The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Serial hotel developer files plans for two new projects in East New York

Posted: 09 Nov 2018 02:15 PM PST

Prolific hotel developer Nehalkumar Gandhi has his sights set on East New York for his next projects. Gandhi filed plans with the city’s Department of Buildings on Friday for two new hotels in the neighborhood at 51 and 55 Sheffield Avenue. The hotel at 51 Sheffield will stand eight stories tall with 63 rooms across 18,864 square feet, and the hotel at 55 Sheffield will stand nine stories tall with 70 rooms across 21,073 square […]

Facing federal scrutiny, HNA in contract to sell 850 Third Ave

Posted: 09 Nov 2018 02:10 PM PST

After facing federal scrutiny about its ownership of 850 Third Avenue, embattled Chinese conglomerate HNA Group is in contract to sell its stake in the Midtown office tower, according to sources familiar with the deal. Multiple sources told The Real Deal that the buyer is Joe Chetrit’s Chetrit Group, while additional sources said it was a member of the Chetrit family. Isaac Chetrit, who runs the real estate investment company AB & Sons, denied involvement in […]

Joe Mansueto paying $100M+ for iconic Lincoln Park apartment complex

Posted: 09 Nov 2018 01:30 PM PST

Billionaire Joe Mansueto has added another iconic Chicago property to his growing portfolio. The Morningstar founder is buying the Belden-Stratford apartments in Lincoln Park for more than $100 million, just months after purchasing the historic Wrigley Building. For his latest acquisition, Mansueto will purchase the 16-story, 297-unit Beaux Arts building at 2300 North Lincoln Park West from PGIM Real Estate, according to Crain’s. Mansueto first tried to buy it back in 2013, but was outbid […]

This tax break could be worth up to nearly $1B for Amazon

Posted: 09 Nov 2018 01:00 PM PST

Officials have kept quiet any economic incentives they’re offering Amazon to move part of its second headquarters to Long Island City. But there’s one benefit already on the table that could be worth up to nearly $1 billion for the e-commerce giant. By opening an office in Queens and hiring new employees, Amazon would automatically qualify for the Relocation and Employment Assistance Program, which offers companies a tax credit for each employee they hire at […]

Starwood’s Barry Sternlicht optimistic about rising interest rates: “We’re going to make a lot of money”

Posted: 09 Nov 2018 12:40 PM PST

Starwood Property Trust’s Barry Sternlicht isn’t worried about rising interest rates. In fact, it’s the opposite. “We’re going to make a lot of money,” he told analysts during a conference call with analysts on Friday. Starwood reported slightly lower third quarter earnings due to high acquisition costs, yet its results met analysts’ expectations. The Miami Beach-based real estate investment trust, an affiliate of Starwood Capital, said Moody revised its ratings outlook to positive from stable. […]

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

Posted: 09 Nov 2018 12:00 PM PST

Next week brings a few new real estate events! On Nov. 13, Commercial Observer is hosting its 3rd Annual Fall Financing Commercial Real Estate Forum from 7:30 a.m. to noon at the Metropolitan Club, 1 East 60th Street. Over 200 real estate finance thinkers will gather and discuss the state of lending in New York City and what they believe 2019 will bring. Also on Nov. 13, the Brooklyn Historical Society is hosting its Brooklyn […]

Calling all subscribers: Get the scoop on co-working during our next conference call

Posted: 09 Nov 2018 11:15 AM PST

Join The Real Deal’s editorial staff on Tuesday, November 13 at 2 p.m. for our next subscribers-only conference call. TRD’s senior content director, Jill Noonan will talk to reporters Konrad Putzier and Will Parker about our November cover story, which explores New York’s co-working boom and how the industry is going more corporate (besides those who are keeping it cool.) Do you have questions about the future of co-working? What would you like to know about TRD’s […]

WeWork snaps up two more big spaces in Manhattan

Posted: 09 Nov 2018 10:46 AM PST

WeWork has inked another pair of leases in Manhattan totaling 106,320 square feet. The company has signed leases at Winter Properties’ 57 East 11th Street and Epic’s 148 Lafayette Street, according to the Commercial Observer. It will occupy the entire 11-story building at 57 East 11th Street in Greenwich Village, spanning 61,375 square feet, and it will occupy the third through seventh floors at 148 Lafayette Street, spanning 44,945 square feet. The East 11th Street […]

Welltower and Hines are planning more luxury housing for seniors in Manhattan

Posted: 09 Nov 2018 10:15 AM PST

Welltower and Hines are doubling down on their bet on luxury housing for seniors in Manhattan. The pair bought an Upper West Side development site for $61 million, where they plan to build their second luxury assisted-living tower for seniors in New York. Welltower, the largest senior-housing real estate investment trust, and Hines this week bought two properties at 2330 Broadway at the corner of West 85th Street, Bloomberg reported. A third, undisclosed investor has […]

Woolsey fire forces evacuation of Malibu

Posted: 09 Nov 2018 09:30 AM PST

UPDATED, Nov. 9, 9:55 a.m.: The rapidly moving Woolsey fire prompted authorities to issue evacuation orders for more than 75,000 homes in Ventura and Los Angeles counties early Friday, including for the entire beachside city of Malibu. Evacuation orders for residents came in overnight as the fire moved into Agoura Hills, growing to 8,000 acres and destroying or damaging at least 20 homes, according to the Los Angeles Times. Evacuation orders were made for Westlake […]

