The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Take my condo, please! Ziel Feldman puts his own UES pad on the market

Posted: 18 Nov 2020 04:35 PM PST

Ziel Feldman has listed his Upper East Side penthouse for $39 million, as the embattled developer faces pressure from lenders seeking to recoup hundreds of millions of dollars. The 6,200-square-foot triplex spans the top floors of the Marquand, a Beaux Arts mansion that Feldman’s HFZ Capital converted into 40 condominiums in 2013. A corporate entity tied to Feldman took ownership of the penthouse in 2018, according to property records, and obtained a $19.8 million mortgage

Amazon inks major warehouse deal in East New York

Posted: 18 Nov 2020 03:45 PM PST

Amazon Logistics has inked a new 211,000-square-foot lease to open a delivery station in East New York in Brooklyn. The property, known as Brooklyn Logistics Center, is owned by Wildflower LTD, whose partners include Raphael De Niro, the Douglas Elliman broker who’s the son of actor Robert De Niro. The Amazon deal was brokered by Adam Gordon, Wildflower’s managing partner and president, and Matt Dicker, partner and CFO. Amazon’s lease is for adjacent warehouses at

Flushing waterfront vote postponed as opposition mounts

Posted: 18 Nov 2020 03:31 PM PST

With opposition to a proposal to transform Flushing’s waterfront growing among City Council members, a vote was called off Wednesday. The Council subcommittee on zoning and franchises was to weigh in on the $1 billion private development plan, but tabled the matter until Dec. 7. The delay follows a statement issued by a dozen members, including subcommittee chairman Francisco Moya, opposing the Special Flushing Waterfront District project. Moya tweeted out the statement Tuesday night, saying

Beaten-up Paramount rejects buyout, but is taking offers

Posted: 18 Nov 2020 03:00 PM PST

The embattled Paramount Group turned down a takeover bid from the hedge fund Bow Street — but open to offers. Paramount rejected Bow Street’s unsolicited all-cash offer of $9.50 to $10 per share, Crain’s reported. On Wednesday, the company ended the day with its stocks trading at $9.43 per share. But the unsolicited bid could lead other firms to try at a higher price point. “Our board and management team remain open-minded,” Paramount chairman and

Editor’s note: Can we get back to business?

Posted: 18 Nov 2020 02:00 PM PST

For many of us, following politics has taken up so much bandwidth in our lives over the past four years. We’ve gotten used to our daily fix of outrage, about how our side is going to save the world and the other side is going to destroy it. Maybe the election of a new president means it’s a chance to move on. Maybe we can give some of that bandwidth back to other things. Well,

Jadian Capital closes $650M fund targeting emerging real estate

Posted: 18 Nov 2020 12:55 PM PST

Jadian Capital has closed a $650 million fund that will target emerging real estate sectors, such as life sciences, data centers and cell towers. The Greenwich, Connecticut-based investment firm, led by former Fir Tree Partners executive Jarret Cohen, surpassed its initial target raise of $400 million. Capital for its new fund came from institutional investors, including state and corporate pension funds, endowments, foundations, investment managers and family offices. The company is looking for highly structured

NestEgg nabs $7M to pay your rent

Posted: 18 Nov 2020 11:10 AM PST

NestEgg, a startup aimed at making sure landlords get paid on time, just raised $7 million to hit the gas on new offerings, including financing for maintenance expenses. The Series A was led by Hyde Park Venture Partners, with participation from Bonfire Ventures, BAM Ventures, Financial Venture Studios, Dreamit Ventures and Hyde Park Angels, the company said. Based in Chicago, NestEgg bills itself as a solution for mom-and-pop property owners who can use its app

Short-term rental operator Domio shuts down

Posted: 18 Nov 2020 10:30 AM PST

Short-term rental operator Domio is reportedly going out of business. The startup, which was founded in 2016, will shut down and sell its assets through an assignment for the benefit of creditors, with Sherwood Partners overseeing the sale, The Information reported. The company laid off the majority of its staff earlier this month after failing to raise $10 million in additional capital, according to the outlet. “Unfortunately, conditions precedent to close this round were not

TRD’s November issue is live for subscribers!

Posted: 18 Nov 2020 10:00 AM PST

The Real Deal’s November national issue is live for digital subscribers and will start hitting doorsteps around the country soon. While the 2020 election may finally be behind us, real estate players still have a ton of questions about what Biden has in store for the industry. We’ve got some answers for you on that one, as well as inside looks at some of the biggest real estate bets around the country. Here are some

New York hotel owners on the hook for $500M severance

Posted: 18 Nov 2020 09:35 AM PST

Hotel owners in New York City are on the hook to pay more than $500 million to employees who lost their jobs due to the pandemic, the Wall Street Journal reported. It’s a victory for tens of thousands of former hotel employees, but a setback for owners whose businesses have been ravaged by the coronavirus. About 200 hotels in the city are operated by unionized workers, and under the ruling, owners of about 75 of

Airbnb is offering hosts company shares. But millions may miss out

Posted: 18 Nov 2020 08:55 AM PST

Airbnb is inviting hosts to enjoy in its success following a bumpy year of breakups and makeups. The startup is offering a portion of its shares to people who rent homes on its platform through a directed-share program, a rare move that means those eligible could reap rewards when Airbnb goes public. But Airbnb has not said how many shares it will offer and the criteria is narrow. Only U.S. hosts are eligible — 86

