The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

The Collective plans $150M co-living project in Williamsburg

Posted: 16 Dec 2019 03:13 PM PST

The Collective is upping its bet on co-living in Brooklyn with its third development in the borough — one that will be geared toward students and people looking for short-term stay space. The London-based co-living firm announced Monday that it is developing 292 North 8th Street in Williamsburg, which will mark its sixth project in the U.S. and fourth in New York City. The 100,000-square-foot development will house 224 units, 97 of which will be

See who made it to Moinian’s holiday bash

Posted: 16 Dec 2019 02:00 PM PST

Neither rain nor gloom of night stayed real estate professionals from the completion of their appointed rounds at the Moinian Group’s holiday party this year. The Joseph Moinian–led firm hosted the event at CNVS, 635 West 42nd Street, near a 2-million-square-foot office tower it is building nearby at 3 Hudson Boulevard. The developer’s 2018 party was also held at CNVS. With a downpour drenching the streets outside, guests milled about a large white room enlivened

What’s this Utah biz doing in NYC? Topping our I-sales list

Posted: 16 Dec 2019 01:30 PM PST

Last week was a busy one for mid-market investment sales in New York. Highlights included a Utah-based storage company buying an industrial building in Crown Heights for almost $23 million and Related Companies buying another commercial condo in its 30 Hudson Yards building for about $17.2 million. Here are the details. Utah-based storage company Extra Space Storage bought a four-story industrial building at 155 Empire Boulevard in Crown Heights for about $22.8 million from LSC

Extell scores $700M refi for three Manhattan buildings

Posted: 16 Dec 2019 01:26 PM PST

Gary Barnett’s Extell Development scored a $700 million refi from Citigroup and Rexmark for its luxe rentals at Hudson Yards and in the East Village. Citi provided $485 million in senior CMBS loans and Rexmark originated $215 million in mezzanine loans, Commercial Observer reported. The 10-year fixed-rate loans are interest-only and not cross-collateralized. The financing covers 760 units over three buildings, including the mixed-use tower at 555 Tenth Avenue, composed of 600 luxury rental apartments

Best Buy signs lease for new store at 535 Fifth

Posted: 16 Dec 2019 01:15 PM PST

Best Buy’s Fifth Avenue flagship store is moving — but not very far. The consumer electronics retailer has signed a 10-year lease for 40,839 square feet at 535 Fifth Avenue, landlord the Moinian Group disclosed Sunday in a filing on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. The lease will span the first, second, mezzanine and basement levels of the property and comes with two five-year extension options. The new store is located across 44th Street from

A 432 Park condo has traded hands 4 times — this time at a loss

Posted: 16 Dec 2019 12:34 PM PST

It’s been just three years. But one 65th-floor apartment at the ultra-luxury supertall 432 Park Avenue has traded hands four times. And this time, the price marks a roughly $3 million drop from when the half-floor pad was first taken off the market in 2016. Buyer WMC Property Holding LLC, linked to Ying Yu and with Li Wen Zhou as authorized signatory, shelled out $23.98 million for unit 65A at the Billionaires’ Row tower, according

Oxford Property Group expands office, subleases space

Posted: 16 Dec 2019 12:00 PM PST

Oxford Property Group is moving on up and becoming a landlord — sort of. The high-commission-split brokerage has roughly doubled its office footprint by moving into the almost 10,000-square-foot penthouse of a Garment District office building at 5 West 37th Street. The asking rent of a lower floor in the building pegs is $45 per square foot. The brokerage, run by Adam Mahfouda, had been based in a 4,500-square-foot office seven blocks north. The firm’s

Brexit is happening. Will NYC’s luxury market get a bump?

Posted: 16 Dec 2019 11:30 AM PST

Britain has voted — Brexit is back on track. The election of Boris Johnson as prime minister could bring new stability to the region after years of political tumult, and residential real estate professionals in New York are hoping for a positive ripple-effect. Compass agent Charlie Attias, who has a large international client base, said New York’s real estate market has been feeling the impact of Brexit for several years. “Investors want stability,” he said.

SoftBank-funded construction startup Katerra promised a tech revolution. It’s struggling to deliver.

