The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Online grocer Weee inks 220K sf lease in Clifton

Posted: 18 Feb 2021 02:20 PM PST

Online grocery startup Weee has inked a massive lease for a cold storage facility in Clifton, New Jersey. Weee, a California-based company specializing in Asian food, is taking 220,000 square feet at 174 Delawanna Avenue, according to the STRO Companies, which controls the entity that owns the Clifton facility. The online grocer has been using a 50,000-square-foot Edison site for about a year. The expansion in Clifton was to accommodate the company’s rapid growth, said

Elevator mechanic killed at Bronx building

Posted: 18 Feb 2021 02:03 PM PST

An elevator mechanic was killed on Thursday while working in a Bronx apartment building, city officials confirmed. Mechanics were working at 133 East Clarke Place in the Concourse neighborhood when an elevator fell down a shaft and onto one of the workers, a Department of Buildings spokesperson confirmed. The 25-year-old worker, who has not been publicly identified, died from the injuries. A second mechanic was injured. Champion Elevator was hired to upgrade the building’s elevator,

Editor’s note: Clawbacks, SPAC attacks … and Barney

Posted: 18 Feb 2021 01:00 PM PST

Compass brokers vomiting over clauses in their contract. The “Barney” theme song being used to torture homeless people. A SPAC-backed company being valued at 86 times its revenue. This month’s magazine shows there is a lot more going on than coronavirus and presidential politics. Our cover story looks at Compass, which has quickly become the nation’s third-largest brokerage and is about to go public. The company has touted agent retention as a key part of

To stop foreclosure, Westchester condo developer files for bankruptcy

Posted: 18 Feb 2021 12:30 PM PST

Westchester County developer DeNardo Capital filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Tuesday, stopping a planned foreclosure auction on its luxury condo project. Greenwich, Connecticut–based SilverPoint Capital was planning a UCC foreclosure sale on interests in the Marker 27 project in Irvington, New York. The sale was scheduled for Feb. 18, according to marketing materials reviewed by The Real Deal. SilverPoint Capital claimed it was owed over $1 million on a mezzanine loan it provided in 2018.

Empire State Realty Trust reports 97.5% drop in Q4 earnings

Posted: 18 Feb 2021 12:05 PM PST

Visitors have been slow to return to the Empire State Building’s observation deck after it reopened to the public last July. That hesitancy has led to a sharp decline in revenue from the tourist destination — and is just one of the factors leading to a dismal fourth quarter for Empire State Realty Trust, which operates the attraction. The REIT reported a net income of $0.71 million during the fourth quarter of 2020, down by

Discount brokerages launch fresh attacks on size of residential fees

Posted: 18 Feb 2021 11:45 AM PST

The age-old question of what justifies broker fees often comes up as people embark on buying or selling their homes — and discount brokerages are egging on the conversation. American home sellers and buyers pay among the highest fees to agents, the New York Times reported. In the U.S., the standard fee is 6 percent, with 3 percent going to the seller’s and buyer’s agents, respectively. Compare that to Asia or Europe, where standard broker

Knock, a CRM for landlords, raises $20M

Posted: 18 Feb 2021 11:00 AM PST

Knock, which bills itself as the “front-office tech stack” for apartment landlords, has raised $20 million in growth equity to accelerate the rollout of new products, including virtual touring and leasing. The round, led by Fifth Wall Ventures, brings the startup’s total funding to $47 million. Previous backers Madrona Venture Group, Lead Edge Capital, Second Avenue Partners and Seven Peaks Ventures also participated in the round. Based in Seattle, Knock’s core product is a customer

Mortgage rates tick up again

Posted: 18 Feb 2021 10:30 AM PST

Mortgage rates keep climbing. The average 30-year, fixed-rate loan last week was 2.81 percent, compared to 2.73 percent the previous week. That’s the highest since November and 16 basis points above the record low of 2.65 percent reached in early January, according to Bloomberg. Costlier loans may threaten the trend of rising home prices. The combination of growing demand and diminished supply has sparked bidding wars, and with mortgage rates now going up as well,

TRD’s February issue is live for subscribers!

