The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Rotem Rosen’s MRR hits $73M target in bond issue for Lower East Side hotel buy

Posted: 04 Sep 2018 04:00 PM PDT

Rotem Rosen’s MRR Development raised $73 million on the Israeli bond market on Monday. This is MRR’s first foray on the Israeli market, and the funds from the institutional bond offering are intended to finance the $162.5 million purchase of the 294-key Hotel Indigo on the Lower East Side. Demand for the bond, which is secured by a senior position on the hotel, exceeded the target of $72 million. The final deal carries an interest […]

Korean firm in talks to buy London office building completely filled by WeWork

Posted: 04 Sep 2018 03:45 PM PDT

Days after Cushman & Wakfefield released a report that claimed investors discount U.S. office buildings with high WeWork tenancies, one of South Korea’s largest investors is in talks to buy a London office property … entirely filled by WeWork. Holding company Hana Financial Group is in discussions to buy the landmarked One Poultry Building in Central London from Aermont Capital, according to Bloomberg. Aermont, which bought the property for approximately $140 million in 2014, has […]

Emanuel heads for exit with Downtown development booming, other neighborhoods feeling left out

Posted: 04 Sep 2018 03:30 PM PDT

Mayor Rahm Emanuel has regularly touted his administration’s ability to lure corporate headquarters to Downtown from the suburbs — and beyond — and last year boasted of the record number of tower cranes adding to the city’s office and residential tower development. Emanuel, who stunned the city Tuesday when he announced he would not seek a third term, has led Chicago during a time of explosive real estate growth that tracked the nationwide economy’s strong […]

The Yard lowers prices as co-working competition intensifies

Posted: 04 Sep 2018 03:15 PM PDT

Is the co-working industry heading for a price war? The Yard slashed the rent for a desk to $20.18 per month for the remainder of the year, down from the usual $670 to $1,000, Crain’s reported. The move comes mere weeks after news broke that WeWork is offering tenants that switch over from other coworking companies 50 percent off their first year’s rent. The company is also offering a 100-percent commission to brokers who bring […]

Zaha Hadid’s South Beach condo unit just sold at a discount

Posted: 04 Sep 2018 03:00 PM PDT

UPDATED, Sept. 4, 3:55 p.m.: More than two years after her death, Zaha Hadid’s condo at the W South Beach just sold for $5.75 million. The late architect’s three-bedroom, four-bathroom corner unit at 2201 Collins Avenue was placed on the market in May 2016 at $10 million following her death. The asking price on what had been three separate units was reduced to $6.5 million in November 2016. The 2,541-square-foot condo, which Hadid designed, sold […]

Bill Ackman sells Beresford condo to ex for $15M. Here’s the other real estate in play.

Posted: 04 Sep 2018 02:45 PM PDT

Hedge funder Bill Ackman is parting ways with his duplex at the Beresford for $15 million. The silver-haired founder of Pershing Square Capital Management looks to have sold the co-op to his ex, landscape architect Karen Ann Herskovitz, for $15 million, property records show. Ackman’s not quite leaving the building, though, having scooped up two eighth-floor apartments last year at the storied Upper West Side building. The Ackmans, who were married for 25 years, reportedly […]

Not just Kushner Companies: The city is owed $1.5B in fines

Posted: 04 Sep 2018 02:30 PM PDT

Kushner Companies is hardly the only firm that owes the city money. As of last October, the city is owed $1.5 billion in fines for building code violations, Crain’s reported. That’s a 6 percent drop from the 2016 amount. In 2016, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed bills that sought to help the city collect outstanding fines. But the city has struggled with the issue, the report said. Landlords and developers, who often own property through […]

Not dead yet: New York Wheel deadline extended to Sept. 11

Posted: 04 Sep 2018 02:15 PM PDT

The New York Wheel will live on for at least one more week. The developers and contractor Mammoet-Starneth reached an agreement in early May that gave them 120 days to find a way to move forward on the project or put a permanent end to it. Although this deadline was originally set for Sept. 5, it has now been pushed back to at least Sept. 11 as the parties work to negotiate an amendment to […]

Hamptons Cheat Sheet: 10-acre spread on Sagaponack Pond lists for $35M … & more

Posted: 04 Sep 2018 02:00 PM PDT

Ten-acre spread on Sagaponack Pond lists for $35M Two parcels covering about 10 acres in Bridgehampton have been listed together for $35M, Curbed first reported. They’re also available separately, with the pond-fronted property listed for $20 million and the other priced at $15 million. The waterfront parcel at 363 Sagaponack Road features a nine-bedroom, 6,000-square-foot home that dates back to 1850. At 351 Sagaponack Road sits a four-bedroom, 2,850-square-foot home and a heated gunite pool. Curbed […]

