The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Council members call out City Planning on Soho rezoning

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 03:23 PM PDT

The rezoning of Soho and Noho has hit a speed bump. Council members Margaret Chin and Carlina Rivera, who represent parts of the areas pegged for the rezoning, want more affordable housing in the plan. The lawmakers penned a joint statement calling on the Department of City Planning to “come back to the table” and map out a rezoning that “can guarantee the most affordable housing possible for our communities.” The rezoning relies on the

SL Green asking record $322 psf at One Vanderbilt

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 02:26 PM PDT

Top-floor tenants of SL Green’s One Vanderbilt would enjoy unbeatable views. But for that luxury, the landlord is seeking an unprecedented price. SL Green is asking $322 per square foot for the top floor of its supertall office tower, and $312 for the penultimate level, according to documents obtained by The Real Deal. The asking rents make its so-called “sky floors” the priciest office space in the city. If anyone bites, that would smash the

NJ tenants can pay rent with security deposits: court

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 02:00 PM PDT

Gov. Phil Murphy’s executive order allowing security deposits to be used towards rent is constitutional, a New Jersey appeals court ruled Tuesday. Executive Order No. 128, which Murphy signed in April 2020, aims to help tenants struggling to pay rent during the pandemic. Under the order, tenants can use their security deposit to pay rent, a practice that some property owners said has forced them to pay out-of-pocket for thousands of dollars’ worth of damage

Churchill plans bankruptcy sale of Nassau Brewery project in Crown Heights

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 01:21 PM PDT

There’s trouble brewing in Crown Heights. A stalled project to redevelop the historic Nassau Brewing Company complex is now facing a bankruptcy sale, with one owner claiming the property has been mismanaged. Churchill Real Estate, the project’s managing partner, is planning a bankruptcy sale for the mixed-use development at 945 Bergen Street. A Chapter 11 filing on Friday by Nassau Brewing Company Landlord LLC, cited alleged mismanagement as a reason for restructuring and selling, according

Hybrid horizons: How 3 Manhattan office tenants are retooling the workplace

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 12:16 PM PDT

Like countless Manhattan office workers, employees at professional services firm Mazars USA are returning to a Midtown workplace notably different from the one many of them left behind last year. The most immediately significant change: no more assigned seating. Desks adorned with family photos and personalized coffee mugs are out; in are smart lockers, seating options from high-back breakroom rocking chairs to outdoor terraces, and hydraulic workstations with ultra-wide computer monitors. Mazars is one of

Home building slowing despite hot market

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 11:00 AM PDT

The housing market is on fire, but the same can’t be said for home building. Although housing starts are up, building permits — an indicator of future construction — declined last month to 100,000 below the six-month average, according to data released Tuesday, CNBC reported. They are now at their lowest point since last August. Meanwhile, mortgage applications for newly built houses were down 24 percent from last June, per the Mortgage Bankers Association. It

SL Green pays $28M for full control of Midtown office building

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 10:16 AM PDT

The CEO of Western Beef supermarkets picked up a defunct gym in the Bronx, SL Green Realty took full control of a Midtown office building and the eclectic Grand Prospect Hall sold in Brooklyn. They were among the 12 middle-market investment sales of $10 million to $30 million recorded last week across the city. The busy week totaled over $200 million in sales. The Bronx led the pack with five deals, followed by Manhattan with

Watch Bess Freedman’s Master Class

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 09:45 AM PDT

Bess Freedman heads one of the top residential brokerages in NYC. She led the storied white-shoe firm through a rebranding and a merger with Halstead, which nearly doubled its agent count. But she wasn’t always a real estate titan. When she started out, she was cold calling For Sale By Owners just like everyone else. In our latest Master Class series, Freedman recounts her journey to the top for The Real Deal, starting with how

