The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Torchlight buys $40M delinquent Fifth Avenue retail loan

Posted: 17 May 2021 03:30 PM PDT

New York’s much-anticipated distressed deals could finally be starting to appear. The Canadian bank CIBC sold a delinquent $40 million loan on the retail portion of 445 Fifth Avenue to a debt fund tied to Torchlight Investors. Harbor Group International allegedly defaulted in May 2020 on the loan that the firm used to acquire the 18,000-square-foot retail portion of the 33-story Midtown condo building. CIBC sued the developer in September, alleging that Harbor Group missed

It’s back: Lawmakers propose ban on broker fees

Posted: 17 May 2021 03:00 PM PDT

The push to ban New York City tenants from having to pay their landlords’ broker fees has been taken up by lawmakers. New York State Senators Jabari Brisport and Julia Salazar introduced a bill last month that would ban landlords from forcing tenants to pay their broker fees. The bill was introduced about six weeks before the Legislative Session ends and there is not a matching bill in the Assembly, which is a requirement for the

Hudson Valley hotel project scores state’s largest clean energy loan

Posted: 17 May 2021 02:00 PM PDT

SY Holdings’ Hudson Valley boutique hotel project scored a $21.6 million construction loan through the state-approved clean energy program. The development is being pitched as one of the greenest hotels in the country. CleanFund provided the debt for the 65-room Wildflower Farms in Gardiner, according to Commercial Observer. It’s the largest loan closed under New York state’s Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy program, or C-PACE. The program provides cheaper financing for energy-efficient new construction and

Two Brooklyn homes asking $8M go into contract

Posted: 17 May 2021 01:45 PM PDT

The most expensive luxury deals signed in Brooklyn last week had one thing in common: an $8 million price tag. Forty-six homes asking $2 million or more went into contract, according to Compass’ weekly report. Townhouses dominated the list: Contracts were signed for 28 houses and 18 condominiums. The most expensive properties were a townhouse in Boerum Hill and a condo in Dumbo, both of which were last asking $7.95 million. The townhouse, located at

Jeter sells waterfront Tampa estate for record $23M

Posted: 17 May 2021 01:00 PM PDT

Miami Marlins co-owner and New York Yankees Hall of Famer Derek Jeter scored a home run with the sale of his waterfront estate in Tampa. Jeter and his wife, Hannah, who had rented the Davis Islands mansion to Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady and his supermodel wife, Gisele Bündchen, sold the property for $22.5 million. It marks a record sale price in the Tampa Bay region. The Jeters, who live in Miami, listed their

Editor’s note: Battling the old guard

Posted: 17 May 2021 12:30 PM PDT

“The old guard has to be stopped.” That quote may sound like it came from a progressive politician in Albany, but it was actually from a real estate broker in Manhattan. One of our main stories this month looks at the lingering specter of discrimination in New York City co-ops. We interviewed more than 40 brokers, lawyers, co-op owners and activists, and found a consensus: Although boards have evolved, discrimination remains in many of the

Soho and Noho rezoning moves forward despite lawsuit

Posted: 17 May 2021 12:05 PM PDT

The proposal to rezone Soho and Noho is moving forward, despite a lawsuit claiming the plan cannot proceed if the city doesn’t host in-person hearings. The City Planning Commission on Monday certified the application to rezone the neighborhoods, officially kickstarting the public land use review process. The timing of the certification means the rezoning could make it through the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure before the end of the de Blasio administration, as long as

CVS signs lease for 512 7th Avenue store

Posted: 17 May 2021 12:00 PM PDT

CVS Pharmacy has signed another lease in Manhattan. The drugstore chain took 12,500 square feet of retail space at 512 7th Avenue, including 8,500 square feet on the ground level and 4,000 for storage in the basement. A spokesperson for CVS confirmed the lease, and added that the company intends to open the location in 2022. Sources tell The Real Deal that the retailer will pay 350 per square foot. The deal closed earlier this

Steven Mnuchin’s Park Avenue pad tops Manhattan contracts last week

Posted: 17 May 2021 11:20 AM PDT

Former Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin’s Park Avenue co-op led the list of luxury contracts inked last week. Mnuchin’s heavily discounted pad was one of 37 Manhattan residences asking $4 million or more that went into contract, according to Olshan Realty’s weekly report. It’s the 15th consecutive week that more than 30 luxury contracts have been signed in the borough. In the same week a year ago, with the pandemic gripping the city, just two were

Ocean Drive property owned by Gloria and Emilio Estefan lists for $45M

Posted: 17 May 2021 10:30 AM PDT

It’s time for the listing agents of an Ocean Drive property owned by Gloria and Emilio Estefan to get on their feet and make a sale happen. The Estefans listed the mixed-use commercial building at 820 Ocean Drive in Miami Beach for $45 million, an online listing shows. They’ve owned the Shore Park Hotel property for nearly 30 years. It is the longtime home of the now-shuttered Larios on the Beach. Douglas Elliman’s Sam Gaita

