The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Sapir Corp CEO Amir Richulsky resigns

Posted: 09 Nov 2020 03:15 PM PST

After about half a year as Sapir Corp’s CEO, Amir Richulsky is leaving for another firm. The developer announced Richulsky’s resignation in a Sunday filing on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, where the company’s bonds are listed. The disclosure did not specify where Richulsky is going, but notes that his tenure will officially end in December. Richulsky, previously Sapir Corp’s director of finance, was appointed as CEO this May after his predecessor Baruch Itzhak left

Retail rent collections hit 89% in October

Posted: 09 Nov 2020 02:40 PM PST

After a few rocky months, rent collections at national chains are leveling out. Major chains paid 89 percent of October rent, the highest amount since the start of the pandemic, and a slight increase from 87 percent collected in September, according to a report by Datex Property Solutions. October’s figure was just 7 percentage points below the same time last year. The increase in payments is a continuation of the progress that landlords have been

Petition to overturn indoor dining restrictions squashed by judge

Posted: 09 Nov 2020 02:00 PM PST

New York City restaurant owners who were hoping to see indoor dining capacity expanded are out of luck. A state judge upheld Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s 25 percent limit on indoor restaurant capacity in the five boroughs, Bloomberg News reported. Two Staten Island restaurants, Bocelli Ristorante and Joyce’s Tavern, had filed a lawsuit in September, arguing that they should be able to operate at 50 percent capacity, like restaurants located elsewhere in the state. In a

Office, apartment REITs get shot in the arm from vaccine news

Posted: 09 Nov 2020 01:35 PM PST

New York office and apartment landlords received a rare shot of good news Monday with Pfizer’s announcement that it’s getting closer to developing an effective Covid-19 vaccine. An early analysis found that Pfizer’s vaccine was more than 90 percent effective in treating Covid-19 on clinical volunteers. The company said it could potentially manufacture enough vaccines for as many as 20 million people by the end of 2020. The news led to spikes in both the

Townhouses continue to dominate Brooklyn’s luxury market

Posted: 09 Nov 2020 01:10 PM PST

Amid the uncertainty of the presidential election last week, 19 homebuyers sealed the deal in Brooklyn. Luxury contracts worth a total of $50.7 million were signed last week, according to Compass’ weekly report on activity for properties asking $2 million or more. That’s an increase from the previous week, when 14 contracts were signed for a total volume of $38 million. Of the 19 contracts, 11 were townhouses and eight were condominium units. The average

CBRE latest real estate firm to hop on SPAC bandwagon

Posted: 09 Nov 2020 12:30 PM PST

Another major real estate firm is hopping on the SPAC bandwagon. CBRE, the world’s largest real estate services firm, has formed a blank-check company, called CBRE Acquisition Holdings. The new special-purpose acquisition company is seeking to “identify and acquire a privately held company with significant growth potential” for a merger or acquisition, according to a regulatory filing. It’s aiming for a valuation of up to $400 million in an initial public offering. “We believe we

Tropical Storm Eta floods South Florida: Photos

Posted: 09 Nov 2020 11:50 AM PST

Tropical storm Eta brought heavy rain and winds to South Florida Sunday and Monday, flooding parts of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. Major roadways, including Biscayne Boulevard in downtown Miami and the MacArthur Causeway to Miami Beach, were inundated as of Monday morning, and tens of thousands of homes experienced power outages. Storm totals reached 18 inches of rain in some areas of South Florida, and wind gusts hit 63 miles per hour in

CrowdStreet launches e-commerce property fund

Posted: 09 Nov 2020 11:00 AM PST

To meet the surge in demand for last-mile real estate, CrowdStreet is launching an e-commerce property fund. The Portland, Oregon-based crowdfunding platform said the $20 million to $30 million fund will target warehouses, distribution and data centers, and logistics and last-mile properties. It aims to invest in projects with a total capitalization of $400 million. “When the pandemic hit, we watched e-commerce sales spike,” said Ian Formingle, Crowdstreet’s chief investment officer, characterizing logistics-focused real estate

Lame-duck Congress will resume stimulus package talks

Posted: 09 Nov 2020 10:15 AM PST

After several long days of vote counting last week, former Vice President Joe Biden emerged as the president-elect, Republicans gained more seats in the House and control of the Senate hinges on the results of two run-off elections in Georgia. Congress will now enter a lame-duck session, where little is typically accomplished even under normal circumstances — but these aren’t normal circumstances. The fate of another economic stimulus package is up in the air, and

HUD Secretary Carson tests positive for Covid

Posted: 09 Nov 2020 09:40 AM PST

Ben Carson, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, has tested positive for coronavirus. The news comes less than a week after President Donald Trump’s chief of staff also tested positive for the virus, NBC reported. The Trump campaign hosted an indoors, in-person election night party. Carson, who is a retired neurosurgeon and serves on Trump’s coronavirus task force, “is in good spirits and feels fortunate to have access to effective

