The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Ex-Newcastle manager charged in alleged $1.2M apartment deregulation kickback scheme

Posted: 30 May 2019 03:36 PM PDT

Tenants arriving at Newcastle Realty Services’ buildings were told that their apartments were deregulated due to extensive renovations. What they weren’t told, according to state officials, is that the property manager inflated the labor costs of those improvements and accepted $1.2 million in kickbacks — some of which paid for sports cars, country club dues and au pair services. State Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday fired off a lawsuit against David Drumheller, former head […]

Arbor Realty CEO buys Bridgehampton’s Three Ponds Farm for $35M, Harry Macklowe’s East Hampton home lists for $21M & more Hamptons real estate news

Posted: 30 May 2019 03:30 PM PDT

Bridgehampton’s Three Ponds Farm sells at a $14M discount Arbor Realty Trust CEO and president Ivan Kaufman is in contract to buy Three Ponds Farm in Bridgehampton for $35 million, down significantly from the $60 million it came on the market for last summer, the New York Post reported. The nearly 60-acre compound, which includes an 18-hole golf course, was designed by renowned golf course architect Rees Jones. The property features four shared greens and […]

Savanna files plans for 23-story tower on DoBro site that was rezoned 3 years ago

Posted: 30 May 2019 03:00 PM PDT

Savanna is moving forward with its plans to bring a ground-up development in Downtown Brooklyn. But the building the developer and real estate investor is now envisioning for 141 Willoughby Street is quite different than its original proposal. Savanna filed an application with the city’s Buildings Department on Thursday to build a 23-story office tower at the site, which sits in between Gold Street and the Flatbush Avenue Extension. The project is zoned for about […]

Bridgehampton compound sells to Arbor Realty Trust CEO at a $14M discount

Posted: 30 May 2019 02:45 PM PDT

Arbor Realty Trust CEO and president Ivan Kaufman is in contract to buy Three Ponds Farm in Bridgehampton for $35 million, the New York Post reported. While it’s far from a steal, the sale price is down significantly from the $49 million it was most recently asking. The nearly 60-acre compound, which includes an 18-hole golf course, was designed by renowned golf course architect Rees Jones. The property features four shared greens and four fairways […]

Marisa Lago says antidevelopment sentiment in NYC is at “an all-time high”

Posted: 30 May 2019 02:00 PM PDT

New York’s real estate industry has become a victim of its own success, according to Department of City Planning Chair Marisa Lago. “We are seeing what—at least for me since the 70s—is an all-time high in an antidevelopment sentiment,” she said at REBNY’s annual commercial management leadership breakfast on Thursday morning. “I do think a portion of it is the fact that we have had sustained growth for such a long period.” Lago gave the […]

From billion to bankrupt: Owner of The Mountain of Beverly Hills files Chapter 11

Posted: 30 May 2019 01:30 PM PDT

UPDATED, May 30, 2:03 p.m.: The owner of The Mountain of Beverly Hills mega-listing has filed for bankruptcy protection, The Real Deal has learned. The Chapter 11 proceeding marks the giant bubble bursting on the 157-acre spread of undeveloped land, listed last July for a record-breaking $1 billion. The sprawling development site on Tower Grove Drive remains on the market, now for nearly half the price. The owner, Secured Capital Partners, filed for Chapter 11 […]

Ceruzzi, SMI bring in new partner to try and save Fifth Ave development

Posted: 30 May 2019 01:04 PM PDT

Ceruzzi Properties and SMI have brought in a new partner on their troubled Midtown development project as they race against the clock to stave off a foreclosure. Rabina Properties recently signed a joint-venture agreement to co-develop the planned 76-story mixed-use project just north of Bryant Park, a representative for the partnership told The Real Deal. “Rabina’s going to be running this deal,” Ceruzzi president Art Hooper told TRD. “We’ll be codeveloping the deal, but we’ll […]

