The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Commercial real estate investment rose 86% last year

Posted: 15 Feb 2022 02:00 PM PST

Commercial real estate investors spent $53 billion on properties in Los Angeles, $49 billion in New York and $41 billion in Dallas last year, powering an 86 percent national increase from 2020. The total came to $746 billion, according to a report from CBRE. Investment in multifamily and industrial properties drove the surge, and Austin had the hottest office sector. Investors spent $315 billion on multifamily portfolios and single properties, more than double the $145

Adams to tap Industry City CEO Andrew Kimball to run EDC: reports

Posted: 15 Feb 2022 01:15 PM PST

After leading candidate Carlo Scissura withdrew from consideration, Industry City CEO Andrew Kimball is expected to be appointed the next leader of the Economic Development Corporation, according to multiple reports. Mayor Eric Adams is likely to select Kimball, who has served as CEO of the Brooklyn waterfront complex since 2013, for the role, sources told Politico. Kimball and a spokesperson for the mayor both declined to comment on the potential nomination, according to the publication.

Northspyre, project management tool for developers, raises $25M

Posted: 15 Feb 2022 12:30 PM PST

Northspyre, a project management platform for building owners and developers, raised $25 million in Series B funding. Real estate owners manage hundreds of relationships with vendors, investors and others through the pre-construction and construction phases of projects, and typically have relied on spreadsheets to budget and deliver on schedule. Brooklyn-based Northspyre, a self-described “cloud-based intelligence platform,” uses automation, data analytics and artificial intelligence to automate the traditionally labor intensive, manual processes. Founded and launched in

Steve Roth: NYC retail might never fully recover

Posted: 15 Feb 2022 11:13 AM PST

New York’s high-street retail landlords might never again collect the astronomical rents of the pre-pandemic era, Vornado Realty Trust’s Steven Roth said Tuesday. Roth and other Vornado executives on an earnings call described a “startling” retail recovery across the country that has included malls and shopping centers. But big cities, including New York, have been laggards, despite a “booming” luxury segment where brick-and-mortar sales outnumber online ones. Retailers on Fifth Avenue and Times Square have

Residential property manager off to Beacon Capital building

Posted: 15 Feb 2022 10:45 AM PST

A large residential property manager is making a commercial move, leasing office space at Beacon Capital Partners’ 575 Fifth Avenue. FirstService Residential took 48,000 square feet at the Midtown building across the ninth and 10th floors, Commercial Observer reported. The lease is for 15 years. The asking rent was not reported. Montroy DeMarco Architecture is working on the buildout for the tenant. FirstService, which claims to be the largest residential property manager on the continent,

Corcoran makes move into Connecticut

Posted: 15 Feb 2022 10:10 AM PST

The Corcoran Group is making its first foray into Connecticut with its latest affiliate. Jeffrey Jackson’s Centric Property Group is rebranding to join Corcoran’s affiliate network, the brokerage announced Tuesday. The firm, which was founded by Jackson in 2001, serves clients in Greenwich, Westport, Darien and New Canaan. The firm is the top independent team in the Greenwich area, closing almost $200 million in sales last year, according to Corcoran. The new affiliate includes 10

Harry Macklowe makes move to Miami with 650-unit proposal

Posted: 15 Feb 2022 08:45 AM PST

New York City-based Macklowe Properties is joining the South Florida apartment craze, proposing a 650-unit project on land it put under contract next to Dadeland Mall. Real estate tycoon Harry Macklowe’s company, through an affiliate, wants to build a pair of 25-story towers on 1.7 acres it plans to purchase from Miami-based Rilea Group, according to a project application submitted to Miami-Dade County last week. Macklowe Properties’ proposal includes 11,455 square feet of retail; 27,725

Midtown building to pivot with office condo conversion

Posted: 15 Feb 2022 08:00 AM PST

A Midtown office building is trying to leave its tough times in the past with an upcoming conversion project. The office building at 32 West 39th Street is set to be converted to office condominiums for sale. Rudder Property Group announced it will be responsible for the sales and marketing of the 16-story property, which is owned by Aron Rosenberg’s 32 W 39th Street Sole Member LLC. The area “has seen a lot of interest