Posted: 18 Feb 2021 10:00 AM PST

The Real Deal’s February national issue is live for digital subscribers and is about to begin hitting doorsteps around the country. As the pandemic slowly recedes, other issues are coming to the fore. In this month’s magazine we look at some controversies and cliffhangers in the industry, including: Compass’ clawbacks — where brokers have to pay back bonuses and other incentives if they decide to leave Brookfield’s ill-fated plan to turn defunct malls into “mini

Newmark earnings fell 37% in 2020

Posted: 18 Feb 2021 09:34 AM PST

If Newmark Group goes ahead with its planned acquisition of Knotel, does that make the commercial real estate services firm a competitor to its landlord clients? “Just the opposite,” CEO Barry Gosin said during the company’s fourth quarter earnings call Thursday morning, throwing cold water on the notion that buying the struggling short-term office company out of bankruptcy creates a conflict of interest for Newmark. “We see it as a benefit and an opportunity.” Knotel

Housing starts fall for first time since August

Posted: 18 Feb 2021 09:10 AM PST

Housing starts fell in January, marking the first time since August that there hasn’t been month-over-month growth in residential construction. Privately owned housing starts dropped to a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.58 million, down 6 percent from December’s revised rate of 1.68 million, according to the Census Bureau’s monthly report. December was the strongest month for residential construction since 2006. Starts for single-family homes fared worse, with an adjusted rate of 1.16 million, down 12

Big companies delay returning to offices — again

Posted: 18 Feb 2021 08:35 AM PST

What’s the point of setting a deadline you’ll know you’ll miss? That seems to be the prevailing attitude in some C-suites when it comes to getting employees back in offices. Some major companies, such as Alphabet and Grant Thornton LLP, have said employees will return to the office on Labor Day or at the end of the summer, but other firms have simply stopped making plans, according to the Wall Street Journal. Among the companies

Spencer Rascoff goes for SPAC trifecta

Posted: 18 Feb 2021 08:20 AM PST

Zillow co-founder Spencer Rascoff is raising a third blank-check company, according to regulatory filings. The 45-year-old’s Supernova Partners Acquisition Company III is seeking $250 million to invest in the tech sector, the filing said. Rascoff left Zillow in 2019 and has since founded Pacaso, a second-home startup. Amid the SPAC frenzy of the past year, Rascoff has come out strongly in favor of special-purpose acquisition companies as an alternative to the traditional IPO process, which

Jersey City development advances with $30M construction loan

Posted: 18 Feb 2021 07:45 AM PST

A luxury apartment complex in Jersey City will advance after snagging a $30 million construction loan. The 99-unit residential building at 136 Summit Avenue, developed by Monticello Equities, has been in the works for several years. Progress Capital arranged the latest round of financing from Bank Leumi, which will be used to help finish construction on the project, which broke ground in 2018. When it’s finished, the 159,861-square-foot project will have 2,240 square feet of

Vornado, Trump Org lock in big renewals at SF office tower

Posted: 18 Feb 2021 07:00 AM PST

Who said office is dead? Although the work-from-home shift is sure to endure in some capacity, two big tenants inked lease renewals at the San Francisco office tower co-owned by Vornado Realty Trust and the Trump Organization. Bank of America committed to 10 additional years at 555 California Street and will be consolidating all its San Francisco offices into the tower. Goldman Sachs renewed its entire 90,000-square-foot lease, Bloomberg reported. Vornado announced the leases on

LA agent fired after verbally attacking Asian woman

Posted: 18 Feb 2021 06:19 AM PST

Agent Michael Dalcin lost his job after he was filmed insulting an Asian woman in Los Angeles’ Brentwood neighborhood. Beach City Brokers fired the agent after the video appeared online last week, Inman reported. In the video, which was filmed by the woman, Dalcin is holding two dogs as he swears at her, holds his middle finger up at her and follows her as she moves around a parked car to get away. When the

TRD Tips: Citizens Bank’s Ace Watanasuparp on mortgages during Covid-19

Posted: 18 Feb 2021 05:15 AM PST

Mortgage interest rates may be on the rise again, but for the past year, they were trending downward, with each week seeming to hit yet another record low. So what does this mean for homebuyers? Ace Watanasuparp, Senior Vice President at Citizens Bank, may not have a crystal ball, but he does have some tips on how those looking to buy or refinance homes can take advantage of the historically low rates. Watanasuparp sat down

MDLNY’s Kirsten Jordan heads back to Elliman from Compass

Posted: 18 Feb 2021 04:30 AM PST

A new year means a new firm and a new team for real estate agent Kirsten Jordan. The broker is leaving Compass and returning to Douglas Elliman, where she started out more than a decade ago. Jordan and Elliman’s top executives confirmed her move in a statement. “Kirsten is one of the leading agents working in our industry and we are thrilled to have her back,” said Howard Lorber, Elliman’s executive chairman. Steven James, Elliman’s

The 10 biggest new project filings in NYC

Posted: 18 Feb 2021 04:00 AM PST

When it comes to new building filings in the city, 2021 is off to a somewhat slow start. The city’s 10 biggest new building applications filed in January totaled about 2 million square feet — about 1 million square feet less than was filed in December. Six of the top 10 projects were mixed-use buildings, while three were schools. Manhattan, Brooklyn and Bronx each had three of the month’s biggest filings, while Queens, which dominated