Chicago is a Mies Van Der Rohe town. Robert A.M. Stern wants to mess with that equation

Posted: 09 Nov 2018 09:00 AM PST

When it opens next year, One Bennett Park will be the tallest all-residential building in the city. It will also stand out against the modernist, glass-sheathed towers that have shaped Downtown— or at least that’s what architect Robert A.M. Stern is hoping for. Stern wants the supertall luxury condo and rental tower he’s designing for Related Midwest to pop out amidst the steel-and-glass heavy skyscrapers in Chicago, and perhaps restore a little balance to a […]

Why For Sale by Owner listings are fizzling

Posted: 09 Nov 2018 08:30 AM PST

What’s been happening to that good old-fashioned American way to sell your home — doing it yourself, with minimal or no commission costs? If you believe new data from the National Association of Realtors’ Buyer/Seller survey, for-sale-by-owner transactions — popularly known as FSBOs (“Fizzbos”) — appear to be on the same trendline as buggy whips: They’ve just hit their all-time low of 7 percent as a share of total home-sale transactions. They were 8 percent […]

Steiner secures $228M in financing for Admiral’s Row

Posted: 09 Nov 2018 08:00 AM PST

Developer Doug Steiner just secured $228 million in financing for his mixed-use project, Admiral’s Row. M&T Bank and BNY Mellon provided the construction financing, which was arranged by JLL, Commercial Observer reported. Construction of the project is already underway and is expected to be complete in early 2021. The project is anchored by a 75,000-square-foot Wegman’s grocery store and will include another 85,000 square feet of retail space and 356,000 square feet of light industrial […]

Hotel Wales trades hands again, slated for condo conversion

Posted: 09 Nov 2018 07:30 AM PST

Matthew Adell’s ­Adellco is buying the Hotel Wales and plans to convert it into a luxury condo building with Central Park views. The sale of the 100-year-old hotel at 295 Madison Avenue is expected to close January 31, the New York Post reported. Other details on the deal weren’t immediately available. The hotel very recently traded hands. In April, DLJ Real Estate Capital paid $35 million for the 89-room, 10-story property. The building had been marketed […]

Developer pleads guilty to $58M ponzi scheme involving projects in Manhattan and the Hamptons

Posted: 09 Nov 2018 07:00 AM PST

A White Plains real estate developer pleaded guilty on Thursday to defrauding investors in his development projects in Manhattan, the Hamptons and Westchester. Michael D’Alessio, former CEO and president of Michael Paul Enterprises, funneled more than $58 million of investor money to shell accounts he controlled, which he then used to pay off his gambling debt, cash out early investors and cover other debts, according to U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman. D’Alessio allegedly offered shares in […]

Home Partners of America mulls IPO

Posted: 09 Nov 2018 06:16 AM PST

A Chicago-based company, best known for its rent-to-own program, is considering an initial public offering as early as next year. Home Partners of America has been in talks with banks including Goldman Sachs Group and Morgan Stanley, Bloomberg News reported. It could start offering shares in 2019. The KKR and BlackRock-backed firm has acquired more than $2 billion in properties and leased them to more than 12,500 people. Under the company’s rent-to-own program, tenants select […]

This is how Amazon HQ2 could impact Long Island City’s residential market

Posted: 09 Nov 2018 05:45 AM PST

Though Long Island City’s residential building boom has been the source of some consternation, Amazon potential deal to put half of its HQ2 in the neighborhood could turn that narrative. “I actually had some concerns about the inventory in that area,” said developer George Xu, who described the pace of development as “senseless.” “I would not be worrying about the Long Island City area anymore,” he said. See related: Amazon could turn LIC into a company […]

National Cheat Sheet: Mortgage applications plunge, Amazon eyes splitting HQ2 … & more

Posted: 09 Nov 2018 05:00 AM PST

Lowe’s Companies to close 51 stores across North America amid ‘strategic reassessment’ Another retailer is closing dozens of its stores. Lowe’s Companies, which has more than 2,300 stores across North America, plans to shutter 51 stores in the U.S. and Canada, the Wall Street Journal reported. The closures will include 20 stores in the U.S. — two of which are in Manhattan — and 31 in Canada, the outlet reported. Timelines for the closures will vary by […]

At the desk of: Caren Maio

Posted: 09 Nov 2018 04:30 AM PST

At 34 years old, Caren Maio has already raised $16.4 million to bankroll her company, Nestio. The startup —a platform that allows property owners, managers and brokers to track, manage and market their residential rental listings — was one of the first to zero in on this notoriously opaque corner of the market. The company — which Maio launched with co-founder Mike O’Toole (he’s now the company’s CTO) in 2011 after enduring her own frustrating New […]

Co-working’s “bidding war” is in full swing: TRD panel

Posted: 09 Nov 2018 04:00 AM PST

As co-working companies continue to expand across New York City, they are increasingly fighting over the same vacant spaces. “There’s a bidding war,” Industrious’s co-founder Justin Stewart said at a panel discussion hosted by The Real Deal and co-working company Spaces on Thursday. “If you have a WeWork against a Spaces against an Industrious against a Knotel — that’s happening very frequently and we’re seeing it more often than not.” Stewart shared the stage with […]