Manhattan luxury deals hold despite election uncertainty

Posted: 09 Nov 2020 08:45 AM PST

Election results trickled in at a glacial pace last week, but Manhattan’s luxury market continued its steady march forward. Buyers struck deals for 17 properties priced above $4 million, according to the latest market report from Olshan Realty. The total included 14 condos, two townhouses and just one co-op. Taken in the context of the pandemic, the weekly total is a jump from the worst of the lockdown, when deals averaged four per week. It’s

Tishman Speyer cuts short Rock Center rink season — and not due to Covid

Posted: 09 Nov 2020 08:00 AM PST

This year’s ice skating season at Rockefeller Center will be cut short, and it’s not because of the pandemic. Developer Tishman Speyer, the owner of the historic Art Deco complex, is moving ahead with its long-planned renovation of the complex’s sunken plaza, which holds the rink during the holiday season, and the underground shopping concourse, the New York Times reported. The famous ice skating rink will open on Nov. 21 and end its season on

Bank branch closures reach highest level in two decades

Posted: 09 Nov 2020 07:35 AM PST

Banks are rapidly shrinking their retail real estate footprint by closing branches. More than 100 bank branches have closed or are set to close across New York City this year, Crain’s reported, citing filings with federal and state regulators. That level of retreat is the largest in more than two decades. The pullback is a blow to a sector that was already suffering as more consumers ride out the pandemic at home. Popular Bank is

HFZ facing foreclosure on nationwide industrial stake

Posted: 09 Nov 2020 07:05 AM PST

Ziel Feldman’s financial problems keep piling up. The HFZ Capital developer — already battling lenders on a handful of high-end Manhattan residential developments — is facing foreclosure on his stake in a portfolio of national industrial properties. Chicago-based credit investor Monroe Capital has moved to foreclose on a roughly $126 million loan HFZ owes on the 13-property portfolio, according to public documents and sources familiar with the matter. The auction is scheduled to take place

Manhattan office tenants find bargains in sublease market

Posted: 09 Nov 2020 06:30 AM PST

Looking for cheap office space in Manhattan? You may be in luck: Discounts abound in the borough — if you’re willing to sign a short-term sublease. Take Midtown East: Subleases account for 23 percent of the total office availability in that area, the New York Post reported, and some spaces can be had for more than 50 percent below asking rents. One lucky tenant is Ronn Torossian’s public relations firm 5W, which has signed on

Marriott CEO wants workers back in offices — and traveling for business

Posted: 09 Nov 2020 06:00 AM PST

Arne Sorenson, Marriott International’s CEO and president, wants office workers to get back to business. On the company’s third quarter earnings call on Friday, Sorenson said that he expects it will take “a vaccine or two” to jumpstart the hospitality sector, but based on his conversations with some of Marriott’s bigger corporate clients, there is mounting pressure to get back to business as normal. “I do think there is an increasing sense that with each

Real estate to Trump: Produce evidence or move on

Posted: 09 Nov 2020 05:30 AM PST

Former Vice President Joe Biden declared victory in the contentious 2020 presidential race Saturday morning after securing the clinching number of Electoral College votes from Pennsylvania. President Donald Trump, however, refused to concede Saturday, vowing that he would “not rest until the American People have the honest vote count,” likely setting the stage for several more weeks, or even months, of uncertainty. On Thursday and Friday, the president’s lawyers filed several lawsuits challenging the ballot

Demise of title startup, SoftBank execs join SPAC

Posted: 09 Nov 2020 05:00 AM PST

OneTitle couldn’t beat “Big Four” Title insurance startup OneTitle launched in 2014 with an audacious goal: eliminate agents and offer insurance for much less. Six years later, the VC-backed startup is being liquidated, after being unable to crack an opaque industry controlled by a handful of players. Founded by Seth Brown and Daniel Price, OneTitle raised $17 million from investors to upend an industry dominated by the “Big Four”: Fidelity, First American, Old Republic and

Manhattan’s top real estate loans post second best month since March

Posted: 09 Nov 2020 04:30 AM PST

The 10 largest Manhattan loans recorded in October totaled $1.83 billion, a 45 percent drop from September’s all-year high but still the second strongest month since the pandemic hit the city in March. The largest loan of the month went to Vornado Realty Trust, which has refinanced and extended several loans in recent months as capital markets open up. “The market will only become more attractive over the next 12 to 18 months as lenders

Kiss the ring: City pols weigh heavy on development in these major markets

Posted: 09 Nov 2020 04:00 AM PST

Developers have a huge say in how skylines are shaped. But so do a select number of local officials in some of the country’s biggest real estate markets. In Los Angeles and Chicago, developers must often win approval to build from the local city politician who reigns over the project site — a major point of contention for some industry players and local residents. In New York City, major zoning and other land use decisions