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| City Council gives final OK to Astoria Cove project Posted: 25 Nov 2014 03:03 PM PST Melissa Mark-Viverito and a rendering of Astoria Cove (Credit: Studio V Architects) Alma Realty’s massive Astoria Cove project in Queens has passed the muster of the New York City Council. The development team agreed to rely entirely on union labor for construction and to allot about 460 – or 27 percent — of the 1,723 apartments for affordable housing, the New York Observer reported. Alma also said it would renovate a nearby park and include a new public school and grocery store on the site. “Now we have a project that is more in tune, and truly reflective of the needs of the surrounding community,” said Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said prior to the vote. “We have a project that is much more in-tune, and represents community-oriented development. This is the way that we should be going.” The Committee on Land Use approved the project earlier this month. News emerged this week that Steve Valiotis, a principal of Alma, allegedly bribed representatives of a Greek bank to get a $5.7 million loan in 1990, as previously reported. [NYO] — Mark Maurer |
| Posted: 25 Nov 2014 02:30 PM PST Rendering of plaza at East 118th Street in Harlem (Credit: Ten Architectos) 1. Community board vote on Crown Heights rezoning incorrectly recorded [DNAinfo] – Mark Maurer |
| Ex-Goldman exec asking $43M for Bridgehampton estate Posted: 25 Nov 2014 02:00 PM PST 207 Highland Terrace in Bridgehampton (inset: Susan Breitenbach and Jonathan Sobel) Jonathan Sobel, an investor and former partner at Goldman Sachs, has put his five-acre Bridgehampton compound on the market for $43 million — making it one of the priciest Hamptons listings. Sobel acquired the estate at 207 Highland Terrace for $13 million in 2011. The 10-bedroom, 15,000-square-foot house on the site features a pool, tennis court, four-car garage and an 1,800-bottle wine cellar. Susan Breitenbach of the Corcoran Group has the listing, which notes that a prospective buyer could acquire just three of the five acres for the price of $35 million. In 2012, Sobel bought a co-op at 740 Park Avenue on the Upper East Side, as previously reported. [NYDN] – Mark Maurer
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| New peek at Midtown Equities’ 300K sf LES resi project Posted: 25 Nov 2014 01:25 PM PST Rendering of the rooftop at 155 Attorney Street (Credit: Studio V Architecture) Some fresh renderings — courtesy of Studio V Architecture — are available for a new residential project at 155 Attorney Street. Rendering of the front facade of 155 Attorney Street (Credit: Studio V Architecture) The new renderings show a rooftop with a view of the Empire State Building. The drawings also offer a closer look at the front door of the building and its glassy façade. The one-story, 5,000-square-foot Plantains Wholesale Beer warehouse that used to occupy the lot has been demolished — after the developer applied for a permit to do so in August 2013. Midtown Equities, headed by Jack Cayre, reportedly bought the property in 2013 for roughly $15 million. In February, the developer took out three mortgages on the property totaling $13.5 million, city records indicate. The new luxury building will have 37 units across a total of 299,772 square feet. Plantains Wholesale Beer warehouse that used to be located at 155 Attorney Street Studio V Architects is the architect of record on the project. The firm is also responsible for the design for the massive Astoria Cove redevelopment along the Queens waterfront, Empire Stores in Dumbo and the Bronx General Post Office that was recently bought by Youngwoo & Associates. Rendering of 155 Attorney Street (Credit: Studio V Architecture) Midtown Equities and Studio V are also working together on the Empire Stores project, which has commenced construction. That project is expected to be completed in October 2015. |
| Brokerage moving into Jane Jacobs’ former Village pad Posted: 25 Nov 2014 12:50 PM PST From left: Blair Brandt, 555 Hudson Street and Jane Jacobs Check out New York City, just the way Jane Jacobs did. A startup brokerage that targets recent college grads is opening an office in the West Village home where the famed urban activist formed her influential ideas on big-city living. The Next Step Realty, which helps recent grads find apartments when they move to New York, plans to open its fourth Manhattan office early next year at 555 Hudson Street. The property is the three-story, red brick townhouse Jacobs referred to several times in her groundbreaking 1961 book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities. “Like Jane Jacobs, the Next Step organization carries a genuine appreciation for New York City,” company CEO Blair Brandt said. “We are honored to preserve her home and continue her mission of creating a Manhattan that is welcoming to the many first time renters who dream