New York will adopt CDC’s mask guidance: Cuomo

Posted: 17 May 2021 09:48 AM PDT

Starting Wednesday, New York will adopt the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidance on mask wearing, allowing vaccinated people to go without face coverings in both indoor and outdoor settings. But it doesn’t mean masks will be going away entirely: They will still be required on public transit, in schools and at hospitals, and some other communal settings. Private venues and businesses will be able make their own decisions surrounding mask mandates. Some retailers,

Tankhouse plans mixed-use project at Clinton Hill gas station site

Posted: 17 May 2021 09:10 AM PDT

A former gas station in Clinton Hill that was once going to be developed by All Year Management has a new owner and a new plan. The development and design firm Tankhouse plans to construct an 87,000-square-foot mixed-use building to 134 Vanderbilt Avenue, Brownstoner reported. The structure could reach 16 stories and require a rezoning, Brownstoner reported. Dumbo-based developer Tankhouse, which was co-founded by the son of architect Thom Mayne, purchased the site in March

Paramount Group plans $250M facelift for 60 Wall

Posted: 17 May 2021 08:00 AM PDT

Paramount Group is planning a $250 million transformation for its soon-to-be-vacant office building at 60 Wall Street. The renovation of the 47-story, 1.6 million-square-foot skyscraper — which was designed by Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo & Associates and opened in 1989 — aims to bring openness to the structure by adding more windows to its lower floors, while updating its ventilation system with MERV 15 filtration, according to the New York Post. The plan, conceived by

Trustee appointed to dissolve AWOL real estate attorney’s practice

Posted: 17 May 2021 07:49 AM PDT

A high-profile bankruptcy attorney is now in charge of unwinding the real estate law firm of Mitch Kossoff, who vanished last month, leaving clients scrambling to find out what happened to millions of dollars they had entrusted him with. Al Togut, a partner at Togut, Segal & Segal, was last week appointed the interim trustee for the estate of Kossoff PLLC by the U.S. Trustee in Manhattan, Reuters reported. He has overseen restructurings including Enron

Developers’ attempts to change Opportunity Zone boundaries fail

Posted: 17 May 2021 06:51 AM PDT

Developers who had hoped for potential expansion of Opportunity Zones won’t be getting their way. The Internal Revenue Services announced last week that the boundaries of about 8,700 Opportunity Zones “were established at the time they were designated and are not subject to change,” Bloomberg News reported. Developers and investors had lobbied the federal government to expand the areas where Opportunity Zone investments — and thus, tax breaks — could be claimed after Census Bureau

In CDC we trust: Mask guidance prompts changes

Posted: 17 May 2021 05:30 AM PDT

Aliza Bixon had insisted clients wear masks while exercising at her Miami Beach Pilates studio. Before vaccination, they had preferred to stay masked but it became a bit of an annoyance during strenuous workouts. So within hours of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention saying fully vaccinated people can go without face coverings, she scrapped her mask rule for customers. “They are coming back to the studio jumping for joy like, ‘I am so

Where the lawsuits challenging NY’s 2019 rent law stand

Posted: 17 May 2021 05:00 AM PDT

Five cases: three dismissals and two decisions pending. It’s been nearly two years since the New York state legislature passed the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019, yet five separate suits challenging the law’s constitutionality are still taking up space on court dockets. The plaintiffs — an array of landlords, property managers and related interest groups — are banking that the suits can crawl their way to the Supreme Court, where a majority

LA was top spot for commercial property investment in Covid-ravaged year

Posted: 17 May 2021 04:30 AM PDT

Commercial real estate investment fell across the U.S. in the year since the coronavirus pandemic began, with Houston, Seattle, New York and San Francisco seeing the biggest declines. Greater Los Angeles was the top recipient of CRE investment, with more than $30 billion in deals in the 12-month period ending in March, according to a new report from CBRE. That’s a 39 percent year-over-year decline, less severe than the 57 percent drop in Houston, the

TRD’s May issue is live for subscribers!

Posted: 17 May 2021 04:00 AM PDT

The Real Deal’s May issue is live for digital subscribers and soon to hit doorsteps across the country. Social justice and a post-pandemic market resurgence are front and center in this month’s issue. Tenants’ rights advocates are rallying for housing equity and once-sluggish sectors of the industry bubbling back to life. Entering a summer that will represent both a return to normal and continued evolution, editor-in-chief Stuart Elliott posits in this issue’s editor’s note, “What’s