The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Brookfield lands $835M refi for One New York Plaza

Posted: 21 Dec 2020 02:30 PM PST

Brookfield Property Partners has recently landed an $835 million refinancing loan for its Financial District office tower at One New York Plaza. The new loan was originated by Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and BMO Harris Bank. Proceeds from the loan were used to retire an existing $750 million loan issued by Wells Fargo in 2016, according to Kroll Bond Rating Agency. Brookfield has owned the 50-story, 2.6 million-square-foot office building since 2006, when the company,

Bye-bye, Brutalism: Trump order emphasizes classical style for federal buildings

Posted: 21 Dec 2020 02:10 PM PST

In the waning days of his administration, President Donald Trump is focusing his attention on pressing matters: ensuring that any new government buildings in the nation’s capital are “beautiful.” The president has signed an executive order, “Promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture,” that recommends federal buildings in Washington, D.C. be designed in a variety of traditional architectural styles — Neoclassical, Georgian, Greek Revival and Gothic among them, according to WAMU. It would also establish a Council

Ashford: Insolvency imminent without new financing

Posted: 21 Dec 2020 01:46 PM PST

Ashford Hospitality Trust is running on fumes, the real estate investment trust disclosed Monday. The Dallas-based owner of upscale lodging assets, one of the nation’s largest REITs specializing in hotels, said it might be forced to seek bankruptcy protection early next year unless it gets new financing. Ashford is seeking approximately $200 million initially and is prepared to hand over 20 percent of company equity to secure the debt, according to paperwork it filed with

Stimulus deal includes major change to affordable housing financing

Posted: 21 Dec 2020 01:27 PM PST

The proposed $900 billion federal relief package hands affordable housing developers a key win in the form of changes to a popular financing program. The bill includes reforms to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program, which has financed more than 3 million housing units since its inception in 1986. Lawmakers proposed a floor rate of 4 percent, divorcing the program from borrowing rates set by the Treasury Department. The new floor rate would apply to

Historic Cobble Hill townhouse tops Brooklyn’s luxury contracts last week

Posted: 21 Dec 2020 01:00 PM PST

The story of Brooklyn’s luxury market last week: same as it ever was, same as it ever was. This week, 18 homes asking $2 million or more went into contract, with a combined value of $47.28 million, according to Compass’s weekly look at the borough’s luxury market. That’s a slight decrease from last week, when 19 homes went into contract with a combined value of $50 million. And like last week — and many of

Organic supermarket coming to Boerum Hill

Posted: 21 Dec 2020 12:20 PM PST

Downtown Organic Market has signed a lease at 561 Pacific in Boerum Hill. The high-end grocer will occupy 6,150 square feet along Fourth Avenue, at the base of Adam America Real Estate’s 62-unit condominium project. The store is expected to open in May. Nate Mallon of EXR NY represented Adam America in the transaction, which was first reported by Commercial Observer. “It’s rewarding to bring in a retailer that will fill a real need and

Landlord who warned of pandemic’s “catastrophic” effects sells West Village building for $95M

Posted: 21 Dec 2020 12:00 PM PST

One of the city’s most vocal small-property owners, who recently warned the pandemic could lead to a “catastrophic loss” for independent landlords, has parted ways with the West Village rental building that’s been in his family for nearly 100 years. Jimmy Silber last week sold the 138-unit building at 1 Christopher Street that his family has owned since the early 1930s for $95 million, brokers on the trade told The Real Deal. The buyer is

Barry Sternlicht inks contract to sell $40M West Village condo

Posted: 21 Dec 2020 11:26 AM PST

As Manhattan’s luxury market rallies, billionaire Barry Sternlicht has agreed to sell his West Village pad. The founder and CEO of Starwood Capital Group was asking $40 million for his five-bedroom condo at 150 Charles Street when it went into contract last week, according to Olshan Realty’s weekly report. The executive bought the roughly 5,700-square-foot unit overlooking the Hudson River for $34.4 million in 2016 through limited liability company, BSS CHARLES STR, Olshan reported. The

NYC moves forward with plan for special hotel permits

Posted: 21 Dec 2020 11:11 AM PST

The city is moving forward with plans to require special permits for all new hotels in an effort to curb projects that cause “conflicts or create nuisances.” The Department of City Planning on Monday released its long-awaited proposal for requiring special permits for new hotels and expansions throughout the city. It would apply to all zoning districts where hotel construction is permitted as-of-right, and would take the place of special permits already required in Midtown

Opendoor valuation soars to $18B ahead of IPO

Posted: 21 Dec 2020 10:35 AM PST

Even before Opendoor’s official stock market debut on Dec. 21, the iBuyer’s valuation soared to nearly $18 billion as Wall Street investors cheered its merger with a special purpose acquisition company. Shares of Chamath Palipatihiya’s blank-check company more than tripled Friday after it completed the merger with Opendoor. Previously, the company had an enterprise value of $5 billion when the deal was announced in September. Opendoor’s stock was priced at $29 per share as of

Ad giant WPP to cut NY real estate footprint by 700K-sf

Posted: 21 Dec 2020 10:30 AM PST

As the pandemic rages on and timelines for when workers can return to offices continue to be pushed back, more firms are looking to cut their office real estate holdings. One example: WPP, the British advertising giant that’s the parent company of Ogilvy and GroupM, will reduce its New York City office space by 700,000 square feet, about a third of its footprint, Business Insider reported. The measure is part of the company’s plan to

