The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Donor tied up with De Blasio’s real estate pal Rechnitz sentenced in NYPD bribery scheme

Posted: 02 Jan 2019 03:30 PM PST

The testimony of Jona Rechnitz, the real estate investor who used political donations to curry favor with Mayor Bill de Blasio and the NYPD, helped convict his former pal this week on corruption charges. Jeremy Reich­berg, a former Borough Park police liaison, was found guilty today on four of five counts in a corruption scheme that began in 2008, involving several police officers and public officials, the New York Post reported. Rechnitz, his partner in […]

Jamaica resi project lands $67M in loans

Posted: 02 Jan 2019 03:00 PM PST

BFC Partners has received about $66.8 million in state loans for its residential development in Jamaica. The financing includes a fee and leasehold mortgage for about $39.7 million and a fee and leasehold subsidy mortgage for about $27.1 million, according to property records. The project is known as Jamaica Avenue Apartments, and BFC is constructing it with New Destiny Housing. BFC filed plans for the project over the summer. It will be located at 153-19 […]

Sears chairman to offer $1.8B for company’s real estate holdings if auction bid fails

Posted: 02 Jan 2019 02:30 PM PST

What was meant to be a last-ditch effort now has a back-up plan. The Sears bankruptcy saga continued today as the company disclosed that Chairman Eddie Lampert’s hedge fund, ESL Investments Inc., expressed interest in buying the retailer’s real estate for $1.8 billion. ESL submitted a $4.4 billion bid to keep some Sears stores open last Friday, on the last day for parties to submit bids for the bankrupt retailer. Liquidation groups submitted two competing […]

Broker claims Christie’s International Real Estate fired him after he complained about sexual harassment

Posted: 02 Jan 2019 02:00 PM PST

A Christie’s International Real Estate broker claims he was fired for rejecting the advances and sexual harassment of the firm’s business operations manager. Regis Roumila, who joined the firm in August, filed a lawsuit against Sarine Atamian, claiming she repeatedly harassed him in the office and tried to use her authority to “put pressure on him.” Atamian is a business operations manager for Christie’s International Real Estate (CIRE) but represented herself as Roumila’s manager, according […]

TRD’s Amir Korangy on US housing market: “Now we’re facing a sort of perfect storm”

Posted: 02 Jan 2019 01:15 PM PST

Watch the latest video at foxbusiness.com The Real Deal publisher Amir Korangy appeared on Fox Business’ Varney & Co. to discuss the state of the U.S. housing market and where it’s heading in 2019. Rising mortgages rates and a jump in construction costs have led to a recent slowdown, after years of strong demand and growing prices. “We’ve had mortgages historically low, we’ve had inventory at three decades lows, we’ve had millennials being the largest […]

Reinsurers want rates raised after natural disasters tally billions in real estate damage

Posted: 02 Jan 2019 12:30 PM PST

Miami has been hit with hurricanes and Los Angeles has endured devastating wildfires. Those are just two cities that have dealt with recent natural disasters throughout the U.S., which in addition to loss of life, have tallied billions of dollars in real estate damage. Despite the increasing frequency of these events, insurance companies are resisting a recent push from reinsurers to raise prices for property-catastrophe damage, according to the Wall Street Journal. Insurance companies take […]

Coming soon: The Real Deal’s 2019 Data Book

Posted: 02 Jan 2019 12:00 PM PST

The Real Deal is preparing the 14th edition of its Data Book, the industry’s single most comprehensive collection of information on the New York-area real estate market. Included in the 2019 Data Book will be a ranking of the city’s most active transaction law firms; Manhattan’s top residential agents and Brooklyn’s top residential agents and firms. With a strong focus on various sets of data in NYC city, ranging from development to architecture to title […]

NAR plans renovation at Chicago national headquarters

Posted: 02 Jan 2019 11:30 AM PST

The National Association of Realtors is building out the lower level of its Michigan Avenue headquarters, with plans to improve its fitness center and office space. The NAR-owned building at 430 North Michigan Avenue has been granted a permit to renovate nearly 14,000 square feet of the the facility’s existing fitness center and office space, according to city records. In November, NAR received a city permit to begin work on a $45 million expansion of […]

Here’s what the $10M – $20M investment sales market looked like last week

Posted: 02 Jan 2019 11:00 AM PST

In the world of NYC’s mid-market investment sales, a Kipp’s Bay apartment building traded for $11.2 million and a Lebanese banker picked up a Prince Street building from a church, according to records filed last week with New York City’s Department of Finance. 1.) An LLC that appears to be tied to Antoun Sehnaoui, a Lebanese banker and businessman, bought 190 Prince Street, a three-story building known as St. Anthony’s Convent, from the Church of […]

Centurion snatches up UWS apartment building for $227M

Posted: 02 Jan 2019 10:45 AM PST

TIAA’s real estate investment arm sold an Upper West Side apartment building to Centurion Property Investors. Centurion picked up 200 West 72nd Street, a rental building known as The Corner, for about $227 million, according to a filing with the New York City Department of Finance. Centurion and TIAA did not immediately return requests for comment. Commercial Observer first reported news of the financing. Centurion secured about $204 million in financing for the deal from […]

New Year’s resolution: Read The Real Deal’s January issue, now available to subscribers

Posted: 02 Jan 2019 10:00 AM PST

The Real Deal’s first issue of 2019 is live, and digital subscribers to TRD are getting the first look at what’s inside. Subscribers now have access to stories including: – The Closing interview with Eliot Spitzer (the former governor-turned-real estate scion dishes on clashing with financial titans, second chances and helming the real estate empire his dad built) – A behind-the-scenes look at 550 Madison’s messy makeover – A special investigation into elevator accidents, which […]