The Real Deal’s September issue is now available to our subscribers

Posted: 04 Sep 2018 01:30 PM PDT

The Real Deal’s biggest issue of the year is live, and digital subscribers to TRD are getting the first look at what’s inside. Subscribers now have access to stories including: – A deep dive into Compass, which just launched its commercial division – A behind-the-scenes look at the AG’s Real Estate Finance Bureau master plan – Most major real estate is owned by LLCs. Does it matter? Subscribe now to stay one step ahead of […]

Facebook continues to bet on California real estate with Bay Area expansion

Posted: 04 Sep 2018 01:00 PM PDT

Facebook recorded the biggest one-day drop in its stock value in July, but it has not slowed down its real estate purchases. The social media giant opened its new 525,200-square-foot office in Menlo Park last week and has big plans to further expand in the Bay Area, according to Bloomberg. Those plans include leasing over 1 million square feet in San Francisco, including the entirety of John Buck Company’s 43-story Park Tower at Transbay. It […]

Editor’s note: Data drama

Posted: 04 Sep 2018 12:30 PM PDT

Data can sometimes be dry. CoStar’s story is anything but. In this month’s cover article, we take a look at the $15 billion real estate data firm, which has a near-monopoly serving the commercial leasing industry and has made great strides in the residential space. Some of CoStar’s recent tactics — including an armed raid sheriffs conducted on a company in the Philippines that worked for CoStar’s largest competitor, Xceligent — seem as though they’re […]

Puma moving Garment District office and showroom to Penn Station area

Posted: 04 Sep 2018 12:00 PM PDT

Puma is relocating its offices and showroom out of the Garment District to the area around Pennsylvania Station. The sportswear retailer signed a lease for just shy of 29,000 square feet at Haymes Investment Company’s 5 Penn Plaza, Puma’s brokers told The Real Deal. The company is taking the entire 21st floor in a 10-year deal. Asking rent for the space was $70 per square foot. Haymes in 2016 kicked off a renovation of the […]

Lightstone picks up another Bronx portfolio for $53M

Posted: 04 Sep 2018 11:15 AM PDT

The Lightstone Group has closed on its purchase of a trio of Bronx properties for $53 million, extending its push into the borough’s multifamily market. The neighboring sites are located at 2197 Cruger Avenue, 2198 Cruger Avenue and 2180 Bronx Park East, according to property records. The package was billed as the “Pelham Parkway Portfolio” in marketing materials, and Lightstone purchased the properties from the Bronx River Management Corporation. The company had put the buildings […]

Manhattan’s luxe resi market logs 16 contracts: Olshan

Posted: 04 Sep 2018 10:31 AM PDT

After a flurry of luxury residential contracts were signed at the end of August, the final week of the month saw a less flashy 16 deals, according to Olshan Realty’s weekly market report. From Aug. 27 to Sept. 2, 16 contracts priced at $4 million and up were signed, according to Olshan. The most expensive contract was for a six-bedroom unit at 13 Harrison Street with an asking price of $11.5 million. But the apartment […]

Forest City’s chief development officer leaves company

Posted: 04 Sep 2018 10:00 AM PDT

Forest City Realty Trust’s chief development officer Ronald Ratner is leaving the company, the real estate investment trust announced in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Tuesday. The departure comes as the Ratner family is gradually losing influence at the Cleveland-based company. Ronald Ratner is the son of the company’s founder, Max Ratner, and is the first cousin of Bruce Ratner, who serves as executive chairman of Forest City New York. In mid-2017 […]

Equity Residential taps new CEO, CFO

Posted: 04 Sep 2018 09:30 AM PDT

After more than a decade as Equity Residential‘s CEO and president, David Neithercut will step down at the end of this year. The Chicago-based real estate investment trust has tapped Mark Parrell as Neithercut’s successor, company representatives announced Tuesday. Parrell will immediately assume the role of president and will be appointed CEO after Neithercut retires on Dec. 31. Neithercut, 62, has served as president and CEO since 2006 and will continue to serve on the […]

Realogy, PHH Corporation to pay $17M to settle kickback suit

Posted: 04 Sep 2018 09:10 AM PDT

Brokerage conglomerate Realogy and mortgage provider PHH Corporation will pay $17 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging a years-long kickback scheme. The settlement, recently approved by a California judge, stems from a 2015 lawsuit that accused Realogy and PHH of funneling title insurance business to Title Insurance Group, a Realogy subsidiary. They did so through a business called PHH Home Loans, which facilitated the arrangement in violation of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures […]

Here are the week’s top luxury sales

Posted: 04 Sep 2018 08:32 AM PDT

Each week, The Real Deal and CityRealty look back at Manhattan’s priciest apartment sales.