Investment firms take aim at short-term rentals

Posted: 15 Feb 2022 07:00 AM PST

Short-term rentals aren’t just for mom-and-pop owners anymore: Wall Street has taken notice of the market and are getting in on the game. New York-based investment firm Saluda Grade is starting a venture to buy approximately $500 million worth of short-term rental property in conjunction with AvantStay, the Wall Street Journal reported. The firm will target acquiring properties within driving distance of population centers; AvantStay will manage the properties. “There’s a lot more yield available

Owner, Hackensack officials fight over shuttered Sears

Posted: 15 Feb 2022 05:45 AM PST

As a former retail giant vanishes from the American landscape, the fate of one of its Bergen County, New Jersey, properties is headed to court. Transformco, which acquired Sears’ assets several years ago for its real estate more than for its fading brand, filed a complaint in January alleging Hackensack officials curbed the development potential of the site at 436 Main Street, NorthJersey.com reported. The change restricts what the owner can do with the 90-year-old

City sues landlord for dozens of fire code violations

Posted: 15 Feb 2022 05:00 AM PST

A month ago, after a blaze killed 17 residents of a Bronx apartment building, survivors sued their landlord for allegedly ignoring fire safety issues. Now, the city may be cracking down against other owners. It has brought a case against Jacob Weinreb, principal of the multifamily firm Weinreb Management and co-owner of 11 properties with over 200 building violations and nearly two dozen issued by the Fire Department. The vast majority of the violations are

Analysis: Manhattan office submarkets’ uneven recovery

Posted: 15 Feb 2022 04:00 AM PST

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 all the data and market information you need. Things may finally be looking up for Manhattan’s embattled office market — but not all of it. The vacancy rate climbed to 17.3 percent at the end of last year — up by one-fifth from 2020 — but leasing

Hank Freid to pay city $1.1M to settle illegal hotel lawsuit

Posted: 14 Feb 2022 03:14 PM PST

Hotelier Hank Freid has agreed to pay $1.1 million to settle allegations that he was running an illegal hotel operation on the Upper West Side, ending a five-year legal dispute and paving the way for at least one of the properties to be converted to affordable housing. An entity tied to Freid sold the building at 258 West 97th Street, where he had operated the Royal Park Hotel, for $11 million at the end of

Planet Hollywood returns to NYC with new Times Square location

Posted: 14 Feb 2022 02:24 PM PST

Since opening its original location on West 57th Street three decades ago, Planet Hollywood’s long-term success rate in its home city has proven spotty. But owner Robert Earl hopes the third time will be the charm. Earl Enterprises, the restaurant chain’s parent company, has signed a lease for 17,500 square feet across four floors at 140 West 42nd Street, the New York Post reported. The restaurant will occupy the lowest floors of the building, a

Get TRD’s 2022 Data Book and a one-month subscription for just $1

Posted: 14 Feb 2022 01:15 PM PST

Name a better deal. I’ll wait. For just $1, we’re offering a month of unlimited access to The Real Deal’s subscriber-exclusive content, plus the 2022 edition of our annual Data Book — a must-have compendium of essential facts, figures and rankings across each of TRD’s markets. Sign up for a digital subscription today to lock in this unmissable deal — but first, let’s do some price indexing to see what else you can get for

A-Rod a “key part” of investment group eyeing Trump’s D.C. hotel

Posted: 14 Feb 2022 12:30 PM PST

Retired baseball star turned property investor Alex Rodriguez has emerged as a “key part” of the group vying to buy Donald Trump’s Washington, D.C., hotel, the Associated Press reported. Earlier reports had identified Miami-based CGI Merchant Group as the firm in talks to acquire the lease on the Trump International Hotel for $375 million, but people familiar with the deal told the AP that the buyer is actually the Hospitality Opportunity Fund, a $650 million

Bay Ridge townhouse asking $8M tops Brooklyn luxury market

Posted: 14 Feb 2022 11:45 AM PST

Townhouses topped Brooklyn’s luxury real estate market last week, according to Compass’ weekly report on deals in the borough closing for $2 million or more. The priciest home to enter into contract between Feb. 7 and 13 was 8121 Shore Road in Bay Ridge, with a last asking price of nearly $8 million. Originally built in 1915, the single-family townhouse spans 10,010 square feet with seven bedrooms and eight full bathrooms. The property includes a

