The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Construction poised to resume, city considers hazard pay for workers

Posted: 30 Apr 2020 04:10 PM PDT

In two weeks, nonessential construction is expected to restart in parts of New York. But before Gov. Andrew Cuomo lifts his state of emergency order, the City Council wants to ensure essential workers — including those on construction sites — receive hazard pay. A bill sponsored by Council member Laurie Cumbo would require essential businesses with more than 100 employees to give hourly workers an extra $30 to $75 per shift during the pandemic. Many

Extell announces Covid-inspired price cuts at One Manhattan Square

Posted: 30 Apr 2020 03:30 PM PDT

Extell Development, a leader in setting the bar for luxury prices, is offering discounts of up to 20 percent on all remaining units at its One Manhattan Square condominium. In a statement Thursday, the New York developer said the decision to slash prices was made “in response to global conditions related to COVID-19.” It’s the latest in a series of offers designed to spur sales at the 815-unit tower, which was grappling with a soft

Sapir gets PPP loan for NYC hotel; Rotem Rosen to return his

Posted: 30 Apr 2020 03:15 PM PDT

Alex Sapir’s Sapir Corp is the latest New York City hotel owner set to land a Paycheck Protection Program loan. And in completely unrelated news, his former brother-in-law and business partner Rotem Rosen has decided to give his PPP money back. Sapir applied for the $2.9 million loan in mid-April for the NoMo Soho hotel at 9 Crosby Street and was notified of Small Business Association approval by the lender processing it, the company disclosed

Paramount Group plans virtual showings to fill huge Barclays space

Posted: 30 Apr 2020 02:40 PM PDT

With Barclays’ 500,000-square-foot lease at 1301 Sixth Avenue set to expire at the end of this year, landlord Paramount Group had set a goal of pre-leasing half of the investment bank’s space in 2020. The coronavirus pandemic is complicating those plans, as leasing activity in Manhattan has come to a halt. But the firm is finding ways to keep potential tenants interested. The original year-end leasing goal, “which was a tall order in itself pre-Covid-19,

Macy’s prepares to unlock the doors

Posted: 30 Apr 2020 02:31 PM PDT

In the latest sign of a post-coronavirus retail world, Macy’s will reopen all its 775 locations by the end of June. The company will begin on Monday with 68 stores in Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas, according to the New York Times. CEO Jeff Gennette said in a presentation that the retailer expects to only bring in about 20 percent of its typical business at its stores, and “slowly build” from there, according to

Rent freeze is looking more likely

Posted: 30 Apr 2020 01:05 PM PDT

A rent freeze for most rent-stabilized tenants is looking more likely after one of the two landlord representatives on the Rent Guidelines Board said Thursday that she can see the logic of no increase for one-year leases. Two-year leases, however, are another story. Patti Stone, an attorney with Rosenberg & Estis, said she “can understand the position that it should be zero for a year.” But she said banning increases for two-year leases for rent-stabilized

Investors who shorted malls stand to make out big

Posted: 30 Apr 2020 12:30 PM PDT

The coronavirus pandemic may be the final nail in the coffin for some retailers and shopping malls. For certain investors, that’s a good thing. Those who shorted the mall-heavy CMBX 6 index are seeing their bets pay off faster than they thought as tenants come up short on rent and mall owners miss mortgage payments, according to Bloomberg. MP Securitized Credit Partners is among the investment firms that bet the index would lose value. The

Rent strike targets landlords who can “take the hit”

Posted: 30 Apr 2020 12:00 PM PDT

Tenant groups in New York City say the rent strike they have been planning will target specific landlords. Building owners to be targeted include Douglas Eisenberg’s A&E Real Estate Management, Stephen Ross’ Related Companies, Ken Subraj’s Zara Realty, Charles Kushner’s Kushner Companies, Efstathios Valiotis’ Alma Realty, Isaac Kassirer’s Emerald Equity Group, Mordechai Schwimmer’s Full Time Management and Daniel Benedict’s Benedict Realty Group, a real estate investment firm based in Great Neck. None of the firms

Hotel occupancy rises as essential workers, homeless fill rooms

Posted: 30 Apr 2020 11:16 AM PDT

The hotel market is improving across the country but that comes with a caveat. The uptick is likely a result of coronavirus-related response measures cities have undertaken throughout the U.S. Nationally, hotel occupancy inched up to 26 percent for the week ending April 25, from about 23 percent the week before, according to data from hospitality research firm STR. New York City occupancy rate climbed to 41 percent, according to STR. While that is still

