The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Early McDonald’s franchisee sells two 1185 Park units for $17M

Posted: 14 Sep 2018 04:19 PM PDT

Early McDonald’s franchisee Irwin S. Kruger sold two units at 1185 Park Avenue for $17.3 million. Sharon Davis, the founder and principal of West Village-based firm Sharon Davis Design, bought the four-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bathroom penthouse for $15.8 million, according to property records. It contains a family room with a billiards table, private elevator landing and a wrap-around terrace. Halstead Property’s Louise Philip Forbes, the broker for the property, confirmed the identity of the buyer. Kruger first […]

Daniel Tishman to be honored with Harry Helmsley award at REBNY gala

Posted: 14 Sep 2018 02:45 PM PDT

Daniel Tishman, vice chairman at Tishman Realty & Construction, will receive the Harry B. Helmsley Distinguished New Yorker Award at the Real Estate Board of New York’s 123rd annual gala in January. “Dan is a major force in propelling the green-building movement to the forefront of the construction industry,” REBNY chairman Bill Rudin said. “He’s a tireless advocate for the city, and like Harry Helmsley he cares deeply about what’s best for our future.” Tishman […]

ESRT exec Thomas DeRosa lists 930 Fifth co-op for $5.9 million

Posted: 14 Sep 2018 02:33 PM PDT

Empire State Realty Trust director Thomas DeRosa has listed his 930 Fifth Avenue apartment for $5.9 million. The Corcoran Group brokerage put the three-bedroom Lenox Hill co-op on StreetEasy on Friday. The sixth-floor in the Emory Roth-designed building features Central Park views and has been recently renovated. In addition to his role at ESRT, a publicly traded real estate investment trust, DeRosa is the CEO of Welltower, a REIT focused on healthcare and senior facilities. […]

Amazon Go could be 200x bigger in a decade: Joe Sitt

Posted: 14 Sep 2018 02:30 PM PDT

Amazon Go, the mega retailer’s cashierless store, already has half a dozen locations either open or in the works – including one coming to New York City. Thor Equities president and CEO Joe Sitt thinks that over the next decade the company could have 200 times as many locations. “Maybe I’m crazy, but I think that they’ll have at least 500, probably over 1,000 stores within 10 years from today,” Sitt predicted Monday inside the […]

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich is handing his megamansion’s keys to his ex-wife — for $91M

Posted: 14 Sep 2018 02:00 PM PDT

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, who bought up a large portion of a city block to build a megamansion, just sold the properties to his ex-wife. The parcels — 9-15 East 75th Street and 225 East 73rd Street — sold for $91.4 million, according to New York City Department of Finance records. The buyer is Dasha Zhukova, Abramovich’s ex whom he separated from a year ago. Abramovich paid a total of $96 million for the four […]

After 123 years, Henri Bendel is closing. And it’s leaving a lot of retail space behind

Posted: 14 Sep 2018 01:30 PM PDT

Amid sluggish sales, Henri Bendel is closing all 23 of its departments stores. Parent company L Brands announced Friday that it would be shuttering the luxury store after 123 years, CNN reported. Its 23 stores will close after the holiday season in January 2019. The move is an attempt “to improve company profitability and focus on our larger brands that have greater growth potential,” including Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works, the company said. […]

Blackstone launches $18B distressed real estate fund

Posted: 14 Sep 2018 01:00 PM PDT

Blackstone Group is looking to raise $18 billion for its largest real estate fund to date. New York-based Blackstone will invest the money in distressed properties globally, according to Bloomberg, which first reported the news. Its previous real estate fund raised $15.8 billion when it closed in 2015, part of $40 billion raised from its three most recent real estate funds. Blackstone is launching the fund at a time when institutional investors are turning toward […]

Extell sells Greenwich Village assemblage to Chinese firm

Posted: 14 Sep 2018 12:35 PM PDT

Extell Development cashed out of a Greenwich Village assemblage it bought two years ago, selling to Chinese firm Landsea Homes and DNA Development in a $52.8 million deal. The buildings included in the transaction are 530 Sixth Avenue and 536-540 Sixth Avenue. The property at 530 Sixth is a four-story, 16,900-square-foot building that is home to eyewear retailer Moscot. The property at 536-540 Sixth is composed of three four-story buildings with a total square footage […]

A new record for Manhattan office condos, Q2’s construction boom and more of the biggest trends in CRE right now

