The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Country’s most outrageous spec home to hit market

Posted: 01 Dec 2020 03:15 PM PST

Nile Niami is getting serious about selling “The One” — a Bel Air spec mansion that the developer previously boasted could fetch $500 million. A Niami spokesperson said that construction is virtually complete with “finishing touches” on the interior pending. And the 100,000-square-foot mansion will hit the market soon, perhaps before year’s end, said Rayni Williams, of the newly formed Beverly Hills Estates Inc. Rayni Williams and Branden Williams of Beverly Hills Estates along with

Scale Lending originates $38M inventory loan for unsold UWS condos

Posted: 01 Dec 2020 02:57 PM PST

Scale Lending recently provided a $38 million inventory loan for more than two dozen unsold units at a luxury condominium on the Upper West Side. The borrower is Simon Baron Development Group, who, along with Quadrum Global, developed the Chamberlain, a 38-unit condo building at 269 West 87th Street. Simon Baron did not return a request for comment. The project is complete, but 25 units remain unsold, said Slate co-founder Martin Nussbaum, who explained that

“Absolute craziness”: Critics slam bill requiring sprinklers in every apartment

Posted: 01 Dec 2020 02:38 PM PST

Following a number of fatal fires, including a Bronx blaze that killed a dozen people in 2017, the City Council is considering requiring owners of many buildings to install sprinklers in every apartment. The measure mandates automatic sprinklers in residential buildings 40 feet or taller. Owners would have until December 2029 to comply, at which time they would need an architect or engineer to certify completion of the work. Building and apartment owners, many cash-strapped

“Casino Loyale”: Developers, ex-LA deputy mayor indicted in Huizar corruption scandal

Posted: 01 Dec 2020 01:45 PM PST

Real estate developers and a former Los Angeles deputy mayor have been charged in the two-year-long corruption case centered around ex-L.A. City Council member Jose Huizar. On Monday, a federal grand jury indicted China-based Shenzhen New World Group and its chairman Wei Huang, along with Bel Air-based developer Dae Yong Lee and a Lee incorporated firm, 940 Hill LLC, on racketeering charges tied to the Huizar case. It marks the first time developers have been

Evictions, unpaid vendors and back rent: Lawsuits mounting against Knotel

Posted: 01 Dec 2020 01:00 PM PST

As it retreats from its once-ambitious expansion plans, Knotel is facing an escalating barrage of evictions, claims from unpaid vendors and lawsuits seeking millions of dollars in back rent. In recent weeks, Knotel’s landlords have filed more than a dozen claims against the flex-office provider as it slashes staff and scales back its real estate footprint, court records show. The actions include two evictions, an escalation from previous lawsuits seeking to force Knotel to pay

Leadership shake-ups hit Vornado, Cushman & Wakefield and Howard Hughes

Posted: 01 Dec 2020 12:30 PM PST

Three major real estate firms announced shake-ups to their leadership teams this week. Vornado Realty Trust’s chief financial officer Joseph Macnow is stepping down from the role and will be replaced by Michael Franco, the company’s president, the real estate investment trust announced Tuesday. Macnow, who has been with Vornado since 1981, will stay on as a senior adviser to the firm. The shake-up comes after the REIT, headed up by chairman Steve Roth, reported

Tom Gammino joins Paul Massey’s B6

Posted: 01 Dec 2020 11:30 AM PST

Investment sales veteran Tom Gammino is reuniting with Paul Massey at his B6 Real Estate Advisors brokerage. Gammino, who was let go from JLL in October during a round of layoffs, will head up sales for the Upper East Side at B6, the company told The Real Deal. “Tom is a top producer and highly respected industry expert,” said Massey, whose history with Gammino stretches back to their days working together at the former Massey

You get a condo! Billionaire Lawrence Stroll sells Oprah’s former Fisher Island penthouse

Posted: 01 Dec 2020 11:00 AM PST

The luxury penthouse that made Oprah Winfrey a South Florida homeowner has sold for $20 million. Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll sold the Fisher Island condo to an undisclosed buyer for a hefty profit, six years after acquiring the four-bedroom, 6,170-square-foot condo for $13.5 million. The $20 million price tag breaks down to $3,242 per square foot, which marks a record for Fisher Island this year, according to Luxe Living Realty. Broker Dora Puig of Luxe

Housing drives rise in construction spending October

Posted: 01 Dec 2020 10:38 AM PST

A strong housing market continued to fuel construction spending this fall. Construction spending grew an estimated 1.3 percent in October to $1.43 trillion, seasonally adjusted, compared to $1.42 trillion in September, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s monthly report. Private housing units made up the lion’s share of the total amount spent, with an adjusted estimate of more than $637 billion going toward residential construction, or 44 percent of the monthly total. Nonresidential construction accounted