TRD Insights: Every resi deal in NYC last week

Posted: 30 Apr 2020 09:45 AM PDT

Residential transactions were up last week for the first time since the beginning of April. The five boroughs had $495 million in residential sales for the week ending April 24, up 12.3 percent from the week prior. The 351 transactions represented a nearly 18 percent increase from the 298 recorded the week before. NYC’s Residential Sales Last Week SOURCE: TRD analysis of Department of Finance records For the second week in a row, the most

Retailer Hudson’s Bay pink-slips 500 NYC employees

Posted: 30 Apr 2020 09:10 AM PDT

UPDATED, 5:54 p.m. April 30: Hudson’s Bay Company, the owner of Saks Fifth Avenue, will lay off 507 New York-based employees due to the coronavirus. The layoffs are temporary, and most employees will be laid off between April 21 and May 4, according to a notice filed with the New York State Department of Labor. Hudson’s Bay, a Canadian-based firm that was founded in 1670 and bills itself as the oldest company in North America,

Smart-kitchen startup Kitopi lays off 124 NYC employees

Posted: 30 Apr 2020 08:00 AM PDT

Kitopi, a startup that provides kitchen and delivery services to restaurants, has laid off 124 employees in New York — just months after raising $60 million to expand its U.S. operations. In a notice published with the state this week, the company blamed “unforeseeable business circumstances” caused by the coronavirus for its decision to cut staff. A spokesperson told Commercial Observer the company had taken “measures to ensure the overall sustainability of our business,” adding

High-end home listings down but not out — and searches are up

Posted: 30 Apr 2020 07:30 AM PDT

Wealthy sellers are continuing to list their properties, and brokers are making the most of a captive audience. To sweeten high-end virtual tours, at least one Los Angeles brokerage is sending attendees boutique gift packets to accompany their experience, bringing them as close to the atmosphere as they can get, according to the Wall Street Journal. Since the coronavirus outbreak, many sellers have pulled their listings, blaming economic uncertainty and restrictions on in-person home showings.

SoftBank anticipates $6.6B loss on WeWork investment

Posted: 30 Apr 2020 06:00 AM PDT

SoftBank’s bet on WeWork is causing more pain for the conglomerate. The group said this week that it is expecting a $6.6 billion loss for the year ending March on a portion of its investment in WeWork held outside SoftBank’s Vision Fund. The announcement comes two weeks after SoftBank told investors that its annual operating losses would reach a record 1.35 trillion yen ($12.6 billion), and at a time when WeWork is struggling to navigate

SL Green continues to unload assets to create cash buffer

Posted: 30 Apr 2020 05:40 AM PDT

SL Green Realty is seeking bids for its largest loan yet as the company looks to raise a large cash buffer against the economic downturn. The real estate investment trust is offering the $110 million loan it provided Nightingale Properties and Wafra Capital Partners earlier this year to finance their purchase of the 1 million-square-foot office tower at 111 Wall Street in the FInancial District, sources told The Real Deal. The 6 percent fixed-rate loan

Senator: Suspend property taxes until next year

Posted: 30 Apr 2020 05:30 AM PDT

State Sen. David Carlucci is pushing for a bill to suspend property tax deadlines until the end of the year. He said in a press release that the intention of his bill is to kill the quarterly payment deadlines for county, town, village and school property taxes statewide through Dec. 31. But, as written, the bill only allows payments that were due April 15 to be deferred interest-free, according to attorney Benjamin Williams at Rosenberg

Real estate is waking up to pandemic insurance. But is it too late?

Posted: 30 Apr 2020 05:00 AM PDT

Hotel owners nationwide have likely deployed teams of lawyers to scour their insurance policies, hoping to find a clause that covers a portion of the monumental damages inflicted as a result of Covid-19. Most of them have been sorely disappointed. But a very small number may be holding a trump card. In New York City, Rotem Rosen’s Hotel Indigo Lower East Side appears to be one of the lucky ones, or one of the more

Pandemic pay cuts: Analysis shows real estate CEOs aren’t giving up much

Posted: 30 Apr 2020 04:30 AM PDT

Marriott International’s business was already down 75 percent by March 19, when the hotel chain’s CEO Arne Sorenson posted a somber update. With his industry pummeled by the coronavirus pandemic, Sorenson spoke of the need to cut staff and said he would forgo a paycheck for the rest of the year. He’s not alone. As companies across the real estate industry lay off and furlough workers, many leaders have said they’ll share the pain by

Lawsuit against TPG trust could be an omen for CRE finance

Posted: 30 Apr 2020 04:00 AM PDT

A mortgage lender sponsored by investment giant TPG stopped funding a loan to a New York-based developer due to liquidity strains caused by the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new lawsuit that could be a sign of where commercial real estate finance is headed. Somera Road, a New York-based developer, alleges TPG RE Finance failed to advance $4 million in funds on a $60.2 million loan to buy and redevelop a distressed office building in