of living in New York.” Brandt said the new office is located near the neighborhoods where roughly a third of his clients prefer to live: Tribeca, the West Village, the Meatpacking District and Chelsea. Back in Jacobs’s days, the ground floor of her townhouse was home to a candy shop she frequented as she observed the “sidewalk ballet” and “eyes on the streets” she would write about in her seminal work. The writer and activist lived in the home from 1947 to 1968 when she and her husband left for Toronto to keep their sons out of the Vietnam War draft. In 1971, she sold the home, which was most recently purchased in 2009 for $3.3 million. Next Step signed a two-year lease for the 1,000-square-foot space. Past retail tenants include a children’s bookstore and Glassybaby, a purveyor of hand-blown glass cups and candle holders. Next Step launched in South Florida in 2010 as an online referral service and opened its first office in Manhattan in 2012. The company’s campus-to-keys approach aims to seamlessly guide recent grads through their move to the city. |
| Gowanus residents warn: Rezoning will lead to luxe high-rises Posted: 25 Nov 2014 12:25 PM PST Gowanus Canal and Brad Lander Gowanus residents made a last-ditch effort at a public meeting last night to derail neighborhood rezoning that allows for luxury high-rise buildings. The meeting at P.S. 36 in Carroll Gardens was the final public hearing on “Bridging Gowanus,” a proposal to require major infrastructure investments before shiny new residential towers could rise. Representatives from Pratt Institute said many residents say they would be okay with some taller properties if the rezoning meets other goals. “I find it difficult to believe the majority of people who are actual residents of Gowanus would give up open sky for eight- to 18-story buildings. I would like proof,” Linda Mariano of Friends and Residents of Greater Gowanus said at the meeting, as cited by Brownstoner. Council Member Brad Lander said the meetings served as a way to build a consensus about the rezoning. The City Council has yet to vote on the plan. Lander, as well as Representative Nydia Velazquez and City Council members Brad Lander, Steve Levin and Carlos Menchaca are behind the proposal. [Brownstoner] — Mark Maurer |
| Rockefeller University lands $150M for expansion Posted: 25 Nov 2014 11:54 AM PST Rendering of Rockefeller University campus and David Rockefeller David Rockefeller, retired chair of Chase Manhattan Bank, and philanthropy nonprofit the Stavros Niarchos Foundation donated a total of $150 million for the planned two-acre extension of Rockefeller University. Each of the contributors gave $75 million toward the project that’s expected to cost at least $425 millionz. Plans call for a platform over FDR Drive from East 64th to 68th streets, to hold four new school buildings. The complex will be called the Stavros Niarchos Foundation-David Rockefeller River Campus. A two-story flagship property is set to cost $285 million, which is included in the total budget. In May, the City Council’s Committee on Land Use approved the school’s plan, as previously reported. Construction is expected to begin early next year. [Crain's] — Mark Maurer
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| Waste-transfer station opponents unleash attack ad: VIDEO Posted: 25 Nov 2014 11:20 AM PST Rendering of Upper East Side waste-transfer site (Credit: Michael Singer Studio and Thomas O’Connor) Upper East Side residents who oppose the controversial waste-transfer station planned for East 91st Street released an attack ad yesterday. In it, area locals accuse Mayor Bill de Blasio of ignoring the project’s impact on low-income and minority communities in the area. Pledge 2 Protect, a coalition of nonprofits and local businesses leading the opposition, paid for the 30-second video, titled “De Blasio’s Dirty Little Secret.” The spot features several anonymous residents discussing their concerns about the project, including the proximity to two New York City Housing Authority properties. Backers of the project have said it would distribute the city’s garbage more evenly, rather than in predominantly low-income neighborhoods. An Independent Budget Office study released earlier this month found that the station would cost triple what the city currently pays to transport garbage through Manhattan. — Mark Maurer |