Posted: 14 Sep 2018 12:00 PM PDT

NYC construction surpasses pre-recession levels Over 9 million square feet of new construction was completed in New York City in 2018’s second quarter, with 477 projects receiving a temporary certificate of occupation, according to an analysis by The Real Deal. The new construction was primary residential, with 8,200 new condo and rental apartments across 7.8 million square feet — a new record for the city that surpasses even pre-recession levels. While residential construction in Brooklyn […]

Here’s how developers are blurring the lines between hospitality and resi projects

Posted: 14 Sep 2018 11:30 AM PDT

As mixed-use developments evolve, hotels are following suit. Shifts in consumers’ habits and lifestyles have driven developers to rethink how residential and hospitality projects go hand-in-hand. Offering more flexibility plays a big role in that, said panelists at Columbia University’s Real Estate Development Conference. “That line will be blurred,” said Richard Born, CEO of BD Hotels. He pointed to the Pod Hotels’ Times Square, which offers micro-apartments for short-term leasing. The furnished apartments are available […]

Corcoran ups referral game with Amazon shopping list

Posted: 14 Sep 2018 11:00 AM PDT

Q: What do a leather pouf, UGG slippers and crystal decanter have in common? A: They were all hand-picked by the Corcoran Group to appear on the firm’s new Amazon page. Thanks to a new partnership with the e-commerce colossus, the New York brokerage is earning a small commission on the purchase of goods it recommends to customers, the firm said.”It’s a curated collection of products,” said Christina Panos, Corcoran’s chief marketing officer, who said […]

Brause, partners land $110M refi for new LIC luxury tower

Posted: 14 Sep 2018 10:30 AM PDT

UPDATED, Sep. 14, 3:36 p.m.: The Forge, a new luxury rental tower in Long Island City, just landed a $110 million loan. Brause Realty, Gotham Organization and an investor group including ABS Partners’ Earle Altman and Gregg Schenker refinanced 44-28 Purves Street in Long Island City with a mortgage from Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, according property records filed with the city Friday. Cushman & Wakefield’s Gideon Gil, Alexander Hernandez and Noble Carpenter brokered the […]

Feds seize 4 of Manafort’s homes as part of plea deal with Mueller team

Posted: 14 Sep 2018 10:00 AM PDT

Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, is surrendering four properties and money from several bank accounts as a part of a plea deal with special counsel Robert Mueller. Manafort has agreed to cooperate with Mueller’s investigation in exchange for reduced charges, according to the New York Times. As a part of the deal, he pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiracy and one charge of conspiracy to obstruct justice. Prosecutors dropped five other […]

Mark your calendars: These are New York’s top real estate events next week

Posted: 14 Sep 2018 09:15 AM PDT

There will be a few new real estate events in New York City next week. On Sept. 17, the New York City Economic Development Corporation is hosting its Development Finance Conference 2018: Investing for Impact in NYC from noon to 5:30 p.m. at Convene, 117 West 46th Street. Attend to see panels focusing on a wide range of topics including, but not limited to: Investing for New York City’s Future, NYC: A Global City, a […]

There’s no place like home: law firm renews longtime office at 120 Broadway

Posted: 14 Sep 2018 08:35 AM PDT

The real estate law firm Emmet, Marvin & Martin is renewing its lease for 53,000 square feet at 120 Broadway. The firm has signed a 15-year lease to keep the 32nd floor of the 40-story Silverstein Properties building, which is also known as the Equitable Building, according to Commercial Observer. Asking rents in the building are generally in the mid-$50s per square foot, but the rent for Emmet, Marvin & Martin’s renewal was unclear. The […]

Should Realtors’ ethics violations be available to the public?

Posted: 14 Sep 2018 08:00 AM PDT

In an era when you can find almost anything you want to know online about real estate — the estimated market value of a house, the rankings of neighborhood schools, crime rates, walkability and much more — there’s one important subject that’s difficult for consumers to check out: Ethics infractions by local Realtors, including agents you might want to hire to list your house or help you buy. You can see tons of agent reviews […]

Gary Cohn supported Goldman’s controversial dealings with 1MDB, book says

Posted: 14 Sep 2018 07:35 AM PDT

Gary Cohn, the former president of Goldman Sachs and White House economic advisor, supported his company’s dealings with 1MDB, the controversial Malaysian state fund, according to a new book. The book “Billion Dollar Whale” claims that Cohn backed the fund, which provided cover for people involved in the 1MDB dealings — and executives more skeptical of the deals were pushed to the side, according to Bloomberg. It also says Goldman’s internal committees meant to identify […]