Cooper-Horowitz taps Winick directors to lead new investment sales platform

Posted: 04 Sep 2018 08:02 AM PDT

As the industry consolidates, Cooper-Horowitz is getting in on the current hiring frenzy by launching an investment sales platform. The mortgage brokerage has tapped Elana Tsyganko and Max Kostikov, both previously directors of Winick Realty Group’s investment sales group, to lead its new platform, Commercial Observer reported. “We’ve looked very carefully at launching an investment sales platform for some time and are very excited to have Elana and Max join,” said Richard Horowitz, a principal […]

Brooklyn luxury market saw 11 contracts signed last week

Posted: 04 Sep 2018 07:32 AM PDT

The Brooklyn luxury market saw 11 contracts signed last week, split between seven houses, three condos and one co-op. The properties sold for about $28.6 million overall and went for an average price of about $2.6 million, according to the latest report from Stribling & Associates. The firm defines the borough’s luxury market as all homes priced at $2 million or higher. This was the first time in three weeks that a unit at the […]

Trump is considering a tax break that would be a boon for real estate

Posted: 04 Sep 2018 07:01 AM PDT

President Trump is considering a tax break that would link capital gains to inflation. Such a change would cut tax bills for investors selling real estate or stock by adjusting the original purchase price for inflation. For example, under current law, corporate stock with dividends held for a decade would be subject to a tax rate of 24.3 percent. When indexed to inflation, that rate falls to 21.4 percent, according to estimates by the Congressional […]

Death of retail? Not so fast: Stores find ways to adapt

Posted: 04 Sep 2018 06:30 AM PDT

While many retailers continue to struggle to compete against the likes of Amazon, others are learning how to adapt. The pace of store closings has slowed this year, with 4,480 so far compared to nearly 5,700 at the same time in 2017, the New York Times reported. The strongest among the surviving stores are finding ways to meet the demands of a changed consumer. For example, Target lets buyers place orders from their phones and […]

Massey’s B6 Real Estate Advisors hires Queens pro from Cushman

Posted: 04 Sep 2018 06:00 AM PDT

Paul Massey’s B6 Real Estate Advisors has lured yet another former colleague from Massey Knakal Realty Services and Cushman & Wakefield. Tom Donovan, vice chairman at Cushman’s capital markets group, is joining B6 as a partner and vice chairman, Commercial Observer reported. In his new position, he will oversee investment sales in Queens. Donovan joined Massey Knakal in 1998 and helped grow the firm’s operations in Queens from two brokers to more than 20. He […]

Marx Realty snatches up two LES office buildings for $48.5M

Posted: 04 Sep 2018 05:30 AM PDT

UPDATE, Tuesday September 4, 1:41 p.m.: Caspi Development and its partners sold two Bowery office buildings to national developer and landlord Marx Realty for a combined total of $48.5 million. The properties are located one block away from one another at 135 and 161 Bowery on the Lower East Side and were owned by a joint venture including Caspi, RWN Real Estate Partners and Artemis Real Estate Partners. A fourth company, Ultimate Realty, had a […]

Search and destroy: How CoStar became a $15B juggernaut

Posted: 04 Sep 2018 04:30 AM PDT

Just before 8 a.m. on Dec. 13, 2016, two teams of sheriffs descended upon narrow streets lined with cinder block buildings in Laoag, a city in northern Philippines. They stormed a pair of office buildings, leading some onlookers to think brawls had broken out. In fact, the target was Avion BPO, a call center and research facility with U.S. clients. A group of panicked Avion researchers locked themselves in a room. Other employees, including two […]

These were the biggest Manhattan real estate loans in July

Posted: 04 Sep 2018 04:00 AM PDT

Banks backed three major components of the future Manhattan skyline last month in lending deals totaling $1.5 billion. All together, the 10 largest real estate loans in July totaled $3.26 billion, and in addition to construction projects, included several nine-digit refinancings. See the full list below: 1) Easy as 1,2,3 – $715 million As Silverstein Properties moved to close on the acquisition of the ABC network headquarters on the Upper West Side, the developer also […]