The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Thor abandons plans for 800K-sf Red Hook office complex

Posted: 15 Feb 2019 03:47 PM PST

Joseph Sitt’s Thor Equities is scrapping plans for an 800,000-square-foot office complex on the Red Hook shoreline, a source told The Real Deal. Instead, it now plans to build last-mile warehousing on the site. In October, another source with knowledge of Sitt’s thinking said the developer was torn between pursuing a plan to build a pair of office buildings on the site, a former sugar factory, and going industrial instead. The two four-story buildings Sitt […]

Home Depot buys Bronx retail location from Madison International Realty for $40M

Posted: 15 Feb 2019 03:04 PM PST

Home Depot bought two Bronx properties for $40 million, about two weeks after the retailer filed plans to build a new 133,000-square-foot store in Queens. The home improvement supplier dropped $40 million for two commercial buildings along East Gun Hill Road, near the Bay Plaza Shopping Center in the Bronx. The seller was Madison International Realty, according to a public filing recorded Friday with the New York City Department of Finance. The larger of the […]

Keller Williams Midtown CEO forced out: sources

Posted: 15 Feb 2019 02:00 PM PST

Keller Williams Midtown has lost another CEO — the third in the past year. This one lasted just nine months on the job. Michael Guerra, who was hired in June, was forced out earlier this week, sources said. Guerra, who spent many years at Douglas Elliman, was hired after the Midtown franchise lost two other leaders last year in quick succession, including Lezley Charles, who oversaw a massive hiring spree. Prior to Keller Williams, Guerra […]

Sitex continues buying spree with $36M industrial buy in Queens

Posted: 15 Feb 2019 01:30 PM PST

After the Sitex Group sold a Red Hook logistics site for a whopping $303 million, the industrial real estate firm has gone on a buying spree. Most recently in New York, firm bought a trio of industrial buildings in Ridgewood for $36 million, according to a public document filed Friday with the city’s finance department. The deal closed Jan. 31. The Englewood, New Jersey-based Sitex did not return a request for comment. An entity tied […]

Worn down: Payless shoes to close all 2K locations, declare bankruptcy

Posted: 15 Feb 2019 01:15 PM PST

Just as Sears is emerging from bankruptcy, another major retailer battered by e-commerce is entering into it. Payless ShoeSource will shutter all 2,300 stores when it files for bankruptcy later this month, according to Reuters. It’s the second time the Topeka, Kansas-based discount shoe chain has filed for bankruptcy in two years. It was one of many retailers that closed or filed for bankruptcy in 2017. Payless has been unsuccessful in its search for a […]

Mark your calendars: These are NYC’s top real estate events

Posted: 15 Feb 2019 12:45 PM PST

There are a couple of real estate events coming up! On Feb.19, Bisnow is hosting its NYC CRE Tech Summit for 2019 at 160 Varick Street. Attend the event for networking opportunities, along with discussions among industry leaders on what innovations will impact real estate transactions. Speakers include Scott Rechler of RXR Realty and Kevin Danehy of Brookfield Property Partners. On Feb. 21, iGlobal Forum is hosting an Opportunity Zones Investments Dealmakers Meeting at Hôtel […]

So many Opportunity Zones, so many questions for developers, investors

Posted: 15 Feb 2019 12:25 PM PST

Developers and investors are enamored enough with the federal Opportunity Zones program that they have been raising massive funds in hopes of taking advantage of the big tax incentive. But they remain cautious enough over of the program’s many unanswered questions that few have deployed much of the capital raised. Those dueling realities played out Thursday in Washington, D.C., when the IRS’ first public hearing to solicit questions about the year-old program drew an overflow […]

New Russia sanctions bill targets LLCs in real estate, again

Posted: 15 Feb 2019 11:30 AM PST

The “sanctions bill from hell” is back from the dead. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham (SC) and Democratic Senator Bob Menendez (NJ) on Wednesday introduced a tougher version of last year’s “Defending American Security from Kremlin Aggression Act,” and once again, the bill includes a provision that targets people using limited liability companies for high-priced real estate transactions nationwide, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Treasury Department’s Geographic Targeting Orders, which currently apply to a dozen […]