| Ex-Corcoran broker gets jail time for townhouse burglary Posted: 25 Nov 2014 10:44 AM PST 141 West 81st Street on Upper West Side, and David Kim A judge ordered David Kim, a former broker at the Corcoran Group, to serve up to nine years in prison for burglarizing a five-story Upper West Side townhouse that he helped sell. Art dealer Tina Kim and her husband, Jae Chung, bought the home at 141 West 81st Street, between Columbus and Amsterdam avenues, for $7.6 million in 2012. The following year, Kim, who served as a broker on that deal, entered the home and stole about $500,000 in luxury items such as a Gucci wallet, Louis Vuitton accessories and a Hermès passport holder. Kim pleaded guilty to criminal possession of stolen property; grand larceny; forgery and two counts of identity theft as part of a plea deal, the New York Post reported. Police said they found the stolen property in Kim’s home. Justice Gregory Carro set Kim’s prison sentence at three to nine years. At the sentencing Monday, Assistance District Attorney Randolph Clarke Jr. read a letter from Chung, in which he said, “Even more than the loss of our property, we now live and sleep in a house where we worry that an intruder can enter and do us harm.” [NYP] — Mark Maurer |
| Lexin Capital to put up 800-foot tower on Nassau Street lots Posted: 25 Nov 2014 10:11 AM PST From left: 75 Nassau Street and Metin Negrin Lexin Capital is planning to build an 800-foot-tall tower at 75-83 Nassau Street in the Financial District. The development firm closed on the original buildings at the site for $46 million in June. Metin Negrin’s development company went into contract on the buildings at 75 and 79 Nassau Street in December 2013. Lexin also bought 83 Nassau Street, for $17.4 million, as well as development rights linked to 85 Nassau Street, according to New York YIMBY. ODA Architecture is designing the new tower. The new project will likely be luxury rentals or condos, according to the website. Combined, the parcels could hold up to 200,000 square feet of development space. Tens of thousands of additional square feet could be included from 85 Nassau’s development rights. [NY YIMBY] — Claire Moses
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| Best Western in Times Square cut a break on $78M mortgage Posted: 25 Nov 2014 09:35 AM PST 234 West 48th Street in Midtown Hampshire Hotels & Resorts has been granted a modification of its $77.6 million mortgage on the 334-room Best Western President hotel in Times Square, allowing for rate relief and one-year extension options. The 16-story hotel at 234 West 48th Street is one of many struggling to raise prices for rooms while maintaining high occupancy rates. The lender approved Hampshire’s request from June to change the loan arrangement – as well as the hotel’s change of brand to Tryp by Wyndham. “A $7.5 million principal payment was remitted,” a spokesperson for Trepp LLC told the Wall Street Journal. “Occupany at the hotel has increased. However, the borrower has not been able to increase rates.” There is already a Tryp by Wyndham located in Midtown, at 345 West 35th Street. [WSJ] — Mark Maurer |
| What’s hot on TRD Social right now Posted: 25 Nov 2014 09:05 AM PST 1. Saks Fifth Avenue building gets $3.7B valuation Like The Real Deal on Facebook for breaking industry stories, links to quirkier pieces and lively conversation about important properties in New York and around the world. [TRD's Facebook Page] |
| Andre Balazs’ $400M bid for Standard High Line stalled Posted: 25 Nov 2014 08:33 AM PST 848 Washington Street in Meatpacking District, and Andre Balazs Hotelier Andre Balazs’ plan to acquire the Standard High Line from Dune Real Estate Partners and Greenfield Partners for $400 million has hit a hitch. After the investor group led by Balazs entered contract in February, an Asian partner in the group backed out. The buyers then lost their down payment after failing to close the deal. Balazs’ group is in the process of finding a new partner. Dune and Greenfield, which have spent $240 million on the 18-story, 338-room property at 848 Washington Street, are moving to refinance the debt. Balazs and his partners own Standard International, which operates the hotel. If the deal were to close for $400 million – or roughly $1.2 million per room — it would be one of the priciest sales ever for a hotel of that size, the Wall Street Journal reported. Greenfield and Dune wanted out because they had to return some funds to investors within a certain time frame, as previously reported. [WSJ] — Mark Maurer |
| Vornado plunks down $142M for LIC office building Posted: 25 Nov 2014 08:04 AM PST The Center Building in Long Island City, Queens Vornado Realty Trust is buying the Center Building, a 437,000-square-foot office building in Long Island City, for $142 million. The eight-story building at 33-00 Northern Boulevard is about 98 percent leased, according to an announcement by the company. The purchase price includes an existing $62 million mortgage with a 4.43 percent interest rate. The building last traded hands in December 2012, when a group of investors paid $84.5 million for the property after it hit the market earlier that year for $90 million. The property includes 62 parking spaces. A number of city agencies are leasing space at the building. — Claire Moses |
| Posted: 25 Nov 2014 07:30 AM PST 555 Park Avenue 1. A $2.4 million discount on a swanky Upper East Side co-op [Curbed] — Claire Moses |
