The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Madison Realty Capital has parted with its industrial-to-office conversion in Sunset Park. Nightingale Properties paid $84 million for the Whale Square office building, property records show. Madison bought the 500,000-square-foot property at 14 53rd Street for $82.5 million in 2015, when investors were looking to convert Brooklyn industrial properties. Under Madison’s ownership, the former torpedo factory was repositioned to include a fully renovated lobby, new elevators and windows, according to LoopNet. Nightingale has also assumed

Two years after Charles Kushner called the Jersey City mayor “another New Jersey asshole politician” and his firm sued the city for blocking its massive mixed-use project at Journal Square, the two sides have ended their legal battle. Mayor Steve Fulop said the city has settled all litigation with Kushner Companies and the real estate firm can move forward on constructing two 64-story towers in Jersey City. According to Fulop, the city will not give

Celebrated novelist and Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison’s former Tribeca home is officially for sale. The estate of Morrison, who died last year, has listed her former home on the 10th floor of the Textile Building at 66 Leonard Street for $4.75 million. Morrison bought her unit in 2014 for $3.8 million. The 2,320-square-foot home has two bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms. A third bedroom was converted into a writing room and sweeping library

Governors Island is inching closer to becoming a year-round attraction. The City Planning Commission on Monday certified an application to rezone the island, officially kick-starting the months-long land use review process. The rezoning would pave the way for up to 4.5 million square feet of development on the south side of the island, including university space, hotels, offices, biotech/research and retail. According to zoning documents, the Trust for Governors Island has considered two development scenarios:

Here’s a quick rundown of where the country’s top real estate market is at, more than six months into a pandemic that has upended our lives. The troubling numbers tie into two of several big themes this issue: How our largest cities are undergoing their greatest change in decades and how the full impact of the pandemic might not be showing up in companies’ books as it should. In New York: —About 10 percent of

Townhouses dominated Brooklyn’s luxury home market last week. Of the 11 homes that went into contract last week, 10 were townhouses, according to Compass’ weekly report on contracts signed for homes asking $2 million or more. The median asking price for all contracts was $2.69 million and the combined sales volume was $37.7 million. The prior week saw 12 contracts inked for a total sales volume of $39.3 million. The average discount across last week’s

Black homeowners in the U.S. are paying thousands of dollars more for mortgage payments than their white counterparts, according to a new study. The report, co-authored by MIT Golub Center for Finance and Policy executive director Ed Golding, found that Black borrowers pay $13,464 more over the life of a home loan, with higher interest payments, mortgage premiums and property taxes. In all, these differences amount to a loss of $67,320 in retirement savings for

The most expensive residential deal in Manhattan last week stood out as a bolt of energy in a pandemic-weary market. “This deal happened incredibly quick,” said Raymond Dillulio of the Eklund Gomes Team at Douglas Elliman, who represented the owner of unit 2 at 24 Leonard Street. “The buyer came on a Friday, came back with her kids on Saturday, we negotiated the deal on Sunday and the contract was back by Friday.” The five-bedroom

The Real Deal’s October national issue is live for digital subscribers and will start hitting doorsteps around the country soon. Covid-19 has catalyzed an identity crisis for major cities and their commercial hubs. Malls, hotels and office buildings must reimagine their role in this new economy. And with less than three weeks to go, we’re nearing the end of one of the most polarizing election seasons in history. Here are some of our biggest stories

Investors are betting that trouble in New York City’s commercial real estate market will spread nationwide. Prices for debt backed by hotels, restaurants and retail in New York City — among the hardest-hit sectors as the pandemic emptied out tourist destinations this year — have fallen and new loans have slowed, leaving bankers and the real estate industry bracing for further declines, the Wall Street Journal reported. Daniel McNamara, a principal at MP Securitized Credit

Homebuilders are feeling record levels of optimism, according to a new report. The National Association of Home Builders Housing Market Index reached 85 in October, seasonally adjusted, the highest reading in the monthly metric’s 35-year history. After experiencing a sharp decline in the spring, the NAHB index has been steadily rising — and even breaking records — ever since: In September, the NAHB index hit the prior record high with a reading of 83. Before

Nextdoor, a social network for neighbors sharing information or trading goods and services, is evaluating options to go public, Bloomberg News reported, citing anonymous sources. The company is targeting a valuation in the range of $4 billion to $5 billion, the sources told the outlet. Nextdoor is considering going public through a direct listing or by merging with a blank-check firm, one of the sources with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg. The San Francisco-based

Cannabis-focused Inception REIT will soon become a publicly traded real estate investment trust. Subversive Real Estate’s merger with Inception REIT is part of a $183 million transaction to turn the special purpose investment vehicle into a real estate investment trust, allowing it tax benefits and the ability to receive more capital, Bloomberg News reported. The transaction is expected to close at the end of this month, making Inception the second publicly traded cannabis REIT, following

Movie theaters in some New York counties can reopen as of Oct. 23, with one big exception: For now, New York City theaters must remain closed. Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Saturday that cinemas in certain counties can resume their operations at 25 percent capacity, with a maximum of 50 people per screen, the New York Post reported. If city dwellers want to watch movies on a big screen, they could travel to nearby Westchester, Nassau

Marcus & Millichap has inked a deal to buy the debt and equity brokerage Mission Capital Advisors. The publicly traded Marcus, which has a market capitalization of $1.2 billion, entered into an agreement to buy Mission Capital, the company told The Real Deal. Marcus & Millichap CEO Hessam Nadji said Mission Capital’s loan sales and consulting divisions will “expand our lender relationships and client service offerings” and called Mission’s debt and equity team “highly complementary

Can Porch get off the deck? As it prepares to go public with a blank-check company, Porch.com disclosed recurring losses, liquidity concerns and “substantial doubt” by accountants over its viability. But founder and CEO Matt Ehrlichman and the company’s investors say proceeds from the deal will leave it with more than $200 million in cash and no debt, allowing Porch to grow its business twentyfold within five to seven years. Founded in 2011, the Seattle

During an expansive chat a couple of years ago from his Sherry-Netherland penthouse, exiled Chinese real estate mogul Guo Wengui boasted about the $68 million full-floor property and his other luxury residences in London and Hong Kong. “I have the best houses,” said Guo — who is often described as a billionaire — in that 2018 interview with the New York Times. At the time, he was also trying to unload the 9,000-square-foot Sherry-Netherland unit,

Target is coming to Yonkers. The retail giant signed a 40-year retail lease to occupy more than 130,000 square feet at Cross County Center. The store was previously home to a Sears. “Target had wanted to be here, and we had wanted them,” said Craig Deitelzweig, president and CEO of Marx Realty, which manages the property. “We dated for a bit, but there was a pretty quick marriage.” The store will be Target’s first in