Flexible office provider Knotel enters LA market with Santa Monica outpost

Posted: 15 Feb 2019 10:50 AM PST

Shared office space company Knotel will open its first Los Angeles outpost in Santa Monica, expanding its U.S. reach from New York and San Francisco. Knotel will lease 12,388 square feet across the third and fourth floors at 429 Santa Monica Boulevard, the company announced. The seven-story building is a few blocks from the beach and from the Metro Expo Line’s Downtown Santa Monica station. Company founder Amol Sarva said in a statement that the […]

Rabsky sells Williamsburg apartment building to UDR for $130M

Posted: 15 Feb 2019 10:15 AM PST

The Rabsky Group sold one of its large Williamsburg multifamily buildings for $130 million to Denver-based landlord UDR, which is buying at a time when several large apartment REITs are retreating from the New York market. UDR, which already owns about half a dozen properties in Manhattan, closed on the 188-unit Leonard Pointe building in North Williamsburg on Wednesday, sources told The Real Deal. The purchase price of $132.2 million works out to more than […]

Lichtenstein on Amazon pullout: “Worst day for NYC since 9-11”

Posted: 15 Feb 2019 09:44 AM PST

Lightstone Group’s David Lichtenstein said Friday that Amazon’s about-face on its New York megacomplex was the “worst day for NYC since 9-11.” “Except this time, the terrorists were elected,” the developer added in an email to The Real Deal, in a dig to the politicians who fiercely criticized the tech giant’s deal with the city for the nearly $3 billion in tax breaks and government incentives it came with. On Thursday, Amazon cited pressure from the local […]

Next week: The Real Deal’s inaugural tri-state issue drops online!

Posted: 15 Feb 2019 09:30 AM PST

The Real Deal’s first-ever tri-state quarterly drops online this Tuesday, bringing readers the biggest real estate news from Long Island and the Hamptons, New Jersey, Westchester and Fairfield counties. The print edition will be delivered to all subscribers of The Real Deal head of the March magazine. Features in this issue will include: – Senior living: How developers are reaping the benefits of building retirement homes and managed care centers – OZs outside the big city: How brokers, […]

“They know how to reach us.” Rejected Amazon HQ2 suitors may give it another try

Posted: 15 Feb 2019 09:00 AM PST

What about now? They may have been rejected once, but they’re not giving up. At least a handful of cities that had been in the running for Amazon’s second headquarters said they would be willing to restart talks after the e-commerce giant’s stunning news it had pulled out of plans for New York City. Some of those cities that reached the Top 20 but missed out on the big prize — Chicago, Miami, Dallas and […]

Alamo Drafthouse is growing at City Point in Downtown Brooklyn

Posted: 15 Feb 2019 08:15 AM PST

Fans of dinner-and-a-movie chain Alamo Drafthouse rejoice. There will soon be 400 more seats at the theater’s Downtown Brooklyn location. Alamo Drafthouse have inked a lease to add 25,000 square feet to their current space at Acadia Realty’s City Point at 445 Albee Square West, according to Commercial Observer. The movie theater currently occupies 38,000 square feet and has seven screens at City Point. The new expansion will double the amount of screens. The chain […]

Should seniors take the rap for the gap in homeownership by millennials?

Posted: 15 Feb 2019 07:30 AM PST

Are senior homeowners preventing millennials from buying houses? Could the decisions of millions of older owners to “age in place” rather than sell their homes explain why millennials are lagging behind in homeownership? A provocative new study from federally chartered mortgage investor Freddie Mac suggests the answer may be yes. “Who is living in those homes that millennials might otherwise have bought?” ask the study’s authors. Their answer: baby boomers, war babies and people born […]

“Amazon will be missed”: LIC’s resi market mania will cool with tech giant’s departure

Posted: 15 Feb 2019 07:00 AM PST

In mid-November, condo units suddenly began to sell sight-unseen. Lines for open houses stretched around the block. Amazon’s announcement that it would create a massive campus on the shores of the East River sparked a buying frenzy in Long Island City, transforming a buyer’s market into a seller’s market overnight as sellers seized the chance to hike up prices and developers eyed new projects. “We are thrilled that the rest of the world is discovering […]

Faced with high land prices, developers are turning to oddly-shaped lots across the city

Posted: 15 Feb 2019 06:30 AM PST

The future of affordable housing in the city might look a little…funny. Developers looking for new opportunities are building on lots previously ignored because they were too small, too narrow, or just too weirdly-shaped, according to the New York Times. There are 10,516 acres of vacant land with residential zoning scattered across the city, although only a fraction of them can realistically be built on. But developers and architects are finding inventive ways to build […]