| Treetop buys $27.5M Harlem portfolio from Heritage Real Estate Posted: 25 Nov 2014 07:00 AM PST From left: Steven Vegh, 519 West 43rd Street and Azi Mandel Treetop Development purchased a three-building package from Heritage Real Estate Partners for $27.5 million, The Real Deal has learned. The deal, coupled with one in September, means that Heritage has made a $15 million profit on a portfolio it bought just a year ago. The three elevator-buildings that Treetop bought — 519 West 143rd Street, 548 West 164th Street and 610 West 163rd Street — include a combined 130 units across 134,000 square feet. Heritage sold the buildings through an LLC known as Majestic Partners. They were part of a four-building portfolio — also including 3489-3499 Broadway — that Majestic bought in 2013 for $45 million from Long Island-based Jadam Equities. Real estate investment firm Acuity Capital Partners bought the Broadway property from Heritage for $33 million in September. Westwood Realty Associates’ Steven Vegh was the sole broker on the off-market transaction. He couldn’t be reached for comment by press time. Treetop’s Azi Mandel declined to comment. The New Jersey-based firm has been active in Harlem recently, selling part of its portfolio to Flatbush-based E&M Associates for $29 million in August. Other Harlem portfolios that have traded hands recently include AIMCO’s 21-building residential and retail portfolio, which sold for $67 million in September. Madison Realty Capital and RWN Real Estate Partners bought two buildings along Frederick Douglass Boulevard this fall as well.
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| Astoria Cove developer allegedly bribed Greek bank in 1990 Posted: 25 Nov 2014 06:30 AM PST From left: Steve Valiotis and a rendering of Astoria Cove (Credit: Studio V Architecture) A 1995 court decision reveals that Steve Valiotis, a principal of Astoria Cove developer Alma Realty, allegedly bribed representatives of a Greek bank to get a $5.7 million loan in 1990. Valiotis, as well as another director of shipping company Levant Lines, allegedly bribed a third party after they met officials from lender Banque Franco-Hellenic de Commerce, according to court documents cited by the New York Daily News. Levant was the operator of a cargo vessel between the U.S. and the Mediterranean and had allegedly been rejected for loans by more than 10 banks. The company needed the funds to buy two ships, according to court documents. Levant ultimately got the loan. A judge presiding over a lawsuit between the bank and another investor noted there was “convincing evidence” that the loan was secured due to the alleged bribe in which Valiotis was involved, according to the newspaper. Valiotis was not named in that suit. Alma Realty is the developer behind the Astoria Cove project in Queens, which will bring 1,700 new residential units and was recently approved by the city council’s land use committee. That approval came after the developer agreed to add more affordable units. The full city council is expected to cast a final vote on the massive development today. “The de Blasio administration should not be negotiating with these guys,” Jaron Benjamin, the former director of the Met Council on Housing told the newspaper. But a city spokesman told the newspaper that “projects are evaluated on their merits. Astoria Cove will create the affordable housing and services this community needs.” [NYDN] — Claire Moses |
| Cannes bust-up: JLL reviewing top retail broker Robert Gibson after brawl Posted: 25 Nov 2014 06:00 AM PST From left: Robert Gibson, Chealsy Choquette and Le Vesuvio, Cannes Robert Gibson, a JLL vice-chairman who runs the brokerage’s Manhattan retail division, allegedly had to be restrained by restaurant employees following a tussle with a female guest as a Thor Equities party in Cannes was winding down last week, several attendees told The Real Deal. Gibson was in town to attend MAPIC, Europe’s big retail conference. While at a party hosted by Thor at the restaurant Le Vesuvio on November 18, he got into a heated argument with Chealsy Choquette, a former sales director for Thor in Paris, according to sources who were present. A shouting match broke out between Gibson and Choquette, and sources said Gibson then addressed Choquette using a derogatory term used to refer to a woman. During the dispute, Choquette picked up a glass and swung it at Gibson, who was gearing up to fight back before he was tackled by busboys and other restaurant employees, sources said, although the exact sequence of events remains unclear. Gibson was dragged outside, “and was getting loud and boisterous,” one eyewitness to a portion of the events told The Real Deal. Gibson, who moved to JLL from Cushman & Wakefield earlier this year, did not respond to a request for comment. JLL said it was looking into the incident. “While we cannot address the details of this specific incident, JLL always seeks to operate at the highest levels of integrity and takes reported violations of its Code of Business Ethics very seriously,” a spokesperson for the company said in a statement. “We are gathering relevant information and will take appropriate action after our review.” When reached for comment, a manager at Vesuvio said the night was uneventful and ended around 1 a.m. Choquette, who now works as a sales director at luxury bakery Ladurée, declined to comment through a spokesperson. |
