The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Starwood loses control of US mall portfolio

Posted: 09 Sep 2020 03:10 PM PDT

It’s over for Starwood Capital Group’s U.S. mall portfolio. The real estate investment firm lost control of seven shopping centers after defaulting on Israeli bonds earlier this year, according to the Wall Street Journal. A ratings downgrade on the debt triggered a clause that allows bondholders to take control of the properties. Six parties — including Starwood — submitted bids for the portfolio back in May. A partnership between Pacific Retail Capital Partners and Golden

Amazon Music is coming to Brooklyn’s office market

Posted: 09 Sep 2020 02:45 PM PDT

Amazon Music has signed a new lease in Brooklyn, the company’s latest expansion in New York’s office market. The company signed a lease for 40,000 square feet at Rubenstein Partners and Heritage Equity Partners’ 25 Kent Avenue in Williamsburg, according to Business Insider. Amazon Music, a streaming service founded just four years ago to compete with peers like Spotify, hopes to use the space as a studio or production space. Amazon recently said it was

Maison Kayser lays off 708 employees

Posted: 09 Sep 2020 02:30 PM PDT

Employees of Maison Kayser will be forced to put their bread-baking days behind them. The French bakery — founded by Eric Kayser in 1996 — has laid off 708 employees in New York City, according to a Sept. 4 filing with the Department of Labor. The staff had been placed on temporary leave in March and April. In July, it was reported that the chain would exit the New York market by closing 15 locations

J.C. Penney saved by Simon and Brookfield

Posted: 09 Sep 2020 02:15 PM PDT

J.C. Penney is saved. The retailer will be acquired by mall operators Simon Property Group and Brookfield Property Partners, avoiding liquidation. Simon and Brookfield will pay about $300 million in cash and assume $500 million in debt to buy J.C. Penney, according to the New York Times. Some of the stores and distribution facilities will be divided into two property companies. The deal values the department store chain at $1.75 billion. “We are in a

Miami-Dade mayor: Bars and nightclubs won’t reopen until there’s a vaccine

Posted: 09 Sep 2020 02:00 PM PDT

Bars, nightclubs and movie theaters will remain closed in Miami-Dade County, though some outside activities can restart, and the curfew has been extended an extra hour. Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez announced that more outdoor activities will be allowed beginning next week, two weeks after indoor dining was allowed to resume. Zoo Miami and Jungle Island will be able to reopen on Monday with masks and social distancing enforced. Most indoor spaces and playgrounds at both

Icon Parking sued for rent at Midtown headquarters

Posted: 09 Sep 2020 01:35 PM PDT

Icon Parking and its affiliates, which have repeatedly been sued over allegedly failing to pay rent at various locations, is now in hot water at its Midtown East headquarters. Landlord ABS Partners is suing the parking garage operator, claiming it owes more than $7 million in rent and other fees at 270 Madison Avenue, where Icon occupies the second floor of the 269,000-square-foot building. Icon hasn’t paid rent since April, and ABS terminated its lease

On the rack: Rent the Runway’s Dumbo space up for rent

Posted: 09 Sep 2020 12:45 PM PDT

Rent the Runway’s splashy Dumbo office space has hit the sublease market. The company, which rents out designer dresses on a short-term basis, decided to shutter most of its retail stores when Covid struck. It’s now also giving up its office digs at Triangle Assets’ 10 Jay Street, adding over 80,000 square feet of prime space to a market already teeming with sublet space. Triangle Assets gut-renovated the former 221,500-square-foot warehouse that sits along the

Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt buys Montecito manse for $31M

Posted: 09 Sep 2020 11:45 AM PDT

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and his wife Wendy purchased a sprawling Montecito estate for nearly half its original asking price. The couple paid $30.8 million for the 11-acre hilltop property known as Solana, which overlooks Santa Barbara and the Pacific Ocean, according to the Wall Street Journal. The property had been on and off the market since 2012. It first listed for $57.5 million, but by last year the asking price was down to

Market-rate rent payments sink to lowest level since start of pandemic

Posted: 09 Sep 2020 11:00 AM PDT

(Source: National Multifamily Housing Council/Tableau) September rent payments for market-rate apartments nationwide fell, the largest drop since the pandemic began in March. A survey of 11.4 million market-rate units found 76.4 percent of those households made a rent payment in the first week of September. It marked a 4.8 percent-point drop from the same time last year, representing 552,796 fewer households sending a rent payment. It was also a 2.9 percentage-point dip from August collections.

Indoor dining can finally begin in NYC — with some big caveats

Posted: 09 Sep 2020 10:41 AM PDT

After months of uncertainty over the fate of New York City’s restaurants scene, eateries can finally begin seating indoors. Indoor dining can begin Sept. 30 at 25 percent capacity, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo. However, that comes with some big caveats. Temperature checks will be required at the door for all customers, one member of the diners’ group will have to provide contact information for tracing purposes and there will be no bar seating. The

SL Green looks to sell FiDi mixed-use development

Posted: 09 Sep 2020 09:45 AM PDT

SL Green Realty is looking to sell its nearly finished Financial District residential project, which could be valued at upwards of $400 million. The REIT has listed its development at 185 Broadway, which is scheduled for completion next summer, according to marketing materials. When completed, the mixed-use building will have 209 residential units, 41,000 square feet of office space and nearly 10,000 square feet of retail. SL Green’s pricing expectations for the property were not

Trump’s fair housing repeal roils multifamily developers

Posted: 09 Sep 2020 09:15 AM PDT

This summer, President Donald Trump put low-income residents on notice: The suburbs would be off-limits to them. His administration repealed an Obama-era rule known as Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing — a moment amplified by a series of tweets from the president declaring victory for suburbs across the country. “I am happy to inform all of the people living their Suburban Lifestyle Dream that you will no longer be bothered or financially hurt by having low

