The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Real estate has found its answer to startup culture in Opportunity Zones, panel says

Posted: 15 Nov 2018 03:30 PM PST

If you’re young and in real estate, Opportunity Zones are the place to be, according to Newmark Knight Frank president James Kuhn. “I think this is going to be analogous to the beginning of the startup world, where young people were able to wake up, go on the internet, go on their laptop, create an app, create a company,” said Kuhn. “And I think that for all our NYU graduate students and all the young […]

Real estate execs say Amazon “is great” for New York but question if the city’s infrastructure can sustain new residents

Posted: 15 Nov 2018 03:16 PM PST

A lineup of New York real estate giants agree that Amazon is good for New York. But there’s just one question: Can the city’s infrastructure sustain the e-commerce giant? During a panel hosted by NYU Schack Real Estate Institute on Thursday, real estate executives stressed that developers and the city need to ensure infrastructure upgrades are made to support the influx of jobs the e-commerce giant is bringing to Long Island City. RXR Realty’s Scott […]

One of DoBro’s newest apartment buildings is on the market for $100M

Posted: 15 Nov 2018 03:00 PM PST

In the midst of Downtown Brooklyn’s building boom, the developer behind one of the neighborhood’s newest rental buildings is looking to sell the property for $100 million. Brooklyn-based CBZ Management put the 110-unit BRiQ apartment building at 237 Duffield Street on the market with an asking price that works out to slightly more than $900,000 per unit, the brokers marketing the property told The Real Deal. “Downtown Brooklyn and its surrounding environs are exploding and […]

Aby Rosen nixed condo plans at this Tribeca site. Now another developer is giving it a shot

Posted: 15 Nov 2018 02:30 PM PST

A new condominium project is slated for Tribeca site Aby Rosen’s RFR Realty gave up last year. Elliot Aronson is bringing a 17-unit condo project to 67 Vestry Street, according to plans filed with the attorney general’s office. Aronson’s Iliad Realty Group bought the site for $55.5 million last December. The plan doesn’t include pricing. Iliad couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. Rosen bought the property for $16.5 million in 2005 and received partial demolition […]

Cities with most immigrant homeowners have higher home values: report

Posted: 15 Nov 2018 02:00 PM PST

Foreign-born homeowners tend to own homes in metropolitan areas with higher home values, according to a new report. Homeownership rates among immigrants is highest in Miami and San Jose, California, where a quarter of foreign-born residents own their homes, according to the report by LendingTree.com, first reported by the New York Times. The report examined ownership rates among foreign-born and native-born residents in the 50 most populated metropolitan areas of the country. Home values were […]

Brooklyn’s tallest tower may soon rise thanks to massive Silverstein loan

Posted: 15 Nov 2018 01:49 PM PST

Michael Stern’s JDS Development is in advanced talks to secure a $240 million mezzanine loan from Silverstein Capital Partners for its planned Brooklyn mixed-use tower 9 DeKalb Avenue, sources told The Real Deal. The loan is part of a $650 million financing package that will likely also include a $400 million senior mortgage from another lender, sources said. It will also mark the first major loan issued by Silverstein Capital, developer Silverstein Companies’ new commercial […]

Brookfield turns to Apollo Global for financing on 666 Fifth Avenue

Posted: 15 Nov 2018 01:45 PM PST

Private equity company Apollo Global Management is funding Brookfield Property Partners’ redevelopment of 666 Fifth Avenue with a $300 million-plus mezzanine loan, sources told The Real Deal. The loan is part of a $1 billion-plus financing package. Commercial Mortgage Alert reported last month that Brookfield is in talks for a $750 million senior loan from a group of banks including ING and Citigroup. Brookfield leased the tower from Kushner Companies for 99 years in August […]

Treasury dramatically sharpens LLC disclosure rules

Posted: 15 Nov 2018 01:30 PM PST

The Treasury Department drastically increased the number of all-cash deals that are subject to its anti-money laundering rules on Thursday. Starting Nov. 17, title insurance firms will be required to disclose the identity of LLC buyers who spend $300,000 or more on the real estate purchase. Previously, the rule applied to cash deals above $3 million in Manhattan and $1.5 million in New York City’s other boroughs. The threshold was $2 million in Los Angeles, […]