Mirae Asset wins lawsuit over scrapped $5.8B Anbang hotel deal

Posted: 01 Dec 2020 09:25 AM PST

South Korean investment bank Mirae Asset Daewoo won a significant U.S. court case against Anbang Insurance Group after Mirae reversed its plans to buy 15 U.S. hotels for $5.8 billion at the start of the pandemic. The Delaware Court of Chancery found that Anbang made extensive changes to its business because of Covid-19, including layoffs, furloughs and closing amenities, Reuters reported. As a result, Anbang failed to meet a condition that its business be “conducted

Foot traffic remains low in prime Manhattan neighborhoods

Posted: 01 Dec 2020 09:05 AM PST

Foot traffic in Manhattan’s most visited business districts has dropped off significantly since the pandemic began, putting a strain on small businesses and retailers. The number of inactive storefronts in Union Square and the Flatiron District, including those that were closed and vacant, rose 36 percent, the Wall Street Journal reported. The publication analyzed Foursquare foot traffic data, and found that activity was down 50 percent in the Flatiron District, Union Square and Chelsea, compared

WeWork and Co’s woes add to rising shadow office inventory

Posted: 01 Dec 2020 08:30 AM PST

Manhattan’s office availability rate climbed to 14.3 percent at the end of October, but the figure could be several points higher when factoring in shadow inventory in the flex-office market. That’s according to a new report from CBRE, which found that flex-office firms like WeWork, Knotel, IWG Convene and others take 13.4 million square feet of space in Manhattan, but have been strained during the pandemic. Firms across Manhattan have been slow to bring workers

Offices remain empty, and big cities are feeling the crunch

Posted: 01 Dec 2020 07:45 AM PST

Companies’ hopes of bringing workers back to offices have been dashed as confirmed Covid-19 cases spike throughout the U.S. About 25 percent of employees had returned to work as of Nov. 18, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing data from Kastle Systems, a security firm that monitors access-card swipes in 10 major U.S. cities. While that’s up from the low point in April of less than 15 percent, it represents a slight dip from the

Crown Heights renters protest New York’s “worst landlord”

Posted: 01 Dec 2020 07:15 AM PST

More than a dozen residents of a four-story building in Crown Heights are protesting New York’s so-called worst landlord by going on a rent strike, Curbed reported. Jason Korn, who owns the building at 1616 President Street, was named the city’s worst individual landlord in 2019 by Public Advocate Jumanne Williams, whose office maintains a watchlist of property owners with numerous violations at their properties. The building, which is managed by Lilmor Management, has more

Why Compass is going public now — and the obstacles it faces

Posted: 01 Dec 2020 06:30 AM PST

Compass stepped closer to an IPO last week by tapping Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley as underwriters. But the brokerage has been quietly laying the groundwork for a public offering for months by bulking up its board, filling holes in its C-suite and rounding out its business by adding title and escrow services to drive profits. Indeed, as Compass looks to go public, rivals are eager to catch a glimpse of its financials. For years

Manhattan investment sales show vital signs again

Posted: 01 Dec 2020 05:51 AM PST

After going quiet at the onset of the pandemic, the investment sales market in Manhattan is showing signs of life. Three of the five deals that closed last week in the $10 million to $30 million range were recorded on the Upper East Side, East Harlem and Turtle Bay. Brooklyn had the other two mid-market deals, with an apartment building portfolio in Stuyvesant Heights changing hands and a commercial building selling in Bay Ridge. Here

Judge upholds city laws protecting non-paying businesses

Posted: 01 Dec 2020 05:00 AM PST

A federal judge swept away a legal challenge to a package of bills designed to protect retail tenants during the pandemic. The lawsuit, filed by two small commercial landlords in July, argued that the City Council’s and Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Covid-19 protections for non-paying businesses deny landlords’ right to free speech and due process, as well as violate the contract clause of the Constitution. However, United States District Judge Ronnie Abrams of the Southern

The Closing: Spencer Rascoff

Posted: 01 Dec 2020 04:30 AM PST

Spencer Rascoff built the most consequential residential tech startup of a generation. As co-founder and former CEO of Zillow, he pioneered consumer access to home listings and price information, making his firm a platform that buyers and sellers — and, resentfully, brokers — could not do business without. After stepping away from Zillow in February 2019, Rascoff jumped back into the startup world as a founder. In January, he launched dot.LA, a news site covering

Bad year: 1 in 5 units at Gehry skyscraper goes vacant

Posted: 01 Dec 2020 04:00 AM PST

More than 200 renters have packed their bags and moved out of the tallest residential skyscraper in Manhattan this year. The New York by Gehry saw rental occupancy fall to 74 percent in September from 98 percent at the end of 2019, according to Trepp, which tracks mortgage-backed securities. Since 2014, occupancy at the 899-unit Financial District building had been above 93 percent, according to Trepp. Frank Gehry designed the rippling stainless steel tower at