| Is Urban Compass really the future? Posted: 25 Nov 2014 05:30 AM PST From left: Ori Allon, Leonard Steinberg, Kyle Blackmon and Robert Reffkin Brown Harris Stevens’ Twitter handle reads, simply, “@Established1873.” The brokerage trades upon its distinguished lineage and generally manages to keep its white-gloved hands out of industry drama. But when real estate startup Urban Compass poached elite broker Kyle Blackmon last week, BHS president Hall Willkie decided it was time for those gloves to come off. “Kyle has made the decision that the equity proposition offered to him trumps a singular focus on brokerage,” Willkie said in a statement to The Real Deal. He questioned the wisdom of that decision in an internal BHS memo that stated: “The value of Kyle’s or anyone’s equity will be dependent on the success of Urban Compass’ founders implementing their vision of selling their company for substantially more than many industry experts believe is possible.” Willkie’s statement echoed what many in the industry have whispered – or shouted under the cloak of anonymity – for months. Urban Compass, these sources say, is merely an idea – albeit a well-choreographed, Ivy League and McKinsey-branded one. But even with a $360 million valuation, they ask, is it really the future? Tech leg up? A screenshot of the Urban Compass app Urban Compass has always stressed that its competitive advantage is superior technology, both for the consumer and the broker. “Just the way Apple made buying and listening to music significantly different, I think this company can have the same effect on real estate,” Urban Compass president and top-ranked broker Leonard Steinberg told TRD in June. But it’s still unclear to many in the industry, including former employees, what exactly that advantage is. “Urban Compass likes to think that from Day One their technology was really differentiated,” said a former broker who left the company earlier this month. “The reality is their technology looked better but was actually behind and they were piecing it together from scratch.” “It wasn’t a game-changer by any means,” the agent added. Robert Reffkin, CEO of Urban Compass, acknowledged the difficulty he’s faced in creating believers out of those who haven’t seen the technology first-hand. “It’s hard,” he said during an interview Tuesday night at the startup’s Union Square headquarters. “How would you explain why the iPhone is better than the Samsung? Your users have to feel it and see it.” While the existence of the technology in of itself isn’t novel, the intuitiveness of its design is — something that even the firm’s skeptics acknowledge. An agent using the mobile app who wants to send feedback to the firm’s engineers, for example, simply has to shake her mobile phone and a portal will pop up. Also via the app, clients who receive a listing from an agent can click to see a street view of the property, courtesy of Urban Compass’ own mapping technology that is similar to Google Street View. Saving time is at the crux of Reffkin’s agenda. The average New York City agent spends 89 percent of their time performing administrative tasks, he said, citing the firm’s data. He wants his agents to have more time to spend with clients. Sources said Urban Compass agents purchased up to 15 licenses to Real Plus’ electronic listing exchange. As recently as August, brokers were using popular listing databases like StreetEasy, On-Line Residential and Realty MX in lieu of the company’s own search engine. Adam Fleming, who was Urban Compass’ head of engineering until he moved to real estate startup Honest Buildings in June, said that Urban Compass’ thesis “is empowering customers and agents to find each other in the right way and right time.” Fleming, who declined to say why he left Urban Compass, said that the firm had a “pretty nice algorithm” that matches customers with appropriate agents. “Agents receive tremendous support inside Urban Compass,” he said, “that they don’t get anywhere else.” Cherry picking From left: Julia Hoagland, Timothy Rothman and Howard Spiegelman Blackmon is the latest in a long line of big names to join the firm since ex-Elliman stalwart Steinberg came over in June. These include Julia Hoagland from BHS, Timothy Rothman and Howard Spiegelman from the Corcoran Group, Eugene Litvak from Citi Habitats, Roy Kim from Extell Development and Jay Glazer from Warburg Realty. Without a concrete advantage early on, Urban Compass offered equity to lure top producers to its ranks. “The only differentiating factor they could offer was equity,” said a former broker. And as the startup continued its phenomenal