Maryland-based company pays $115M for Modell’s warehouse

Posted: 02 Jan 2019 09:30 AM PST

A Maryland-based logistics real estate company paid $115 million for Modell’s warehouse in the Bronx. Realterm Logistics bought 1500 Bassett Avenue in Morris Park, a 366,000-square-foot distribution center situated on a 12-acre lot. The company, headquartered in Annapolis, specializes in high-flow through facilities for the transportation industry. Earlier this year, Crain’s reported that the sports apparel chain was in talks to sell its Bronx warehouse. At the time, the buyer and the exact price of […]

Developers buy Bronx apartment portfolio for $75M in rare affordable play

Posted: 02 Jan 2019 09:00 AM PST

UPDATED, 2:54 p.m., Jan. 2: Camber Property Group, Belveron Partners and the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development have spent $75 million to buy an 11-building, 343-unit property portfolio in the Bronx. As part of the deal, 100 market-rate apartments will be converted back into affordable units, and the rest of the units will stay affordable for 40 more years. The firms described this as a rare move, noting that buildings do not often go […]

Meet the developers attending TRD’s Future City 2019

Posted: 02 Jan 2019 08:30 AM PST

The real estate industry’s brain trust will gather in the Bahamas later this month to learn, network and squeeze in some fun at The Real Deal’s Future City 2019. Top developers including Michael Stern, Don Peebles, John Catsimatidis, Sharif El-Gamal, Morris Moinian, David Schwartz and Edgardo DeFortuna will take part in educational sessions on topics ranging from Opportunity Zones to alternative financing options at the event, taking place at the Baha Mar resort from Jan. […]

Sapir Organization lands $115M refi for NoMo hotel

Posted: 02 Jan 2019 08:15 AM PST

The Sapir Organization has refinanced its trendy NoMo hotel with $115 million from Goldman Sachs, according to property records. The loan also includes a $3 million gap mortgage from the bank and $73.3 million from a Sapir-related company. The money is meant to refinance a $180 million senior loan Credit Suisse provided in 2015 for the acquisition of the hotel. A year later, Sapir purchased the note, which included a $130 million senior loan and a […]

Bricks and… wood? Green developers are embracing timber

Posted: 02 Jan 2019 07:30 AM PST

Some developers are looking to cut down on their carbon footprint by finding alternatives to steel and mortar. Now, green-minded builders are constructing office towers and apartments with timber — a move that is receiving growing support, according to the New York Times. In New York City, wooden structures are limited to seven stories, but a recent strong voice of support for timber construction could change that. The International Code Council, a Washington D.C. advisory […]

Commission competition ramps up

Posted: 02 Jan 2019 06:50 AM PST

When Upper East Side socialite Shafi Roepers decided to relist her co-op at the exclusive 4 East 66th Street this spring, she called power broker Serena Boardman. The Sotheby’s International Realty agent came close to selling the floor-through apartment last year, but the deal fell apart at the 11th hour. This time, however, there’s a catch. While the property is being listed for the same $65 million, the commission for the buyer’s broker has been […]

Watch: New York’s most active developers of 2018

Posted: 02 Jan 2019 06:00 AM PST

 Two megaprojects on Manhattan’s Far West Side took Related and Brookfield to the top of this year’s ranking of the busiest developers. We broke down the top five in this short video.

Chinese investors are pulling their money out of the US and Europe

Posted: 02 Jan 2019 05:30 AM PST

The effects of a retreat in U.S. and European markets by Chinese investors are now being felt, and have stoked concerns of a dip in real estate prices for 2019. During the third quarter, Chinese conglomerates sold off more than $1 billion worth of commercial real estate in the United States, while purchasing only $231 million, according to the Wall Street Journal. The pull back follows restrictions imposed by the the Chinese government on foreign […]

Hamptons Cheat Sheet: Elliman broker lists own Southampton home for $13.99M, East Hampton inks $900K affordable housing deal … & more

Posted: 02 Jan 2019 05:00 AM PST

Douglas Elliman broker lists her Southampton home for $13.99M Michaela Keszler, a broker with Douglas Elliman, has put her Southampton estate on the market for $13.99 million, according to the New York Post. The home at 104 Foster Crossing was originally built in 1930 by architects Polhemus & Coffin. It was first owned by former shipping mogul Vernon Brown. The 7,900-square-home has eight bedrooms, five bathrooms, two half bathrooms, four fireplaces, a library, sun room […]

Editor’s note: Public servant, private developer

Posted: 02 Jan 2019 04:30 AM PST

Donald Trump went from being a New York City developer to occupying the highest political office in the country. Eliot Spitzer moved in the opposite direction and went from the highest political office in the state to running his family’s real estate firm. In this month’s cover story, we sit down with the “Love Gov,” who just completed his first ground-up development project — a massive 850-unit rental complex on the Williamsburg waterfront. Spitzer talks […]

Here’s what the $20M-$30M NYC investment sales market looked like last week

Posted: 02 Jan 2019 04:00 AM PST

A development site along the Second Avenue subway path and a Williamsburg office building were among the properties that traded hands in the $20 million to $30 million range last week, according to NYC Department of Finance filings made public last week. 1. Peter Fine’s new venture Bolivar Development bought several parcels along Second Avenue in East Harlem for $28.5 million — the priciest deal for investment sales among last week’s public filings. Fine previously […]