OnSiteIQ, with big NYC developer clients, raises $2M in seed funding round

Posted: 15 Nov 2018 01:00 PM PST

OnSiteIQ, a startup that monitors construction sites to assess risk, just raised $2 million in its latest seed funding round. Fintech investor Anthemis Group and real estate technology venture capital firm MetaProp provided the financing, company representatives announced on Thursday. The company, which counts the Moinian Group, Rockefeller Group and Avalon Bay among its major clients, takes 360-degree images of construction sites and then produces monthly reports detailing project progress and risk factors. The latest […]

Co-living startup Common is opening its first Manhattan project next year

Posted: 15 Nov 2018 12:30 PM PST

Co-living startup Common is making its first foray into Manhattan. The company is partnering with YD Development for a project at in Hell’s Kitchen, Common said in a statement Thursday. Dubbed Common Clinton, the project has begun construction and is slated to open next year. Curbed first reported the news. YD Development is redeveloping the 11,000-square-foot building at 424 West 47th Street, and Common will serve as the property manager. Common Clinton will have 32 […]

The anatomy of construction corruption

Posted: 15 Nov 2018 12:00 PM PST

In New York City’s $45.3 billion construction industry, it’s a network of middlemen that choreographs the rise of buildings. From supply companies to electrical workers, developers rely on a consortium of professionals to assign contracts and oversee the flow of millions of dollars — sometimes with little to no oversight. “There are hundreds and hundreds of products, hundreds of different workers on the job. It’s a large undertaking,” said Barry LePatner, a construction attorney and […]

Commercial brokers made more money last year than ever before: NAR

Posted: 15 Nov 2018 11:30 AM PST

Commercial real estate brokers, agents and appraisers made more money than ever last year, even as transactions slow because of tight inventory. A survey by the National Association of Realtors found that the median gross annual income for commercial members hit an all-time high of $150,700 last year, almost $30,000 more than 2016. Transactions dropped to a median of seven in 2017 from eight the year prior, but the median dollar value of sales hit […]

Hudson Companies files plans for one of the largest Staten Island projects this year

Posted: 15 Nov 2018 10:45 AM PST

Hudson Companies is bringing a 30,000-square-foot residential building to Staten Island, one of the largest projects in the borough this year. The firm plans to develop for a six-story residential building on 221 Port Richmond Avenue with 48 units, according to a permit application filed to the Department of Buildings this week. The plans call for a mixed-use building with 16,000-square-feet for a community facility. It’s the second largest plan filed in the borough this […]

Brooklyn multifamily portfolio hits the market asking $70M

Posted: 15 Nov 2018 10:00 AM PST

Crown Heights-based multifamily investor CBZ Management is marketing a portfolio of Brooklyn apartment buildings with an asking price of $70 million. The nine walk-up apartment buildings — stretching across Crown Heights, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Prospect Park South, Bedford-Stuyvesant and Bushwick — combine for 212 units across more than 180,000 square feet. All of the apartments are rent-stabilized, with rents averaging 65 percent below market rates. “Central Brooklyn continues to be one of the most in-demand, […]

Judge rejects de Blasio’s NYCHA deal over “fatal procedural flaws”

Posted: 15 Nov 2018 09:30 AM PST

A federal judge rejected Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan that would’ve spent $1.2 billion to improve the New York City Housing Authority. Judge William Pauley asked for a new plan for the poorly managed agency by Dec. 14, Politico reported. The judge said the original agreement, which would have allowed de Blasio to avoid a trial for NYCHA, wasn’t clear on enforcement and would create more confusion. “Somewhat reminiscent of the biblical plagues of Egypt, […]

Shareholders greenlight Brookfield’s $6.8B purchase of Forest City

Posted: 15 Nov 2018 08:36 AM PST

After facing some opposition, Brookfield Asset Management will move forward with its $6.8 billion purchase of Forest City Realty Trust. Forest City’s shareholders voted in favor of the deal on Thursday morning, the company announced. The vote clears the way for Brookfield to buy the real estate investment trust, a deal that is expected to close on or before Dec. 10. The news follows failed efforts to stall the shareholder vote. Forest City’s former CEO […]