National Cheat Sheet: Amazon dumps NYC, Google plans $13B real estate investment, Sears survives… & more

Posted: 15 Feb 2019 06:00 AM PST

Amid opposition, Amazon says ‘adios’ to LIC site for HQ2 So long, Big Apple. Amazon has scrapped its plans to build a new campus in Long Island City, Queens — a decision it attributed to political opposition. New York lawmakers, including Sen. Michael Gianaris and Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, both of Queens, opposed the $3 billion incentive package the technology giant had been set to receive. Critics also took issue with the Seattle-based company’s business practices […]

Amid mounting scrutiny, Trump Org abandons plans for hotel chains

Posted: 15 Feb 2019 05:30 AM PST

The Trump Organization is abandoning plans to build two nationwide hotel chains amid growing scrutiny over the company, and as a Democrat-led House of Representatives looks to position itself against President Trump. While the company had only formally announced one hotel location in Mississippi, it was in negotiations for at least a dozen more deals in Washington, D.C., and five other states, the New York Times reported. In a statement, the president’s son, Eric Trump, […]

JPMorgan is redesigning 270 Park after pushback over public space

Posted: 15 Feb 2019 05:07 AM PST

JPMorgan Chase is going back to the drawing board. Following push-back from the local community and politicians over public space, the banking firm is redesigning its new proposed office building at 270 Park Avenue. The original design for the new 1,400-foot tower, which will be built on the site of their old office building, allotted 7,000 square-feet of external enclosed public space. The bank had previously argued that unique conditions at the site — namely […]

At the desk of: Rachelle Friedman

Posted: 15 Feb 2019 04:30 AM PST

Before Apple, Amazon, Google and Spotify dominated the music and tech scenes, there was J&R Music and Computer World. The store, a New York City institution, opened across from City Hall in 1971 and ultimately grew its footprint to 300,000 square feet on Park Row. Rachelle Friedman — who grew up in Brooklyn and graduated from what was then known as the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn — is the “R” in the J&R. She and […]

After a year of fighting at Hudson Yards, Related and the unions are talking again

Posted: 15 Feb 2019 04:00 AM PST

After more than a year of mudslinging and name-calling, it seems Related Companies and the Building and Construction Trades Council have returned to the negotiating table. In the past two weeks, BCTC president Gary LaBarbera and Related president Bruce Beal Jr. have met at least twice to discuss their ongoing dispute over labor at Hudson Yards. A memo provided to The Real Deal that was sent out by the president of the North America’s Building […]

Prominent Elliman Brooklyn team jumps to Compass

Posted: 14 Feb 2019 03:15 PM PST

Scott Klein, who led one of Douglas Elliman’s top teams in Brooklyn, just moved to Compass. “I felt it was time to have another experience,” Klein said. “I’m a person who believes in growth, in change.” He indicated an interest to expand his business into San Francisco. Several members of Klein’s team are also making the move to Compass, including Paul Hyun, Elizabeth Vilarino, Deborah Hollon, Lisa Holler and Steve Nelson. In March, the team […]

Redfin lost $42M in 2018 amid advertising push

Posted: 14 Feb 2019 03:00 PM PST

Redfin’s losses widened to $42 million in 2018, as the discount brokerage invested heavily in direct advertising to fuel its growth. Despite the slowing housing market, the Seattle-based firm said Thursday that its revenue soared 32 percent year over year in 2018 to $486.9 million. “We believe the housing market is getting stronger,” CEO Glenn Kelman said during an investor call on Thursday. “Despite regional setbacks — and the many federal workers in the Washington, […]

Hudson Pacific earnings fall 50% in Q4 but CEO bullish about year ahead

Posted: 14 Feb 2019 02:30 PM PST

Despite an enviable list of tenants gearing up to lease its studio and office space, Hudson Pacific Properties saw its earnings slip by half in the fourth quarter. The firm said in an earnings call that it signed 75 new and renewal leases in the quarter, combining to 807,400 square feet. Those deals include Technicolor’s renewal in Hollywood, a Nutanix lease in San Jose, a Nestle lease in Seattle and a Knotel lease in San […]