Brooklyn pol who took thousands from real estate industry loses primary

Posted: 14 Sep 2018 07:00 AM PDT

State Sen. Martin Dilan, one of the real estate industry’s favorite candidates, lost his primary on Thursday to controversial socialist candidate Julia Salazar. The 27-year-old Salazar defeated Dilan in his primary to represent the Brooklyn district that spans parts of Williamsburg, Bushwick and Cypress Hills, according to the New York Daily News. She was victorious despite several controversial disclosures about her birthplace and heritage, her ties to Republicans and her previous position against abortion. Dilan […]

Pebblebrook could sell $1B in assets following merger with LaSalle, including these NYC hotels

Posted: 14 Sep 2018 06:30 AM PDT

Pebblebrook Hotel Trust is planning to sell up to $1 billion worth of its assets once it finishes acquiring LaSalle Hotel Properties in an effort to lower its debt. The company agreed to buy LaSalle for roughly $5.2 billion last week, and it is already under contract to sell three of its properties after the deal closes, according to Bloomberg. These consist of Manhattan’s Park Central New York and WestHouse hotels, along with the Park […]

Buyer of record-setting Greenwich Village townhouse revealed

Posted: 14 Sep 2018 06:00 AM PDT

Blackstone Group executive Neil Simpkins has been revealed as the buyer of a $37.2 million townhouse in Greenwich Village, which set a record for the most expensive such sale in downtown Manhattan. Simpkins is a senior managing director in Blackstone’s private equity group, and a mortgage document identified him as the buyer of the approximately 9,800-square-foot property, which has six bedrooms, five stories and an attached carriage house, according to the Wall Street Journal. Other […]

A new hotel is coming to Brooklyn Heights

Posted: 14 Sep 2018 05:30 AM PDT

A new hotel with 37 rooms is on its way to Brooklyn Heights. The building at 186 Remsen Street will stand 14 stories and 185 feet tall, and span 58,900 square feet, according to YIMBY. Food and beverage outposts will be scattered throughout the ground, second, and eighth through 10th floors. The 11th through 14th floors will each contain one room. The development comes from Upventures LLC. HOK will design the building. The property is […]

The end is near: Downtown Miami’s condo cycle will likely end this year, report shows

Posted: 14 Sep 2018 05:00 AM PDT

After a more than eight-year run that changed the Magic City’s skyline, Greater Downtown Miami’s condo cycle is likely nearing the end. The Downtown Development Authority’s mid-year report, prepared by Integra Realty Resources, suggests that the cycle is coming to a close as Miami’s urban core has yet to see a new condo project break ground so far this year. The average resale prices for condos fell to $392 per square foot from $405 per […]

Michael Cohen’s undoing: Behind the business dealings of Donald Trump’s longtime attorney

Posted: 14 Sep 2018 04:30 AM PDT

Michael Cohen has worn many hats over the course of his now-infamous career. He’s been a personal injury lawyer, a landlord, a real estate developer, a taxi medallion kingpin and, most controversially, an attorney, right-hand man and all around “fixer” to President Donald Trump. But now he will be forever remembered for his stunning guilty plea on eight counts of campaign finance, tax and bank fraud. And, of course, for implicating the president by saying […]

Where are all the millennials going?

Posted: 14 Sep 2018 04:00 AM PDT

With today’s young adults choosing city life at a much-higher rate than in previous generations, which neighborhoods in the country are attracting the highest concentrations of Millennials? A new study looked at which ZIP codes have become Millennial strongholds and found that New York, Chicago and Los Angeles were among those that were attracting the most. The analysis, by RENTCafe.com, found that Los Angeles has the top-two neighborhoods in the country in terms of increasing […]

Letitia James, occasional thorn in real estate’s side, wins Democratic primary for state Attorney General

Posted: 13 Sep 2018 07:52 PM PDT

After a highly contested race, Letitia James won the Democratic primary for New York Attorney General on Thursday — beating out both a candidate who spoke out against the real estate industry and one who received the most money from it. If James is victorious in November (a Democrat has held the position for the last three decades), she’ll be the first African-American woman to hold the position. She’ll be the second woman, following Barbara […]

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, favorite of real estate, wins Democratic primary in landslide

Posted: 13 Sep 2018 07:01 PM PDT

Goodnight, “nightmare.” Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his backers in the real estate and construction industries have won the Democratic gubernatorial primary race against Cynthia Nixon, an actor and activist who placed affordable housing at the center of her campaign and who vowed to reject contributions from the real estate shell companies that funded her opponent. The Associated Press declared the victory for Cuomo at about 9:30 p.m. Thursday, with 30 percent of the vote reported. Cuomo […]