Jonathan Rose buys 558-unit Bay Ridge affordable housing complex for $150M

Posted: 15 Nov 2018 08:30 AM PST

Jonathan Rose Companies has purchased a 558-unit Section 8 housing complex in Bay Ridge for about $150 million, the firm announced on Thursday. It purchased the property from NYU Langone in partnership with the affordable housing nonprofit NHP Foundation and TIAA investment manager Nuveen. The site is based at 9000 Shore Road and consists of two interconnected 14-story buildings spanning about 414,000 square feet. It was built in 1977 on 2.69 acres and includes 325 […]

Two tenants at Kushner’s Times Square property are showing signs of stress: report

Posted: 15 Nov 2018 08:00 AM PST

Two tourist attractions at Kushner Companies’ Times Square retail property are showing some signs of trouble, posing a potential threat to the company’s mortgage. At least six contractors have sued the owner of Gulliver’s Gate, which shows a miniature model of the city, over alleged nonpayment of fees, according to Bloomberg. Meanwhile, the operator of National Geographic Encounter has been in a rent dispute with Kushner since August. The attractions made up almost half of […]

Announcing TRD’s Future City 2019 event

Posted: 15 Nov 2018 07:30 AM PST

We’re thrilled to announce The Real Deal’s Future City 2019, an exclusive two-day opportunity for a group of 200 C-level executives in the fields of development, tech, construction, law, design and finance to network with and learn from the top minds and biggest dealmakers in the country. The event will take place Jan. 27-29, 2019 at the brand-new Baha Mar resort in the Bahamas. The industry is changing at a faster pace than ever before […]

Despite the black mold and exposed wires, these Brooklyn-based landlords got a $14M HUD contract

Posted: 15 Nov 2018 07:00 AM PST

When Borough Park, Brooklyn-based landlords Blima Isaacson and Eli Fish took over federally subsidized apartments in Hartford, Connecticut in 2016, living conditions dramatically worsened. One apartment at the Infill housing development, for example, had black mold in the basement and the bathroom. The previous owner had sprayed bleach to the deal with the problem — and Fish neglected it entirely. Despite documented violations and health concerns at the development, in July 2017, the Department of […]

The SEC is shopping for a new 175K sf home in FiDi

Posted: 15 Nov 2018 06:05 AM PST

With its Brookfield Place lease ending, the Securities and Exchange Commission is looking to downsize. The financial regulator’s lease at 200 Vesey Street ends at the end of March 2021, the New York Post reported. Now, the SEC is seeking to move from its 250,000-square-foot location to a smaller space roughly around 175,000 square feet. The agency hasn’t ruled out moving to a different location in Brookfield Place, the report said. Executives have also scheduled […]

KimYe hire private firefighters to save $60M mansion, plus others, from blaze

Posted: 15 Nov 2018 05:30 AM PST

In the celebrity world, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have just proven that private jets aren’t the only luxury money can buy. The star couple hired a private team of firefighters to battle the flames from the Woolsey fire in Hidden Hills, saving their $60 million property and neighboring homes from destruction, TMZ reported. Armed with hoses, the firefighters were able to prevent the fire from spreading to a forested field that lies behind the […]

LISTEN: TRD discusses the evolution of co-working during latest conference call

Posted: 15 Nov 2018 05:00 AM PST

For our latest subscriber conference call, The Real Deal’s Jill Noonan, Konrad Putzier and Will Parker discussed 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). Check out the SoundCloud player to listen to the full conversation, and be sure to keep an eye out for more information about our next conference call for subscribers.

The iBuying wars: Why a shocking number of companies are jumping on the bandwagon and investing in the burgeoning sector

Posted: 15 Nov 2018 04:30 AM PST

Welcome to the world of iBuying. Whether buyers and sellers are ready or not, a shocking number of companies are jumping on the bandwagon and investing in the burgeoning sector. Here’s how it works: Rather than listing a property with a broker, homeowners can log onto their computers and get an offer from a iBuying company. In many cases, the company commits to the purchase within days. Then, the iBuyer quickly renovates and flips the […]

City on track to meet mayor’s affordable housing goals: NYBC report

Posted: 15 Nov 2018 04:00 AM PST

The city is on pace to meet Mayor Bill de Blasio’s ambitious goals for affordable housing construction, according to a new report from the New York Building Congress. The report found that workers have built almost 35,000 new units of affordable housing since 2014, with most growth occurring in Brooklyn and the Bronx. The mayor’s goal is to preserve or build 300,000 affordable housing units by 2026 and hopes to reach 40 percent of these […]