Lender tries to seize Toby Moskovits’ Bronx apartment project

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 09:00 AM PDT

Anyone who had an internet connection in 2015 remembers the dress — the striped garment that some viewers swore was blue and black while others saw white and gold. Now, the meme has met its real estate counterpart at 286 Rider Avenue. As lender Be-Aviv sees it, Heritage Equity Partners has defaulted on its land loan at the proposed 105-unit apartment project, entitling Be-Aviv to seize ownership for itself. But Heritage sees a totally different

Impressive showing: Former home to nudist colony asks $20M

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 08:50 AM PDT

There’s a lot to see in this listing, and much more that has already been seen. A sprawling Hudson Valley compound that had been home to a nudist colony hit the market for $19.95 million, according to the Wall Street Journal. If sold at that price, the 164-acre lakeside property at 201 Swartekill Road in Esopus would shatter the Ulster County record. The existing mark stands at a puny $3.25 million in a county where

Rotem Rosen scores legal win against Alex Sapir

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 08:07 AM PDT

Rotem Rosen just scored a legal victory in an ongoing lawsuit with Alex Sapir, his former brother-in-law. Rosen asserts he is owed $102.9 million from the estate of Sapir Organization founder Tamir Sapir, who died in 2014. Last week, a judge ruled that Alex Sapir, a son of Tamir, must put $55.5 million in escrow while the dispute is being decided, according to the Commercial Observer. During the case, Alex Sapir and Rotem Rosen agreed

Vornado to buy rest of One Park Avenue

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 07:18 AM PDT

Vornado Realty Trust is nearing a deal to become the sole owner of One Park Avenue. On Tuesday, the company announced it agreed to acquire the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s 45 percent stake in the Midtown building. The deal is expected to close this quarter, according to the Commercial Observer. Vornado will be paying $158 million in cash and assume the pension fund’s portion of the $525 million of debt on One Park Avenue.

Four landlords allegedly pushed out 5,000 renters during moratorium

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 06:50 AM PDT

A House select subcommittee is hot on the trail of four landlords allegedly responsible for forcing out 5,000 renters during the CDC’s eviction moratorium. The subcommittee is asking for documents from Invitation Homes, Pretium Partners, Ventron Management and the Siegel Group about their recent eviction practices. Letters to the companies were sent Monday requiring documents by Aug. 3, according to the Washington Post. Ventron Management allegedly moved to evict more than 2,000 renters during the

Inside the tug-of-war over the Surfside condo site’s future

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 06:00 AM PDT

Steve Rosenthal loved living along the beach, chatting with his neighbors by his condominium’s pool, having everything he needed just a short walk or drive away. That was his life at Champlain Towers South in Surfside. Rosenthal lost many of his friends when the majority of the 12-story condominium collapsed last month, killing at least 97 people. He was rescued from the part of the building that did not cave in, but which was later

Hot Hudson Valley housing increasingly out of reach for wage earners

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 05:30 AM PDT

Soaring home prices in the Hudson Valley — a popular spot for city buyers seeking a slice of country life — have made affordable housing hard to come by for locals in the region, according to a new report. All nine counties analyzed by the Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress’ Center for Housing Solutions are struggling with affordable housing. In each county, a renter would have to work beyond a full-time job to afford a

What tenants pay at Stellar Management’s One Soho Square

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 05:00 AM PDT

The following is a preview of one of the hundreds of data sets that will be available on TRD Pro — the one-stop real estate terminal that provides you with all the data and market information you need. With more than 9,000 apartments and two million square feet of office space in its New York City portfolio, Larry Gluck’s Stellar Management has established itself as a major Big Apple real estate player while keeping a

45 Park Place mired in involuntary bankruptcy, foreclosure proceedings

Posted: 21 Jul 2021 04:00 AM PDT

The decade-long saga surrounding 45 Park Place has a new twist. A feud between the Tribeca project’s developer, Sharif El-Gamal, lender Maybank and various contractors is now being waged in bankruptcy court, where the value of the 50-unit luxury condo building is under scrutiny. El-Gamal’s appraiser pegs the still-unfinished 43-story tower’s worth at $269 million, while the lender asserts it’s only worth $88 million. Once it is finished, El-Gamal says the tower will be worth