Blackstone sells $1B stake in single-family rental business amid high pricing

Posted: 30 May 2019 01:00 PM PDT

Blackstone Group has sold off another chunk of its ownership in its suburban home rental company Invitation Homes, unloading the stock when shares are on the upswing. The private equity firm behemoth sold $1 billion worth of shares in the Dallas-based company, lowering its total holdings in the company to 27 percent from 34 percent, according to the Wall Street Journal. Blackstone sold off $1 billion in Invitation Homes shares in March. Invitation Homes shares […]

Thor plans overhaul of James Hotel

Posted: 30 May 2019 12:40 PM PDT

Joseph Sitt’s Thor Equities refinanced the James New York hotel in Soho, which it plans to revamp with the new financing. The real estate firm landed a $50 million loan from Amherst Capital Management, sources told The Real Deal. The debt, a three-year loan with two one-year extensions, refinances Thor’s 2017 acquisition loan of $44 million from French bank Natixis, which was later assigned to Waterfall Asset Management. About $20 million of the financing will […]

Artemis buys into WeWork-anchored West Chelsea office complex

Posted: 30 May 2019 12:15 PM PDT

Artemis Real Estate Partners paid nearly $155 million to buy into in an office complex on the High Line known as the Ironworks where WeWork is a major tenant. The Maryland-based investment manager bought a roughly 95 percent stake in the trio of connected buildings at 511-541 West 25th Street in West Chelsea from PGIM Real Estate, sourced told The Real Deal. “We were hunting for what we thought was a good-quality product at an […]

Tribeca rental building sells for $37M

Posted: 30 May 2019 11:30 AM PDT

Daniel Hedaya’s DAX Real Estate has purchased a Tribeca rental building for about $37.4 million, according to sources familiar with the deal. DAX bought the rental property at 186 Franklin Street from Brian Breyre, who has owned it since at least 1999, according to property records. The elevator building is 50 feet wide and stands six stories tall with one retail unit and six residential units, which DAX plans to keep as high-end rentals. A […]

With Google on the way, Resnick lands refi for Hudson Square building

Posted: 30 May 2019 10:37 AM PDT

Jack Resnick and Sons refinanced its Hudson Square office space that will soon house Google. PGIM Real Estate Finance provided a $200 million loan for 315 Hudson Street, a 10-story tall, 484,000-square-foot building sandwiched between Spring and Vandam Streets, according to property records filed Thursday with the city’s Finance Department. The deal includes a new $65 million mortgage. The debt carries a fixed rate and a term of 10 years. It will be used to […]

City Council’s crackdown on mechanical voids is just the start

Posted: 30 May 2019 10:30 AM PDT

The City Council has signaled that its move to close supertall developers’ favorite loophole is just the start. The Council on Wednesday approved a zoning amendment that caps mechanical spaces at 25 feet before they are counted toward the building’s allowable footprint, Curbed reported. The Council’s Land Use Committee voted unanimously to close the void earlier this month. The measure is the first in an effort to crack down developers’ use of mechanical spaces to […]

The New York Wheel is back! Maybe. And it would be smaller.

Posted: 30 May 2019 10:05 AM PDT

Efforts are underway to try reviving the long-suffering New York Wheel. The project’s developers announced in October that they were abandoning plans to build the 630-foot Ferris wheel on Staten Island, but the city’s Economic Development Corporation has held at least two recent meetings about reviving the development, according to NY1. The project would be closer to 443 feet than 630 feet and would use the foundation that has already been built. A new developer […]

Brookfield launches $1B Opportunity Zone fund; eyes Brooklyn, the Bronx

Posted: 30 May 2019 09:30 AM PDT

Brookfield Asset Management is seeking to raise $1 billion for an Opportunity Zone fund, and has targeted residential developments in Brooklyn and the Bronx. The Brookfield Opportunity Zone fund is already eyeing six designated zones, according to Bloomberg. The fund plans to invest in residential developments in the Bronx and in Brooklyn, including Greenpoint Landing, a 22-acre site. Brookfield announced its intention to launch an Opportunity Zone fund in April, adding to the list of […]

