The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Ziel Feldman calls Nir Meir a ‘sociopath,’ compares XI lender to mobsters

Posted: 19 Aug 2021 02:16 PM PDT

With his signature project slipping from his control, HFZ Capital Group’s Ziel Feldman is slinging some mud. The embattled developer amended a complaint in a lawsuit he filed earlier this year against former HFZ executive Nir Meir. In the new filing, Feldman pulls out all the stops to blame Nir for HFZ’s collapse. The complaint calls Meir a sociopath 17 times, accusing him of driving HFZ’s $2 billion XI condo project into the ground and

Toys ‘R’ Us to be resurrected inside 400 Macy’s locations

Posted: 19 Aug 2021 01:15 PM PDT

Call it a miracle on 34th Street. Three years after shuttering its remaining U.S. locations, Toys ‘R’ Us is planning a large-scale comeback with the help of fellow iconic retailer Macy’s. The two retail brands are teaming up, with Toys ‘R’ Us set to bring more than 400 shops-within-ships to Macy’s department stores across the country starting next year, according to CNBC. It’s not clear how long the partnership will last or where the stores

After helping kill off department stores, Amazon plans to open its own

Posted: 19 Aug 2021 12:45 PM PDT

After amassing an e-commerce empire by disrupting brick and mortar retail for the better part of three decades, Amazon is now taking the competition into the real world. The e-commerce behemoth is planning to open “several” large brick-and-mortar retail locations, similar to department stores, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. Averaging 30,000 square feet, the first stores will debut in Ohio and California. It’s uncertain what the stores will sell, although sources tell the Journal

Brooklyn North Capital, RiverBrook score $49M loan for Kips Bay condo

Posted: 19 Aug 2021 12:15 PM PDT

Brooklyn North Capital and RiverBrook Equities have closed on a $48.5 million inventory loan for their 43-unit Kips Bay condo development from lender Northwind Group. The two-year loan recapitalizes the project, which previously received $46 million in financing from S3 Capital Group in 2018. After its expected completion later this year, the 11-story building at 165 Lexington Avenue is aiming for a sellout of $82 million, with units asking between $800,000 and $3.5 million, according

One man, three bankruptcies: Verrino Construction files for Chapter 7

Posted: 19 Aug 2021 11:45 AM PDT

Three years after his construction firm, Verrino Construction Services, emerged from Chapter 11, Richard Verrino says his company is broke again — and so is he. Verrino threw two companies into bankruptcy this week — a construction consultancy with projects in Manhattan and an LLC in Westchester County. He declared personal bankruptcy in early July. Verrino and his companies filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, meaning a court-appointed trustee will sell his personal and corporate assets

Valuation of Thor Equities’ 470 Broadway slashed

Posted: 19 Aug 2021 11:20 AM PDT

Thor Equities’ 470 Broadway in SoHo may have Joe Sitt saying Oh, no. The 6,600-square-foot building’s value has plummeted from $29.2 million to $5.6 million in the past nine years, according to Trepp. Even a year ago the property was appraised at $11.2 million. The retail building backs $17.5 million in CMBS debt — a loan delinquent since May 2020, when it was transferred to special servicing. Thor Equities, led by Sitt, did not respond

Brookfield buys remaining stake in Waterside Plaza from Richard Ravitch

Posted: 19 Aug 2021 10:25 AM PDT

Brookfield Asset Management is buying the remaining stake of Waterside Plaza in Kips Bay from former New York Lieutenant Governor Richard Ravitch. The real estate arm of Brookfield Asset Management first purchased a stake in the four-tower complex along FDR Drive and East 25th Street in 2018. Though the size of the stake was undisclosed, sources at the time told TRD that the deal valued the complex at about $650 million. In addition to taking

Hilton timeshares arm buys distressed Midtown hotel for $58M

Posted: 19 Aug 2021 10:07 AM PDT

Timeshare operator Hilton Grand Vacations now owns the site of its planned club dubbed “The Central” in Midtown after buying the distressed property from the development’s lender for $58 million. The Orlando-based company, which was spun out from parent company Hilton in 2017, bought the 161-room hotel at 12 East 48th Street from 54 Madison Partners, property records filed with the city Thursday show. The purchase price was $58.4 million for the newly constructed hotel,