Posted: 16 Dec 2019 10:45 AM PST

In an email to employees last week, Katerra CEO Michael Marks had a few uplifting thoughts on the year gone by. His startup, which seeks to transform the $12 trillion global construction industry through technology and automation, has grown to more than 8,000 employees, is nearing profitability and will soon open a new state-of-the-art factory in California. Clients are returning, he wrote, and the company has more than $15 billion worth of building projects in

Broker group’s first holiday video is a ‘beaut’

Posted: 16 Dec 2019 10:00 AM PST

Eat your heart out, Annette Bening. A group of New York City residential agents has made its first holiday video, spoofing the Oscar-winning actress’ “American Beauty” character, and it’s funnier — and less cringe-worthy — than the Blackstone Group’s annual production. The New York Residential Agent Continuum’s video depicts its own members as Bening’s character, real estate agent Carolyn Burnham, trying to sell an apartment. Eight agents take turns channeling Burnham in the cleverly written

Related mega-loan was NYC’s largest real estate finance deal of 2019

Posted: 16 Dec 2019 09:35 AM PST

After a decade of growth in New York City real estate’s capital markets, the biggest financing deals are shrinking. This year’s ranking of top 10 finance deals by The Real Deal found that major landlords are still refinancing existing properties more than securing funding for acquisitions. Notably, no Financial District buildings featured in the annual ranking. There are exceptions, however, and one dealmaker stood out. Related Companies, after the grand opening of its new $25

WeWork’s Claure on dumping Adam Neumann, renegotiating leases

Posted: 16 Dec 2019 08:00 AM PST

Marcelo Claure thinks Adam Neumann is misunderstood and that the prospects for WeWork remain strong. The new executive chairman of WeWork spoke to the New York Times for his first interview since SoftBank effectively took over the company. He said he still values Neumann’s opinion a lot and meets with him frequently outside of the office, but he also recounted telling Neumann he needed to step down. “I said: ‘Adam, we trusted you. We gave

Everyone’s rushing to be an iBuyer — except for Realtor.com

Posted: 16 Dec 2019 07:30 AM PST

It was February 2019 when Zillow co-founder Rich Barton reclaimed the CEO role in dramatic fashion, betting the future of the $8 billion company on instant home-buying. In the months since, the Seattle-based listings giant has made good on its promise to go head-to-head with competitors ranging from Opendoor and Offerpad, to Keller Williams and Realogy. But Zillow’s chief rival Realtor.com has remained conspicuously absent from iBuying, raising eyebrows among analysts and industry observers. “I’m

Cobble Hill townhouse tops list of Brooklyn luxury contracts

Posted: 16 Dec 2019 07:00 AM PST

At $6.45 million, a Cobble Hill townhouse was the priciest residential deal to go into contract in Brooklyn last week. The 25-foot wide townhouse at 168 Amity Street spans 4,500 square feet with five bedrooms and includes a backyard. It spent 191 days on the market and went under contract at 7 percent below its asking price. Overall, the Brooklyn luxury market saw 17 contracts signed last week, split between 12 houses and five condos,

Meet the financial backers behind WeWork’s rise and fall

Posted: 16 Dec 2019 06:30 AM PST

It was only after WeWork pulled its IPO and Adam Neumann’s ouster that one of the company’s board members took a stance. In early October, former Goldman Sachs partner Mark Schwartz told WeWork’s board members: No more fantasizing — it was time to save the company. “I’ve stayed silent too long,” he said, according to a Wall Street Journal profile on the financial executives behind WeWork’s rise and fall. A group of veteran financial executives

Peter Hennessy heading to Savills

Posted: 16 Dec 2019 05:45 AM PST

Veteran broker Peter Hennessy is joining Savills as a vice chairman. Hennessy plans to focus on private-sector and government clients at his new firm, according to Crain’s. He had multiple notable government leasing deals earlier in his career, including one with the Human Resources Administration for about 400,000 square feet in 4 World Trade Center. He has worked at multiple brokerages, including JLL, Cassidy Turley and Cushman & Wakefield. He clashed with executives at Cushman

Retail trade group: We can prove brands need brick-and-mortar

Posted: 16 Dec 2019 05:00 AM PST

Direct-to-consumer brands represent a ray of sunshine for New York City’s soft retail market as many begin looking for their first physical stores. And the real estate industry is greeting them with open arms, issuing research this week showing that direct-to-consumer brands see online traffic rise by 37 percent after opening a physical store. Tom McGee, CEO of the International Council of Shopping Centers, which produced the report, called it proof of “a synergistic relationship”

REBNY starts singing a different tune

Posted: 16 Dec 2019 04:30 AM PST

Over the past few months, two occasional enemies on major real estate issues began quietly meeting. James Whelan, the newly minted president of the Real Estate Board of New York, and Gary LaBarbera, president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York, revisited an idea both had floated a few times during their decade-plus of battling over wages and work rules: joining forces. This time, however, they actually negotiated in earnest. REBNY