Housing starts rose almost 5% last month

Posted: 18 Nov 2020 08:45 AM PST

Homebuilding surged in October in tandem with confidence in the sector reaching a new high. Housing starts jumped 4.9 percent to 1.5 million, seasonally adjusted, compared to 1.4 million logged in September by the Census Bureau’s monthly report on residential construction. October’s figures were up 14 percent year-over-year, underscoring the strength of the housing market this year. But the swell of demand from homebuyers may be starting to trail off. In September, the number of

Dorms no more: Student housing turns into high-end apartments

Posted: 18 Nov 2020 08:29 AM PST

Developers are eyeing sparsely-populated student housing as an opportunity to create high-end apartments for professionals. According to data from Moody’s, 30 percent of public and private universities in the country are running deficits, the New York Times reported. And with fewer students on campus due to the pandemic, some are looking to close the financial gap by partnering with private developers to transform dorms into apartments. Pebb Capital, in partnership with Coastal Ridge Real Estate,

Industrious partners with landlords to offer tenants satellite workplaces

Posted: 18 Nov 2020 08:00 AM PST

Flexible-office provider Industrious is partnering on a program with office landlords that will give tenants the ability to use Industrious’ offices nationwide. Potentially providing an additional source of revenue in a bruising economy, Industrious is launching “Oasis Enterprise” with a pilot program at Granite Properties-owned buildings in Southern California — two in Los Angeles County and two in Orange County. Under the program, Granite’s tenants at the Burbank, Glendale, Orange and Newport Beach sites will

Target to open 40 new stores a year; Q3 income jumps

Posted: 18 Nov 2020 07:40 AM PST

While Amazon is adding giant fulfillment centers to satisfy online orders, Target is bulking up on smaller stores to move merchandise. In October alone, Target opened 18 new locations, adding to the 12 it had already added since the beginning of the year. Moving forward, the big-box retailer is planning on opening up to 40 stores a year, officials said at the company’s third-quarter earnings call on Wednesday. It now has 1,897 stores nationwide. “The

Ares, Regis gather $1B to join ground lease race

Posted: 18 Nov 2020 07:05 AM PST

Safehold now has competition. Global alternative investment manager Ares Management and Regis Group, a London-based global investor and operator, have formed Haven Capital to get in the field of ground-lease investments, Bisnow reported. Until recently, the niche but growing field was led by iStar-managed real estate investment trust Safehold. Regis is one of the largest holders of ground leases in the U.K. The effort with Ares aims to eventually bring Haven Capital to an initial

Tenants get class-action status against Kushner in Brooklyn rent case

Posted: 18 Nov 2020 06:30 AM PST

A judge granted class-action status to tenants in a lawsuit alleging Kushner Companies improperly deregulated a Brooklyn rental building. The ruling could open Kushner up to damages for any rent overcharges — plus interest — for the six named plaintiffs, 46 additional tenants and any others the court finds were charged too much by the company. The court gave Kushner 45 days to provide names and contact information for all previous residents of the building.

Bulk co-op buy in the Bronx tops mid-market investment sales

Posted: 18 Nov 2020 06:15 AM PST

Just three deals populated the middle of the investment market for the week ending Nov. 13. The transactions, which The Real Deal defines as between $10 million and $30 million, included a bulk purchase of co-op apartments in the Bronx, an 85-key hotel in Brooklyn and a low-income apartment building, also in the Bronx. Here are more details. 1. Myles Horn’s Glacier Equities acquired 255 apartments for $23 million — or about $90,000 per unit

Return of the non-banks: Alternative lenders show signs of life

Posted: 18 Nov 2020 06:00 AM PST

The third quarter of 2020 was another slow one for commercial real estate lending, with the pace of commercial loan closings down 28 percent from Q2 and down 39 percent year-over-year according to CBRE’s Lending Momentum Index, which reached its lowest level since 2014. At the same time, the distribution of lender types shifted drastically. Banks accounted for 72 percent of loan originations in the second quarter, then just 39 percent in the third. Alternative

Video tour startup raises $22M after demand spikes

Posted: 18 Nov 2020 05:56 AM PST

An Indiana startup that sells video software to apartment owners has just nabbed $22 million in growth equity to keep up with unprecedented demand for its wares. Realync said the funding, from Susquehanna Growth Equity, comes as property owners and managers embrace video tours in the wake of the pandemic. Realync’s business has spiked 400 percent since March. “In a matter of three months, we went from 300 properties using our technology to 1,200,” said

Over the slump? Home-purchase mortgages jump

Posted: 18 Nov 2020 05:55 AM PST

Mortgage applications to buy homes rebounded last week after a two-month slump. Applications for purchase loans rose 4 percent, seasonally adjusted, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s index. The increase put an end to the “slump” that gripped the purchase market over the past seven weeks, said Joel Kan, MBA’s head of industry forecasting. The jump in purchase applications comes as home prices are increasing at record rates after months of strong sales. Refinancing activity