The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

“A culling of the weaker assets”: Where hedge funds are investing

Posted: 14 Dec 2020 03:30 PM PST

It’s a loan buyer’s market and hedge funds are ready to make a deal. Companies are looking to provide loans or invest in recently restructured commercial real estate bonds, according to Bloomberg. And malls, hotels and offices — some of the property types hit hardest by the pandemic — are ripe for the picking. Leo Huang, senior portfolio manager and head of commercial real estate debt at Ellington Management Group, said that the pandemic has

Restaurant, luxury retailer duke it out for sidewalk space: lawsuit

Posted: 14 Dec 2020 01:46 PM PST

When Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the Open Restaurants initiative in June, allowing customers to be seated in temporary curbside encampments, restaurateurs across the city rejoiced. Having suffered through months of closures since March, restaurant owners were struggling to hang on, so they flooded the streets with tables, chairs, umbrellas and signage — and, in some cases, even more creative “streeteries.” Even after indoor dining was reintroduced in September, it could only operate at 25

Southampton’s Linden Estate lists for $75M

Posted: 14 Dec 2020 01:00 PM PST

Southampton Village’s Linden Estate is on the market for $75 million, according to Mansion Global. The 10-acre estate is owned by Jürgen Friedrich, co-founder of the European branch of fashion brand Esprit. Boasting an 18,000-square-foot main home with 12 bedrooms and 15 bathrooms, the estate was built in 1915. The home features many stately rooms, including a wood-paneled library. The grounds are meticulously landscaped and include a grass tennis court, arbors, a fountain, and a

LA pays big bucks to build tiny homes for homeless

Posted: 14 Dec 2020 12:15 PM PST

In Los Angeles, a planned tiny home village for the homeless is costing the city big bucks. Each of the 39 properties in the city’s first tiny home village, scheduled to open in January, is costing about $130,000, according to the Los Angeles Times. The shed-like homes are less than nine feet by eight feet and total 64 square feet. Other cities have developed similar tiny homes for about a tenth of what L.A. is

$50M worth of Brooklyn luxury deals inked last week

Posted: 14 Dec 2020 11:30 AM PST

Brooklyn’s luxury market continued to see strong contract activity in the second week of December — and once again, townhouses were the top performers. Last week there were 19 deals inked at $2 million or more, worth a combined $50 million, according to Compass’ weekly luxury report. That wasn’t quite as strong as the prior week, which saw 26 deals signed for a total deal volume of $88 million, the second best week since the

Simon execs celebrate pandemic’s end by ending pay cuts

Posted: 14 Dec 2020 10:47 AM PST

The first Covid-19 vaccines are being distributed across the United States, and Simon Property Group is celebrating by reinstating its executives’ pay. At the start of the pandemic in March, executives for the country’s largest mall operator took major pay cuts, reducing their salaries between 25 and 100 percent. CEO David Simon reduced his base pay to zero. But those cuts were only temporary: On Dec. 9, the compensation committee of the company unanimously approved

Say goodbye to the 21 Club

Posted: 14 Dec 2020 10:00 AM PST

Optimists say New York City will be back, but its iconic 21 Club will not — at least not the way it was. After more than 90 years, the restaurant and social club is closing. All 148 of its employees will be laid off as of early March, according to the New York Post. The eatery, with 10 private dining rooms, had been shuttered temporarily since the coronavirus pandemic struck in early March. “In light

KKR doubles down on industrial with $835M acquisition

Posted: 14 Dec 2020 09:35 AM PST

KKR is ramping up its bet on industrial real estate. The investment firm closed on the acquisition of 9.7 million square feet of industrial properties in seven markets for about $835 million, according to a release. In total, there are about 100 properties in Atlanta; Baltimore, MD; Chicago; Central and South Florida; Central Pennsylvania; and Dallas. KKR will acquire the portfolio from High Street Logistics Properties, bringing the firm’s total industrial portfolio to about 30

Cuomo re-ups commercial eviction ban

Posted: 14 Dec 2020 09:22 AM PST

Landlords hoping to rid themselves of non-paying commercial tenants will have to wait a little longer. In an executive order issued Dec. 11, Gov. Andrew Cuomo extended New York’s ban on commercial evictions and foreclosures through Jan. 31, 2021. The ban was set to expire at the end of this year. Cuomo has repeatedly extended the ban, but cannot do so for more than a month at a time. There are still some avenues for