Jeffrey Gural: Cuomo ran “criminal operation” as governor

Posted: 19 Aug 2021 09:45 AM PDT

A week after detailed misconduct allegations sank his governorship, Andrew Cuomo faces fresh accusations from the real estate sector on his way out of office. Developer Jeffrey Gural, owner of the Tioga Downs casino in the Southern Tier and — until recently — a prominent real estate backer of the outgoing governor, alleged that Cuomo “ran a criminal operation,” during his time in office, according to the Times-Union. Gural’s accusation, made in remarks at a

Wayne Hughes, founder of Public Storage and American Homes 4 Rent, Dies

Posted: 19 Aug 2021 09:00 AM PDT

B. Wayne Hughes Sr., who built Public Storage into an industry behemoth and repeated the feat four decades later in single-family rentals with American Homes 4 Rent, died Wednesday. He was 87. The billionaire died at Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky, a legendary Thoroughbred breeding ranch that he bought in 2004, according to the Los Angeles Times. Born in Oklahoma in 1933, Hughes moved West with his family during the Dust Bowl era, settling in El

Starwood ups offer for Monmouth Real Estate amid pushback on Zell deal

Posted: 19 Aug 2021 08:03 AM PDT

Even in the face of rejection, Barry Sternlicht’s Starwood Capital is nothing if not persistent. In the latest salvo in an ongoing bidding war over Monmouth Real Estate, Starwood again upped its yet-unsuccessful takeover offer for the Holmdel, New Jersey-based REIT on Wednesday, offering a net consideration of $19.20 per share in cash. Starwood’s proposed takeover of Monmouth appeared to be a thing of the past. Despite the investment firm’s last-second bid for the company

Home buying and selling platform Reali raises $250M in Series B round

Posted: 19 Aug 2021 07:00 AM PDT

Reali, a startup that wants to streamline second-time home buying, raised $250 million in Series B funding, with plans to scale its operations in California and eventually the rest of the country. Early-stage venture fund Zeev Ventures led the round, which included $75 million in equity, $25 million in venture debt and $150 million of warehouse financing. Akkadian Ventures and Signia Ventures, among others, also participated in the raise. The Series B brings the startup’s

Housing starts drop 7 percent in July, falling short of expectations

Posted: 19 Aug 2021 06:30 AM PDT

Homebuilding fell short of expectations in July as builders coped with higher costs and material shortages. Housing starts dropped 7 percent month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.534 million, Fox Business reported, citing Commerce Department data. That’s below the 1.6 million housing starts anticipated by analysts. While housing starts dipped, permits for future construction rose 2.6 percent from the previous month to a rate of 1.635 million, beating expectations of 1.61 million following

Deconstruct: TRD’s new podcast breaks down the top trends in real estate

Posted: 19 Aug 2021 05:30 AM PDT

Here’s the breakdown: The Real Deal will soon be hitting the airwaves with Deconstruct, a new podcast analyzing the financial, political and cultural force that is real estate. In our first episode, we’ll look at cryptocurrency in real estate. You can’t see it or touch it, but you can, apparently, buy a house with it –– how exactly does that work? And why is it an increasingly attractive option for buyers, sellers and investors alike?

BentallGreenOak commits $400M to multifamily venture

Posted: 19 Aug 2021 05:00 AM PDT

What do you get when two arboreal-themed investment firms team up? Apparently, a growing pile of cash earmarked for the multifamily sector. Asset manager BentallGreenOak has committed $400 million of equity to a new partnership with multifamily investment firm White Oak Partners targeting $1 billion in multifamily assets, the two firms announced. The venture will primarily invest in large communities in suburban and infill locations to generate consistent, long-term cash flow, according to the firms.

Landlords are state’s latest scapegoat in rent aid fiasco

Posted: 19 Aug 2021 04:00 AM PDT

Last week, the New York official struggling to distribute over $2 billion in rent relief blamed delays, in part, on the people desperate for the money: landlords. Some $460 million pegged to tenant applications was waylaid, said Michael Hein, commissioner of the state’s Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, at a hearing about the holdup. “The only thing they are waiting for, primarily, is engagement by the landlord,” Hein said. But landlords say the problem