago, Hackman and Square Mile announced Thursday. The deal was reportedly worth $500 million, according to the Commercial Observer. Silvercup Studios, the largest film studio in New

Closing in on title, LeBron James closes on Beverly Hills mansion

Posted: 01 Oct 2020 12:10 PM PDT

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has spent the last two months in a Disney World bubble, but that didn’t stop him from closing on his Beverly Hills mansion for $36.75 million. The Real Deal reported in July that James would buy the 9,146-square-foot home at 9955 Beverly Grove Drive, but the purchase price had yet to be finalized. The deal closed Wednesday. The 86-year-old mansion was marketed at $39 million; the seller was the

PPP loan forgiveness to begin within the coming week: SBA

Posted: 01 Oct 2020 11:20 AM PDT

More than 96,000 requests for Paycheck Protection Program loan forgiveness have been submitted to the Small Business Administration since early August, but none were approved — but that’s about to change. The Treasury Department said that PPP requests will start to be approved and paid late this week or early next, the Wall Street Journal reported. The move comes as banks and small businesses have raised concerns about the onerous process of applying for forgiveness.

Hotel union shuttering two employee health centers

Posted: 01 Oct 2020 11:00 AM PDT

UPDATED, Oct. 1, 5:39 p.m.: Thousands of New York City hotel workers have lost their jobs due to the coronavirus. Now, their union is being forced to slash operations at the health services it built for its members. The New York Hotel Trades Council is shutting down two of its employee health centers — including the $120 million Brooklyn facility it opened in 2017 — it runs with the hotel owners association and reducing operations

Barry Sternlicht dumps on Trump over Proud Boy remarks

Posted: 01 Oct 2020 11:00 AM PDT

Starwood Capital Group’s Barry Sternlicht planned to vote for Democratic nominee Joe Biden even before watching Tuesday’s presidential debate. But President Donald Trump’s response to a question about white supremacy — that the far-right extremist group known as the Proud Boys should “stand back and stand by” — was a breaking point for the billionaire investor. “The president’s comment mirrored his comment in Charlottesville that there were good people on both sides,” he told The

American Dream mall opens more than 80 stores and attractions

Posted: 01 Oct 2020 10:45 AM PDT

Months after the coronavirus pandemic fouled up the long-awaited debut of East Rutherford’s American Dream mall, more than 80 retailers and a number of entertainment venues there will open their doors Thursday, according to NJ.com. The luxury retail section of the mall remains closed. Retailers opening over the next few days include Best Buy, Uniqlo, Foot Locker and Old Navy. Entertainment venues opening include the Nickelodeon Universe theme park and the Dreamworks Water Park. Some

Former Jet and Giant Brandon Marshall sells South Florida home

Posted: 01 Oct 2020 10:00 AM PDT

Former NFL star wide receiver and Miami Dolphin Brandon Marshall sold his Southwest Ranches mansion. Marshall and his wife, Michi Nogami-Marshall, sold the 14,318-square-foot mansion at 16710 Stratford Court for $4.25 million. The six-time Pro Bowler played for the Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins, Chicago Bears, New York Jets, New York Giants and Seattle Seahawks over the course of his 13-year career in the NFL. Luis Alvarez purchased the six-bedroom home inside Landmark Ranch Estates community,

O Brother, where art thou? Dottie Herman’s brother leaves for Compass

Posted: 01 Oct 2020 09:45 AM PDT

Thanksgiving may be awkward this year for Douglas Elliman CEO Dottie Herman. Herman’s brother Ed D’Ambrosio, a longtime sales manager for Elliman on Long Island, has left the firm to join Compass, sources told The Real Deal. D’Ambrosio, who has been in the business for 30 years, oversaw several Elliman offices as executive sales director for Long Island’s North Shore, according to his bio. He’ll initially work out of Compass’ Hamptons office and, once his

Pandemic profits buoy Bed Bath & Beyond

Posted: 01 Oct 2020 09:24 AM PDT

Bed Bath & Beyond’s second quarter earnings went beyond expectations. The home goods retailer saw its net income rise to nearly $218 million from a loss of about $139 million last year, company executives reported on a Thursday earnings call covering the period from May 31 to Aug. 29. That growth was largely driven by digital sales, which surged 89 percent. Still, in-store sales experienced a 12 percent decline. The company is on track to

Housing demand sent construction spending up in August

Posted: 01 Oct 2020 08:34 AM PDT

Spending on construction, particularly in the housing sector, plowed ahead in August. Money flowing into construction projects ticked up to $1.4 trillion seasonally adjusted last month, a year-over-year increase of 2.5 percent, according to the Census Bureau’s monthly report on construction work done on new and existing structures across public and private sectors. In the first eight months of 2020, $927.7 billion had been spent on construction, compared to $889.9 billion in 2019, according to

Here’s why Trump loves depreciation

Posted: 01 Oct 2020 08:00 AM PDT

A day after the New York Times reported Donald Trump paid just $750 in federal income tax in 2016 and $750 again the following year, the president took to his favorite medium to deny the claims. “I paid many millions of dollars in taxes, but was entitled, like everyone else, to depreciation & tax credits,” Trump said on Twitter in response to the Times’ story. While real estate developers have a number of special tax

Kroll reaches $2M SEC settlement over CMBS, CLO ratings

Posted: 01 Oct 2020 07:53 AM PDT

Kroll Bond Rating Agency has agreed to a $2 million settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission after the agency detected failures in its internal control structure for rating commercial mortgage-backed securities. Kroll was facing two charges from the SEC, the second stemming from its ratings of collateralized loan obligation combination notes, Commercial Observer reported, citing an SEC announcement. When it came to CMBS, the SEC said Kroll allowed its analysts to make changes

Spencer Rascoff wants to democratize second homes

Posted: 01 Oct 2020 05:52 AM PDT

Who says second homes are only for the 1 percent? A group of ex-Zillow executives, including former CEO Spencer Rascoff, has just launched Pacaso, a startup looking to redefine the fusty timeshare. The marketplace will allow buyers to purchase from one-eighth to one-half of a vacation home. Its network of agents and suite of tech tools help owners manage the process. “The mission of Pacaso is to democratize second-home ownership,” Rascoff said in a statement.

Black and Hispanic landlords offer rent relief at higher rates than white counterparts: study

Posted: 01 Oct 2020 04:30 AM PDT

Black and Hispanic landlords are struggling to pay their mortgages more than their white counterparts, yet have been offering more rent relief to tenants. That’s according to a recent survey of 2,225 landlords from the Urban Institute, a Washington-based think tank, and Avail, a rental management platform. According to the survey, Black and Hispanic landlords typically make less money annually than white landlords, own fewer properties and have mortgage debt at higher rates. Despite those

Zoning process enters 21st century with online filing

Posted: 01 Oct 2020 04:00 AM PDT

New York City’s Department of City Planning has made its way into the 21st century with a tool to ease the process of filing land-use applications. The agency’s zoning application portal now has a section where developers and property owners can fill out and submit some of the necessary forms for land use changes. It also gives applicants the ability to track those forms as they move through the approval process. Right now, the only