Growing pains: Convene co-founder and president Chris Kelly steps back

Posted: 14 Feb 2019 02:02 PM PST

Chris Kelly, the co-founder of co-working firm Convene, has taken a step back from his role as president at the firm, as the company says it is searching for a new leader with experience to expand globally. Kelly was moved to the role of vice chairman last December at the New York-based firm, which has 23 locations across the country, offering space and amenities, and more recently co-working services to mid-sized tenants. “Convene’s business has […]

Savanna doesn’t have much time to replace Amazon at One Court Square

Posted: 14 Feb 2019 01:30 PM PST

After Amazon announced that it would not build its campus in Queens on Thursday, public officials sparred over who was victor and who was vanquished. For the governor, the biggest losers were the people of New York. For other Democrats, the only loser was Amazon. But in real estate the biggest loser of them all might be Savanna, the owner of the One Court Square office tower where Amazon planned to temporarily fill 1 million […]

New York’s biggest commercial landlord hit record highs in 2018

Posted: 14 Feb 2019 12:22 PM PST

Brookfield Asset Management, which gobbled up Forest City Realty Trust, General Growth Properties and Kushner Companies’ 666 Fifth Avenue is en route to becoming New York’s largest commercial landlord, had a record year in 2018. The Toronto-based alternative asset manager generated $7.5 billion of net income last year, a record for the firm, which reported its year-end results on Thursday. Last year, Brookfield’s net income was about $4.6 billion, marking a 65 percent increase in […]

Follow The Real Deal’s Deal Sheet on Instagram!

Posted: 14 Feb 2019 11:30 AM PST

Shaya Sonnenschein and Shaya Ackerman of Meridian Capital Group represented the owner, Marx Development Group. The loan was issued by Mack Real Estate Credit Strategies. #commercialrealestate #nycrealestate #trdny #trddealsheet #nyc #nycloans #trdloans A post shared by The Real Deal’s Deal Sheet (@trddeals) on Jun 20, 2018 at 10:17am PDT The Real Deal’s Deal Sheet is on Instagram! Our latest social media channel features snaps of retail and office leases, financing acquisitions and commercial and residential […]

When luxury leaks

Posted: 14 Feb 2019 10:30 AM PST

Not long after closing on a $28.5 million pad at 56 Leonard last spring, the new owner had a problem. More than one, actually. The master bathroom allegedly had poor caulking, the deadbolts weren’t working properly, and the apartment’s oak floors were starting to warp. When the owner’s contractor tore up the floor, he discovered three layers of wood under the oak — which appeared to have been laid “to conceal defects underneath,” according to […]

Hermès planning new Madison Ave flagship

Posted: 14 Feb 2019 09:45 AM PST

Luxury retailer Hermès of Paris is planning a new flagship location at Friedland Properties’ 706 Madison Avenue. The company has signed a lease and will open the new location in 2022, Women’s Wear Daily reported. The five-story space spans roughly 40,000 square feet and includes two outdoor terraces. The site is connected to a restored bank building from the 1920s, approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. The news comes as Madison Avenue retail has struggled […]

Goodbye, NY: Amazon says it won’t come to Queens due to political opposition

Posted: 14 Feb 2019 09:02 AM PST

Leaving a $3 billion incentive package on the table, Amazon has decided against coming to New York City. The company announced on Thursday that it won’t build a new campus in Queens. The decision follows reports last week that Amazon was reconsidering its selection of New York, amid fierce political opposition. Much of the blowback sprung from the $3 billion in state and city tax incentives offered to lure the company to Queens. “After much […]

Here are new details on Bruce Eichner’s megaproject in Crown Heights

Posted: 14 Feb 2019 08:35 AM PST

Bruce Eichner’s Continuum Company and Joel Bergstein’s Lincoln Equities are moving forward with plans for one of Crown Height’s biggest developments. The new project, consisting of two 39-story towers at 960 Franklin Avenue, will span 1.4 million square feet and house more than 1,500 residential units, YIMBY reported. Of those units, roughly 790 would be rented as affordable. The companies plan to construct the towers in two phases. Construction of the first building, which would […]

Trump admin considers sidestepping Congress to overhaul Fannie and Freddie

Posted: 14 Feb 2019 07:30 AM PST

The Trump administration may bypass Congress in its effort to privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which have been in government “conservatorship” for a decade. Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin, who previously sought support from Democrats in Congress to privatize the mortgage giants, is now working on a set of proposals to do so unilaterally, sources told the Financial Times. “They want bipartisan support, but they know that is going to be difficult, especially with so […]