fundraising run, the appeal of that equity stake kept rising. Reffkin confirmed to TRD that the firm has offered equity to top brokers. “Every advisory business I know gives equity to the people that help build it,” he said. “A real estate brokerage should do the same. Some of these agents have built their companies with the brand they [help to] create.” The head of a rival brokerage cited the equity as Urban Compass’ main draw. “Aside from the ones they [Urban Compass] bought – Julia Hoagland, Kyle Blackmon, Leonard Steinberg – they haven’t attracted any top brokers,” the brokerage head said. Another former agent who was among Urban Compass’ first hires said that when she left the firm after 18 months, she walked away from an equity stake. “I didn’t believe it was worth anything at the end of the day,” she said. “The idea was that they were going to be different from other brokerages and that was always the plan. Then every time we executed one of the ideas that they had, they realized this doesn’t work.” In May, for example, the startup shifted from a neighborhood specialist-driven model to one more in line with a traditional brokerage’s, and pivoted from rentals to sales, which also put the firm on a mission to recruit top agents. Beyond the commissions that these top agents bring, Urban Compass relies on them to provide feedback and help it build cutting-edge products that can upend the industry. And brokers who’ve left bigger firms for Urban Compass said they’re eager to be part of a brokerage with an empathetic ear. “I didn’t want to leave Brown Harris but I did want to come to Urban Compass and one or the other had to win,” said Hoagland, “You have to take some risks and hopefully they’re very calculated. It’s a leap of faith at the end of the day.” Investors come knockin’ From left: Bill Rudin, Jared Kushner, Josh Kushner and Marc Benioff To say Urban Compass had a meteoric rise is almost an understatement. To date, the startup has raised more than $70 million, including a $40 million Series B round in July that doubled its valuation to more than $360 million – a staggering amount, according to tech industry sources. Among its investors are Founders Fund, Goldman Sachs, Joshua Kushner’s Thrive Capital, Advance Publications, Marc Benioff, and New York real estate names like Bill Rudin and Jared Kushner. Flush with funding, Urban Compass has been able to act on its ambitions. In March, it took 9,000 square feet of space at 19 Union Square West, paying rents in the mid-$60s per square foot, according to CompStak data. It then doubled its space at Aby Rosen’s 90 Fifth Avenue to 50,000 square feet, paying rents in the mid-$70s per square foot, CompStak data show. And in September, it expanded to Rosen’s trophy Lever House at 390 Park Avenue, signing a lease for 10,700 square feet. And its resources are being used not only on agents, but on engineers, too – it now has 21 of them working full time. “You were really working at the speed of thought,” Fleming, the former head engineer, said. “If there was operational appetite to execute it, there were not any other barriers.” But Urban Compass may have raced out of the gate too fast. “They’re sprinting a marathon, but so far it seems to be working,” said Dan Miller, president and co-founder of real estate crowd-funding platform Fundrise. Miller, whose firm also raised a healthy chunk of change recently, said Urban Compass’ founders attracted high-caliber backers, and are simultaneously benefitting from broader investor excitement about real estate tech. “I wouldn’t bet against their founding team,” he said. (Executive chairman Ori Allon sold his last two companies to Google and Twitter, and Reffkin’s pedigree includes Goldman Sachs, McKinsey & Company and financial services firm Lazard.) Miller pointed out that Urban Compass is under pressure to sustain its pace. If it does, the company could go public in two years and make a killing, but a key question is whether the company can deploy its technology in new markets and scale quickly enough. “I’m not yet convinced their platform is not just a brokerage business that uses a better technology,” Miller said. “That’s the thing with tech companies. It’s hard to know what’s smoke, what’s reality and who’s having really explosive growth or who’s buying growth.” Selling New York As Urban Compass’ roster of A-list agents has swelled, so have its listings. As of November 24, the firm had $494.9 million in listings, according to data provided by On-Line Residential – a figure that makes it the ninth-largest brokerage in the city by dollar volume of listings. That’s remarkable for a company that hasn’t yet turned two. In comparison, Halstead Property has $674.3 million in listings as of the same date, OLR data show. Town Residential has $457.9 million and Nest Seekers International has $415.5 million. The Corcoran Group had $4.1 billion in listings – the most in the city – followed by Douglas Elliman with $4 billion and