BFC’s Empire Outlets on Staten Island enters foreclosure

Posted: 14 Feb 2022 09:55 AM PST

Empire Outlets, the ambitious mall on Staten Island, is itself headed for the discount rack. Its developer, Donald Capoccia and Joseph Ferrara’s BFC Partners, and senior lenders Goldman Sachs and Sterling National Bank, have agreed to put the property into foreclosure, the Staten Island Advance reported. The agreement will allow the restructuring of debt on the $350 million shopping center and will cost BFC its ownership of the pandemic-plagued project. The lenders may bid for

Joint venture trades Jersey City office building for $300M

Posted: 14 Feb 2022 09:38 AM PST

A 12-story office property on the Jersey City waterfront sold to Vision Properties and Hana Alternative Asset Management for $300 million. Spear Street Capital and PFA Pension sold the 433,197-square-foot building, according to the Commercial Observer. Natixis provided $197 million in financing, arranged by Progress Capital. Spear Street bought 70 Hudson Street — and its twin office building at 90 Hudson Street — in late 2019 for $299 million. Tenants at the building include TD

Gut-renovated Flatiron apartment leads Manhattan luxury contracts

Posted: 14 Feb 2022 09:21 AM PST

Another gut-renovated apartment topped Manhattan’s luxury sales market last week. A condo at 23 East 22nd Street asking nearly $17 million was the priciest home in the borough to enter contract between Feb. 7 and Feb. 13, according to Olshan Realty’s weekly report. The full-floor unit includes four bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms across its 3,310 square feet. It was last purchased for $9.7 million in December 2018, after which the buyer spent

Unfazed by NYC struggles, Moskovits buys Miami redevelopment site

Posted: 14 Feb 2022 08:00 AM PST

While battling lenders to keep control of their office and hotel projects in New York City, developers Toby Moskovits and Michael Lichtenstein have splashed down in Miami with a $6.3 million acquisition. Their Brooklyn-based development firm Heritage Equity Partners bought the Midas automotive service center at 2140 Northeast Second Avenue in the neighborhood of Edgewater. Heritage plans to redevelop the half-acre site into Edgewood 22, an 18-story, 120-unit rental project designed by Miami architect Bernard

David Koch’s widow looks to sell 740 Park Ave. duplex

Posted: 14 Feb 2022 06:50 AM PST

An Upper East Side address that counts Rockefeller and Kennedy Onassis among the names of former residents might soon add Koch to the list. Julia Koch, widow of the late billionaire David Koch, is shopping the couple’s apartment at 740 Park Avenue for approximately $60 million, the Wall Street Journal reported. A spokesperson for Koch told the outlet she is looking to sell as she spends more time at her Southampton and Palm Beach homes.

Nimbys-cum-preservationists crush Long Island apartment project

Posted: 14 Feb 2022 05:45 AM PST

Would-be developers of a five-story, 75-unit building in Great Neck might as well have proposed a toxic waste dump. Opposition from Village of Thomaston residents sprung up immediately last July, citing all the usual complaints about suburban apartment projects. It was big, ugly, architecturally inappropriate, and would change the character of their town. It would burden local schools with new students, cause traffic congestion, hog up parking spots, generate noise, despoil the environment, overwhelm water

Blackstone snags $415M industrial refinancing

Posted: 14 Feb 2022 05:00 AM PST

Blackstone is keeping plenty busy on the industrial front, most recently refinancing more than 100 properties for upwards of $400 million. Clarion Partners provided the $415 million mezzanine loan for the 110-property portfolio, the Commercial Observer reported. The 15.7 million-square-foot portfolio spans 15 American markets. The portfolio is more than 93 percent leased, according to the Observer. More than 300 tenants fill the properties, which include locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Phoenix and Atlanta markets.

David and Goliath saga unfolds at Naftali condo conversion

Posted: 14 Feb 2022 04:00 AM PST

For Naftali Group, the conversion of an Upper West Side apartment building into condos has proved a tough row to hoe. Last summer, some long-standing tenants refused to vacate 215 West 84th Street after the developer gave notice that it would not renew their leases. Now a lone renter is blocking the project’s completion and costing Miki Naftali’s firm tens of millions in the process, the developer alleges in a lawsuit. The company is suing