Queens I-sales bounced back in 2018 with big institutional deals

Posted: 14 Feb 2019 07:00 AM PST

The Queens investment sales market spiked up significantly in 2018 from the year before, coming just short of 2016’s dollar volume. Overall, the borough saw $4.67 billion of activity across 619 deals involving 779 buildings last year, according to a new report from Ariel Property Advisors. This was a 39 percent increase in dollar volume, but just a 7 percent increase in deal volume and a 2 percent increase in building volume from 2017. The […]

Price war: Partners at MoMA tower went to arbitration over unit discounts

Posted: 14 Feb 2019 06:30 AM PST

Facing poor sales and an oversaturated market, the partners behind the ultra-luxury MoMA tower have had trouble agreeing on how much to cut prices. Hines, Goldman Sachs, and Singapore’s Pontiac Land Group recently resorted to an arbitration process to resolve their differences, sources told Crain’s, with Hines seeking to slash prices more aggressively at the Jean Nouvel-designed tower at 53 West 53rd Street. Spokespeople for the project, Goldman and Pontiac declined to comment. The 1,050-foot […]

Mortgage originations hit 4-year low: NY Fed

Posted: 14 Feb 2019 06:00 AM PST

Mortgage originations fell last year, while new auto loans hit all-time highs, according to a report by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York released on Tuesday. New mortgage loans for 2018 were at the lowest level since 2014. Mortgage originations in the fourth quarter fell to $401.5 billion from $445.3 billion in the previous quarter, the lowest volume since the first quarter of 2016 in nominal terms, the Wall Street Journal reported. New auto […]

City taps developers, nonprofits for two Hudson Yards projects

Posted: 14 Feb 2019 05:30 AM PST

Hudson Yards is getting two new projects, and these aren’t luxury focused. Housing Preservation Development Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer announced on Tuesday that two development teams had been selected to build 258 units of affordable housing on city-owned sites at 806 Ninth Avenue and 705 10th Avenue, Real Estate Weekly reported. The proposal for the Ninth Avenue site came from the Hudson Companies and Housing Works, a nonprofit dedicated to combating AIDS and homelessness, while the […]

Concessions may finally be peaking in Brooklyn rental market: Elliman

Posted: 14 Feb 2019 05:00 AM PST

Renters in Brooklyn should grab concessions while they’re still available. The market share of rental incentives being given by landlords in Brooklyn declined this month for the first time in almost three years, according to a new report from Douglas Elliman. The share of new Brooklyn rental transactions with incentives fell to 47 percent from 47.5 percent at the same time last year. The change is largely due to the fact that landlords are seeing […]

What’s a property worth? Depends who’s asking

Posted: 14 Feb 2019 04:30 AM PST

Starwood Capital Group made a big bet on the U.S. retail market in November 2013. Barry Sternlicht’s private equity firm bought a 90 percent stake in seven malls from Westfield Group for $1.6 billion through an affiliated company. Located in towns like Toledo, Ohio, and Olympia, Washington, the malls were filled with national brands and boasted an average occupancy rate of 96 percent — the kind of properties considered a very safe bet at the […]

Manhattan rental concessions fell for the first time since 2015

Posted: 14 Feb 2019 04:00 AM PST

Manhattan’s rental market has broken its nearly four-year streak of rising concessions. The market share of landlord incentives was 44.5 percent in January, down from 49.3 percent a year earlier, according to Douglas Elliman’s latest market report. The slide came after 43 straight months of increases. “The trend has been so consistent, and now we’re seeing this stretch being broken,” said Jonathan Miller, CEO of appraisal firm Miller Samuel and author of the report. “I […]

Shvo, partners to convert 685 Fifth Avenue into Mandarin Oriental condos

Posted: 14 Feb 2019 03:00 AM PST

Developer Michael Shvo and two partners have received the green light to convert the office portion of 685 Fifth Avenue into residential condominiums. Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group has signed on to manage the residential condominiums, which would span 25 floors across the building, The Real Deal has learned. The conversion would redevelop 100,000 square feet of office into 69 luxury condominiums, and is expected reopen in 2021. Shvo partnered with Turkish development firm BLG Holdings, […]