Palisades Center worth half what it was in 2016: Appraisers

Posted: 21 Dec 2020 10:22 AM PST

One of the nation’s largest malls has had its value chopped in half. Appraisers pegged the Palisades Center Mall’s value at $425 million, according to data firm Trepp. That’s less than half of the $881 million that the mall was valued at in 2016, when owner Pyramid Companies received a $388.5 million mortgage on the 1.8 million-square-foot property. Pyramid did not respond to a request for comment prior to publication. Like retail centers across the

New York to get $1.3B for rent relief in stimulus package

Posted: 21 Dec 2020 10:00 AM PST

Congress has finally reached a deal on a relief package that includes $25 billion in rental assistance, of which New York would receive $1.3 billion. The National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates that California would receive $2.6 billion, twice as much as New York. Texas would receive $1.9 billion and Florida would receive $1.4 billion, according to the NLIHC estimate. It is up to states to determine how to spend the rental assistance funds, which

Realogy’s iBuying program expands after pausing in spring

Posted: 21 Dec 2020 09:30 AM PST

RealSure, an iBuying venture by Realogy, has expanded its coverage to five markets, restoring the reach it had before the pandemic. The expansion follows the brief suspension of the program at the onset of the pandemic. It later relaunched in July, Inman reported. The platform is now available in Orlando, Sarasota and Fort Meyers, Florida; Sacramento, California; and Chicago. Home sellers with a qualifying property must be working with brokers affiliated with Better Homes and

The definitive guide to the Compass C-Suite

Posted: 21 Dec 2020 09:00 AM PST

As it prepares for what would be one of the most anticipated IPOs of a residential firm in years, Compass has overhauled its C-suite and reorganized key departments. The firm has 18,000 agents (who are independent contractors) on its roster as well as over 2,000 employees nationwide. Since the departure of COO Maelle Gavet last year, seven C-level execs report to co-founder and CEO Robert Reffkin. Here’s who else calls the shots. Read related story:

Ariana Grande and Compass’ Dalton Gomez engaged

Posted: 21 Dec 2020 08:20 AM PST

She want it, she got it: Pop star Ariana Grande is engaged to Compass agent Dalton Gomez. The 27-year-old singer posted a series of photos of herself side to side with Dalton on Instagram along with a photo of a diamond ring on her hand with the caption “forever n then some,” according to the Los Angeles Times. Grande has posted photos of the two together over the last year or so and earlier this

Stimulus to extend eviction moratorium, provide $25B in rent relief

Posted: 21 Dec 2020 07:30 AM PST

UPDATED Dec. 21, 2020, 12:25 pm: It’s smaller than some people had hoped, but another federal aid package to help boost the pandemic-ravaged economy is finally on its way. Congressional leaders on Sunday reached an agreement on a $900 billion stimulus package that would provide direct payouts of $600 to qualifying Americans, as well as revive a loan program for small businesses, according to the New York Times. The deal, likely to be finalized Monday,

RealPage sells to private equity firm for $9.6B

Posted: 21 Dec 2020 06:35 AM PST

Property management software company RealPage is set to be acquired by a private equity firm for $9.6 billion in one of the largest proptech M&A deals of the decade. Thoma Bravo will pay $88.75 per share for the Texas-based proptech firm in one of the largest recent leveraged buyouts, the Wall Street Journal reported. That’s 31 percent above RealPage’s stock price, which closed at $67.83 per share on Friday. RealPage’s platform allows landlords to collect

The 10 priciest Hamptons homes sales of 2020

Posted: 21 Dec 2020 06:05 AM PST

UPDATED Dec. 21, 2020, 6:40 pm: It’s no secret that Hamptons buyers went ham this year. Wealthy New Yorkers fled the city in droves, flooding into surrounding suburbs and vacation destinations and setting those housing markets on fire. Sprawling oceanfront homes in the Hamptons were an immediate target of the influx of deep-pocketed buyers willing to pay sky-high prices for an isolated oasis. The most 10 expensive deals this year came to a total of

Who wields control at Compass? Drama over CoStar’s NYC play

Posted: 21 Dec 2020 05:00 AM PST

Compass’ C-suite gets IPO-ready Compass overhauled its C-suite and reorganized key departments ahead of what’s the most anticipated IPO of a residential brokerage in years. With 18,000 agents on its roster, the New York brokerage also has 2,000 employees nationwide. Founded in 2012, Compass has raised $1.5 billion from investors and recently hired bankers for a potential public offering. Since the departure of COO Maëlle Gavet last year, eight C-level executives report to co-founder and

A different kind of real estate listing

Posted: 21 Dec 2020 04:30 AM PST

“We don’t need to go public in order to raise capital.” It was September, and Robert Reffkin was making an appearance on CNBC’s Squawk Box, touting his firm’s ability to attract funds without needing an IPO. With the housing market booming and tech stocks having a banner year despite economic turmoil in other sectors, Compass’ chief executive was deflecting what’s become a perennial question about the firm’s long-term strategy. “August revenue was 70 percent ahead

Deep discounts for “bottom fishers”: How 3 deals show the state of Manhattan’s buyer’s market

Posted: 21 Dec 2020 04:00 AM PST

Three high-priced deals that closed within two days this month offer a glimpse into the buyer’s market Manhattan has become in 2020. Two of the properties — a condo at Extell Development’s One57, and TV producer Michael Davies’ Tribeca home — sold at deep discounts, to the tune of 32 and 25 percent. A spokesperson for Extell summed it up when reached for comment: “Almost all Covid-era transactions have been at exceptional prices for the