Forbes launches worldwide luxury listings platform

Posted: 14 Dec 2020 09:00 AM PST

Forbes is launching a worldwide high-end home listings platform that won’t charge a commission but whose members will pay annual dues. Forbes Global Properties will list only homes above $2 million, according to Yahoo Finance. The venture could be described as a high-end Zillow or Redfin. Jeff Hyland, who co-founded Beverly Hills-based luxury brokerage Hilton & Hyland; and Bonnie Stone Sellers, former CEO of Christie’s International Real Estate, will lead the new platform. She will

Blackstone to acquire life-sciences portfolio for $3.45B

Posted: 14 Dec 2020 08:30 AM PST

Blackstone Group has agreed to pay Brookfield Asset Management $3.45 billion for a life-sciences real estate portfolio located mostly in the Cambridge, Massachusetts, market. The 2.3-million-square-foot portfolio of lab buildings is centered on a 30-acre campus next to Massachusetts Institute of Technology. More than 95 percent of the portfolio is leased thanks to strong demand from pharmaceutical and other life-sciences companies that want to be close to MIT students, the Wall Street Journal reported. The

Deutsche Bank could move half its NY staff to smaller hubs

Posted: 14 Dec 2020 08:00 AM PST

Deutsche Bank could move up to half of its Manhattan employees to smaller U.S. hubs in the next five years, as it plans a major building downsize. Christiana Reiley, the bank’s chief executive in the Americas, told the Financial Times that months of its employees having worked successfully from home has shown that jobs could be sent to lower-cost regions. “It [the pandemic] has taught us a ton,” Riley said. Riley, who is also a

Manhattan luxury market has another strong week

Posted: 14 Dec 2020 07:30 AM PST

Manhattan has recorded another strong week of luxury deals, as low interest rates, price negotiations and an uptick in buyer confidence bring energy back to the market. In the week ending Dec. 13, buyers signed contracts for 23 properties above $4 million, up from 21 the week prior, according to data from Olshan Realty. The total consisted of 18 condos and five co-ops. “What’s very interesting is the last three weeks we’ve had 57 contracts

Mezz lender takes control of Wonder Works’ UES condo

Posted: 14 Dec 2020 07:00 AM PST

Right before a foreclosure auction was due to proceed for a loan tied to Wonder Works Construction’s condo project on the Upper East Side, the developer filed a last-ditch motion to stop it. But Justice Jennifer G. Schecter was having none of it. “The default here predates the pandemic and, since then, [the] plaintiff has been unable to comply with the terms of forbearance agreement,” she wrote in a decision denying the motion last week.

Google pushes back employees’ return to offices

Posted: 14 Dec 2020 06:23 AM PST

Though the Covid-19 vaccine is beginning to make its way to the U.S., it’s unlikely that widespread inoculation will happen until next year — and some companies, including Google, are continuing to play it safe until then. The tech giant announced that it will once again push back its employees’ return to the company’s offices; now, the remote work period will continue until September 2021, the New York Times reported. In addition, Sundar Pichai, the

Brian Chesky reacts to IPO pop, a distressed-home platform nabs $36M

Posted: 14 Dec 2020 05:00 AM PST

We’re all Brian Chesky Eyebrows raised and stammering. That’s how the Airbnb CEO reacted on live TV when he found out the company’s shares had skyrocketed 113 percent to $144.7 during its stock market debut Thursday. “That’s the first time I’ve heard the number,” he managed to say. “Um, that is, that’s … I … I don’t know what else to say.” Ahead of its IPO, which raised $3.5 billion, Airbnb priced shares at $68.

Bobby Flay’s restaurant group must pay rent despite pandemic woes: judge

Posted: 14 Dec 2020 04:30 AM PST

In one of the first rulings in a Covid-related landlord-tenant dispute, a judge has decided that an office tenant is on the hook for months of unpaid rent, despite the pandemic killing its business. Bold Food, the hospitality group founded by celebrity chef Bobby Flay, leased an office on the 12th floor of 1140 Broadway when the pandemic hit. But Covid “destroyed Bold Food’s ability to operate and earn revenue,” as lawyers for the firm

The top 10 biggest real estate projects coming to NYC

Posted: 14 Dec 2020 04:00 AM PST

Two pieces of the city’s redevelopment of the former Spofford Juvenile Detention Center in the Bronx made the list of 10 largest projects filed in the five boroughs in November. “The Peninsula” project aims to transform the five-acre Spofford property into a mixed-use live-work community. The campus would eventually feature 740 units of affordable housing, 52,000 square feet of recreational space and 49,000 square feet of light industrial space. Gary Barnett-led Extell Development’s 534-key hotel