WeWork shakes up chief finance post

Posted: 09 Sep 2020 09:10 AM PDT

WeWork is swapping out its finance chief after just six months. The shared-office giant’s CFO Kimberly Ross, who took the position in March, will be stepping down at the end of this month, WeWork announced Wednesday. The company said Ross, a 25-year veteran of the corporate finance world, is leaving “for personal reasons.” She will be replaced by Benjamin Dunham, who for the past two years has served as the head finance officer for WeWork’s

REBNY taps Realtor.com exec to lead RLS

Posted: 09 Sep 2020 08:30 AM PDT

REBNY’s Residential Listing Service has a new chief. Ninve James is joining the Real Estate Board of New York to lead the RLS, the trade association announced in a release. James, a former vice president at Realtor.com where she managed the site’s New York City market strategy for five years, was also part of Trulia’s founding team. She replaces REBNY’s former RLS chief, John Canniffe, who departed last month after a one-year stint. The RLS

Mortgage size hits record high as rates slip

Posted: 09 Sep 2020 08:00 AM PDT

As rates slipped, the volume of Americans seeking mortgages rose — and the average size of loans hit a new high. Applications for mortgages to purchase homes increased 3 percent, seasonally adjusted, compared to the final week of August, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association weekly survey. The MBA metric, known as purchase index, is up 40 percent year-over-year, according to the association’s Joel Kan, head of industry forecasting, though he noted the timing of

Royalton, Garment District hotels sell at discounts

Posted: 09 Sep 2020 07:50 AM PDT

Some investors are seizing on the opportunity to snatch up hotels at significant discounts. Ashford Hospitality Trust Inc. has sold its 310-room hotel at 60 West 37th Street in the Garment District to Magna Hospitality Group for $115 million, according to property records. That’s a 41 percent discount to the $195 million the real estate investment trust paid for the Embassy Suites hotel 18 months ago. Similarly, hotel operator Highgate and real estate investment firm

Eleven Madison Park works out deal with landlord to reopen

Posted: 09 Sep 2020 07:30 AM PDT

SL Green Realty has “stepped up in a big way” according to the chef behind Eleven Madison Park. The three-Michelin star restaurant has struck a rent agreement with its landlord, according to a recent interview with its chef and owner, Daniel Humm, by restaurant newsletter Astrolabe. The fate of the restaurant — along with many others in New York City — has been up in the air since the coronavirus shut down much of the

“Status quo means going backwards:” How development fell from grace under de Blasio

Posted: 09 Sep 2020 07:05 AM PDT

After six years of pushing for development, Mayor Bill de Blasio has been shying away from that agenda. Politico rounded up a string of examples to lay bare what has been increasingly clear to the real estate industry and the mayor’s own staff for a while: He’s not big on building any more. Case in point: After Amazon canceled plans to build a campus on the Queens waterfront, the city was in negotiations with developers

Ex-CCRE head Paul Vanderslice joins BMO Capital Markets

Posted: 09 Sep 2020 06:35 AM PDT

Paul Vanderslice, who recently exited Cantor Commercial Real Estate, is joining BMO Capital Markets to lead a new CMBS origination team. Vanderslice’s move to Bank of Montreal’s investment banking subsidiary was first reported by Commercial Observer. Less than two weeks ago, Vanderslice left CCRE, two years after being brought in to reboot and lead one of the commercial mortgage industry’s big bookrunners. Levent Kahraman, a co-head of securitized products at BMO, said the firm intends

Pricey Park Slope townhouses drive dealmaking in Brooklyn

Posted: 09 Sep 2020 06:00 AM PDT

Fall is starting with a solid set of luxury contracts inked in Brooklyn. Fifteen contracts were signed last week in the borough for a total volume of $47 million, according to Compass’ weekly report on home contracts of $2 million or more. The final week of August saw $34 million in luxury residential contracts signed across 13 deals. The median asking price for homes going into contract last week was about $2.5 million after an

ICSC’s “incredibly tragic day” and rough year ahead

Posted: 09 Sep 2020 05:15 AM PDT

UPDATED Sept. 9, 2020, 3:45 pm: Employees of the International Council of Shopping Centers woke up to an alarming message on June 3. In an organization-wide email, more than 130 staffers were told they would soon receive calls about their employment status. The wait was agonizing, several former ICSC employees involved told The Real Deal. The remaining 60 employees of the nonprofit — one of the leading trade groups for retail landlords and leasing agents

Chetrit family’s dev site buy tops weekly mid-market sales

Posted: 09 Sep 2020 04:30 AM PDT

There were three sales between $10 million to $30 million the week before Labor Day. A deal closed for a 69-key hotel in Flatbush, while a future residential development site in Sheepshead Bay went for $119 per buildable square foot. A seven-building affordable housing deal also closed near Crotona Park in the Bronx. 1. AB & Sons, a firm managed by the Chetrit family, paid $15.5 million for a Sheepshead Bay parcel at 2870 Ocean

Open Streets initiative has drawn a crowd, but restaurants and landlords still struggle

Posted: 09 Sep 2020 04:00 AM PDT

Since it began in May, the city’s Open Streets initiative has been a draw, helping restaurants and businesses along dozens of corridors that are closed to vehicle traffic on weekends.  But while Mayor Bill de Blasio has called it a “lifeline” for hard-hit restaurants by expanding outdoor dining options and encouraging pedestrian thoroughfares, real estate pros say Open Streets cannot replace indoor dining, which remains banned. Landlords continue to negotiate rent payments with struggling