The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

HFZ set to lose stake in $2B XI condo project

Posted: 26 Jul 2021 01:37 PM PDT

One of the boldest bets of the past decade on New York City’s high-end real estate market appears to have finally run out of rope — a case study in what happens when big risks don’t pan out. HFZ Capital Group’s $2 billion XI project on the High Line in West Chelsea is headed for foreclosure after years of hand wringing over its viability, The Real Deal has learned. The project’s lender, a subsidiary of

What tenants pay at Aby Rosen’s 980 Madison Avenue

Posted: 26 Jul 2021 12:59 PM PDT

The following is a preview of one of the hundreds of data sets that will be available on TRD Pro — the one-stop real estate terminal that provides you with all the data and market information you need. RFR Realty once had lofty ambitions for the Parke-Bernet Galleries building at 980 Madison Avenue. Before the Great Recession, Aby Rosen and Michael Fuchs’ firm had sought to add a 30-story glass tower on top of the

The Real Deal’s Prodigy exposé wins NY Press Club Award

Posted: 26 Jul 2021 11:46 AM PDT

The Real Deal’s investigative feature on the Prodigy fiasco has won an award from the New York Press Club for consumer reporting. The organization honored the story “Behind the biggest real estate crowdfunding implosion,” written by Sylvia Varnham O’Regan and Mary Diduch. The feature detailed the ordeal of thousands of small-time investors, many from foreign countries, who invested with Prodigy Network to buy into Manhattan real estate. An estimated $690 million was invested, only for

After early-July lull, Manhattan luxury deals are on the upswing again

Posted: 26 Jul 2021 11:00 AM PDT

What summer slowdown? After a dip in contract activity among pricey Manhattan homes two weeks ago, buyers are back in full force as if nothing happened. Last week, 39 buyers signed on the dotted line for properties asking at least $4 million, according to the Olshan Report, which tracks Manhattan luxury contract signings. That’s up from the 33 contracts that were signed the week before and 28 from the first full week of July —

Inman acquired by private equity firm Beringer Capital

Posted: 26 Jul 2021 10:30 AM PDT

After 25 years, Brad Inman is selling his eponymous media company. Inman will be sold to Beringer Capital, a Toronto-based private equity firm, the publication announced Monday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Brad Inman, 68, will maintain a minority ownership stake as well as a board seat, and will “stay involved with the Inman community,” according to the announcement. Inman’s existing staff, including its current leadership, will remain in place, Beringer managing partner

At 432 Park, a $30M condo is in default and its owner has vanished

Posted: 26 Jul 2021 10:00 AM PDT

The $30 million condo unit high atop East 57th Street sits empty, stripped of its furniture and possibly abandoned. The mortgage on the 72nd floor residence at 432 Park Avenue is in default, its guarantor appears to be in custody in China and the unit owner’s identity is uncertain. Now the firm that owns the debt wants to seize the 4,000-square-foot property on Billionaires’ Row, where high-end real estate purchases are often shrouded behind layers

Calvin Klein sells 1800s estate in East Hampton for $85M

Posted: 26 Jul 2021 09:30 AM PDT

Calvin Klein — the person, not his eponymous brand — has sold an 8.5-acre estate in East Hampton for about $85 million, according to Dirt. Klein bought the property in 1987 for $3.6 million from the son of Pan American World Airways founder Juan Trippe. His now-ex-wife Kelly Klein lived there after they split in the mid-1990s. The house was built in the late 1800s for Laura Brevoort Sedgwick and designed by Joseph Greenleaf Thorp,

RE-focused investment firm Slate raises $600M for private-credit fund

Posted: 26 Jul 2021 09:00 AM PDT

Slate Asset Management has raised over half a billion dollars for a new private-credit fund — capital which is already being put into action, the real estate-focused investment firm said Monday. The Toronto-based firm uses private-equity funds and public investment trusts to invest in real estate. Backed by the Petershill unit of Goldman Sachs, Slate raised close to $600 million for its first private-credit fund, the Wall Street Journal reported. It’s not clear specifically how

Coffee Talk: Scott Rechler on beating the pandemic

Posted: 26 Jul 2021 08:19 AM PDT

How do you get your company, investors and tenants through a year-and-a-half-long global crisis? “Communicate, communicate, communicate,” said Scott Rechler, CEO of RXR Realty. In this installment of Coffee Talk, Rechler spoke with The Real Deal’s Amir Korangy about the importance of agility and engagement in times of crisis. One of RXR’s greatest assets, Rechler said, has been its ability to tap into a “broad ecosystem of relationships.” The firm got ahead of the pandemic

NY rent relief rollout slowly inches forward as evictions loom

Posted: 26 Jul 2021 07:17 AM PDT

The bumpy rollout of New York’s rent relief for needy tenants continues at a snail’s pace, with just $117,000 distributed to applicants as the eviction moratorium’s expiration date nears. The state has a $2.7 billion pot of funds to be distributed, but only a tiny sum has made its way to landlords since applications finally opened June 1. By the end of June, New York was one of just two states that had yet to

L&L, Columbia Property Trust land $1.3B loan for Chelsea office project

Posted: 26 Jul 2021 06:20 AM PDT

L&L Holding Company and Columbia Property Trust secured the largest construction loan of the year (thus far) for their Terminal Warehouse project in West Chelsea. The developer and REIT closed on a $1.25 billion loan for the 1.3 million-square-foot property on 11th Avenue between West 27th and 28th Streets, Commercial Observer reported. Blackstone, Goldman Sachs and KKR are leading the financing, along with Oaktree Capital Management and Paramount Group at the mezzanine level. The project

Manhattan lags Chicago, LA in returning to the office

Posted: 26 Jul 2021 05:30 AM PDT

For all of Wall Street’s drum-beating to march workers back to their desks, Manhattan office buildings have actually been slower to refill than those in Los Angeles and Chicago. The nation’s three largest office markets were emptied early last year by the coronavirus, but data show attendance varied wildly among those cities and their industries — and still does. Pandemic lockdowns for all three cities started in the last full week of March 2020, but

Grocery stores seek reprieve from emissions cap

Posted: 26 Jul 2021 05:00 AM PDT

As far as property manager Burton Wallack is concerned, Morton Williams has been a great tenant at 1211 Madison Avenue. It is the grocery store’s refrigerators, however, that are becoming a problem. “We have a very good working relationship with Morton Williams,” Wallack said. “The only issue we have is energy consumption.” Morton Williams accounts for 10 percent of the building’s 130,000 square feet, but about 40 percent of its carbon emissions. That is hardly

City program could supplement state rent relief — if next mayor signs off

Posted: 26 Jul 2021 04:00 AM PDT

Even with a $2.7 billion pot to pull from, the nonprofits helping tenants apply for rent relief are almost certain the state funds won’t cover the mounting debt owed to New York City’s landlords. To help make up the difference, a pair of nonprofits are calling on the next mayor to expand and strengthen an existing program that offers one-time assistance to tenants with rent arrears. One Shot Deal, a city program that distributes funds