Brown Harris Stevens with $2.5 billion. Urban Compass’ number is likely to jump when Blackmon’s listings are reflected. What’s less clear, however, is how many sales Urban Compass has closed this year. Steinberg, for example, is marketing several trophy listings, including a $37.5 million penthouse at 158 Mercer Street that’s been on the market 160 days, according to StreetEasy. But the site’s data show that his recent closings are for apartments with much more modest price tags. Reffkin declined to comment about the startup’s sales, but he did say the firm has about $2 billion in its new development pipeline. Critics of the firm noted that several of Urban Compass’ investors, including the Rudin family and Jared Kushner, don’t use the firm to market their properties. Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group is handling sales for Rudin’s Greenwich Lane project, and Sotheby’s International Realty is handling sales for Kushner’s Puck penthouses. Reffkin countered that most of this product was being marketed before Urban Compass even came into being. So sue me Gary Malin The startup’s ascent hasn’t come without legal challenges. In July, tech entrepreneur Avi Dorfman accused Reffkin of using his product and business model to build Urban Compass, and then cut him out of the action. “This is a company that thinks it can take from people without compensating them,” Dorfman’s attorney Adam Ford told TRD. A month later, rival brokerage Citi Habitats sued the startup, alleging that Urban Compass breached its proprietary listing database. Citi Habitats president Gary Malin alleged the firm was using information from Citi’s LEAR database to lure agents to Urban Compass. But in an October 1 letter to Judge Jeffrey Oing, attorney Eric Leon described Citi Habitats’ accusations this way: “Despite Citi Habitats’ alarmist rhetoric, this case involves, at most, a garden variety claim for trade secret misappropriation spanning a few months in 2014, and even that claim seems to suffer some serious defects.” Urban Legend Robert Reffkin If there’s something Urban Compass does unequivocally well, it is telling their story. The company has skillfully shaped its own brand, starting with a press conference to launch the company in May 2013 headlined by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg. This savvy has extended to damage control, too – when Citi Habitats sued Urban Compass, Urban Compass sponsored a Facebook ad to combat the negative press. The startup has successfully carved a niche for itself as a thought leader in the real estate technology space. In July, it hosted a standing-room-only conference titled the “Future of Real Estate.” There’s even an Urban Compass University channel on YouTube. This fall, the company rolled out an elegant market report chock-full of data and analysis presented in a fresh way. The firm’s offices have all the trappings of a tech startup – pool tables, free catered lunches and other perks such as rooftop yoga. Reffkin, a longtime marathoner, leads a running club. “We have the luxury to build a great culture,” he said. But that culture, and everything else about the company, is constantly subjected to a harsh spotlight. It’s part and parcel of being the industry’s most hyped startup in a city where real estate rules the roost. A quote from Gandhi that Reffkin shared soon after Willkie’s comments may reveal how he feels about his perch. “First they ignore you,” he tweeted, “then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”
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| Charatan’s BCB Property buys UWS portfolio for $81M Posted: 25 Nov 2014 05:00 AM PST 111 West 104th Street, Marco Lala and Debrah Lee Charatan (credit: Flickr) BCB Property Management, the development firm led by Robert Durst’s estranged wife Debrah Lee Charatan and her son Bennat Charatan Berger, acquired a six-building Upper West Side portfolio near Columbia University for $80.75 million, The Real Deal has learned. The portfolio consists of six rental properties — 500 Cathedral Parkway and West 110th Street; 3143, 3147 and 3149 Broadway; 111 West 104th Street and 242 West 109th Street. Together, they hold 152 apartment units — 97 of them market rate — and six retail spaces that currently have five tenants. Aventura, Fla.-based investor Arnold Wax owned the buildings for more than 30 years. He put them on the market for $89 million in April, as TRD reported. Marcus & Millichap’s Marco Lala, Jack Lala and David Raciti represented both sides. BCB, which specializes in New York multifamily properties, closed last week on the assemblage for more than $600 per square foot. It plans to gut-renovate each of the apartments as they are vacated over time, Lala said. A representative for BCB declined to comment. In July, the firm sold two Brooklyn buildings to Fred Wilpon’s Sterling Equities and Enterprise Asset Management, as TRD reported. |
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