Witkoff sells two commercial condos at 420 Fifth for $52M

Posted: 30 May 2019 09:00 AM PDT

Steve Witkoff is fed up with high cost of development in New York City, but he can still make money in other ways — his firm the Witkoff Group just sold two of its four office condos at 420 Fifth Avenue for over $52 million. Ziff Brothers Investments picked up the fifth floor, which will be used for its new headquarters, for $27.3 million, according to Rudder Property Group, whose Michael Rudder and Mike Heller […]

Piping in listings, pumping out cash

Posted: 30 May 2019 08:15 AM PDT

It might sound unglamorous, but back-end listing systems for residential firms are the startup world’s latest meal ticket. Long the domain of two companies in New York — RealPlus and On-Line Residential —the space is being upended by new tech startups with venture money to burn. “In the past, a listings platform was enough,” said Michael Gabriel, founder of Gabriels Technology Solutions, which works with real estate firms. “Today to be competitive, a solution has […]

Jho Low’s NYC condos to hit market as part of forfeiture lawsuit

Posted: 30 May 2019 07:22 AM PDT

A U.S. forfeiture lawsuit is targeting two luxury New York City condos owned by Jho Low, a Malaysian financier who was allegedly the mastermind behind a $4.5 billion dollar scam involving the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund. On Wednesday, U.S. lawyers and lawyers for Low asked a federal judge in Los Angeles to allow them to list two of Low’s trophy properties, a Time Warner Center penthouse at 80 Columbus Circle that he bought for $30 […]

Ahead of rent reforms, group headed by Blackstone meets with housing advocates behind closed doors

Posted: 30 May 2019 06:50 AM PDT

As all eyes turn to rent reform battles in Albany, a group of New York City landlords met with affordable housing advocates behind closed doors to work out some compromises. In a March meeting, executives from Blackstone Group, A&E Real Estate Holdings and Taconic Investment Partners met with Community Service Society, Enterprise Community Partners, and New York State Association for Affordable Housing to reach an agreement on rent law reforms, Gothamist report. It wasn’t clear […]

Here are the 10 tallest projects proposed in LA

Posted: 30 May 2019 05:30 AM PDT

Downtown Los Angeles’ development boom can be seen in the flood of projects built over the last few years, but some of the most ambitious are yet to break ground. All of the 10 tallest projects proposed in L.A. are set for some part of its urban core. Among them is 333 South Figuera, a 1,108-foot skyscraper that could be the city’s tallest building. There are several massive mixed-use projects to add hundreds of new […]

Belpointe looks to become the Blackstone of Opportunity Zones with a $3B REIT

Posted: 30 May 2019 05:00 AM PDT

Greenwich may seem like an unlikely breeding ground for a revolution. But Brandon Lacoff, the 44-year-old co-founder and CEO of Belpointe, never considered setting up shop anywhere else. The tony town in Fairfield County is home to many family offices, Belpointe among them, and the Lacoff family has been there since 1980. Belpointe’s headquarters is housed on the top floor of a refurbished 1920s-era bank along Greenwich’s main street. Marty, Lacoff’s father and Belpointe’s chief […]

Sovereign wealth funds are dialing back their NYC property stakes

Posted: 30 May 2019 04:30 AM PDT

For a good chunk of time, sovereign wealth funds were tripping over themselves to buy trophy Manhattan buildings — from classic prewar Midtown towers to gleaming new construction in Hudson Yards. But those funds — the official investment vehicles of foreign countries like Qatar, Norway, China and others — now seem to be taking a breather. “There’s definitely been a shift in the last 12 months,” said Alex Foshay, a vice chair at Newmark Knight […]

Larry Silverstein unplugged: Developer talks potentially building 2 World Trade Center on spec, Hudson Yards

Posted: 30 May 2019 04:00 AM PDT

Larry Silverstein has a lot on his mind. In a wide-ranging interview with The Real Deal publisher Amir Korangy at the annual New York Showcase, the head of Silverstein Properties recounted the painstaking rebuild of Lower Manhattan following the 9/11 attacks, how Rupert Murdoch spurned him at the last minute for 2 World Trade Center, and why he might build the skyscraper without an anchor tenant in place. Silverstein also described what he believed was […]