The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Will Rafi Toledano’s ban kill his real estate career?

Posted: 04 Feb 2022 02:10 PM PST

For a city with a bad-landlords list and a steady drumbeat of real estate horror stories, it’s extremely rare that an industry figure is banned from the business. So when badboy landlord Rafi Toledano was exiled for five years this week by Attorney General Letitia James, it was a strong rebuke to one of the industry’s most controversial figures. The few who have received the punishment have, for the most part, failed to recover or

Leisure and hospitality gain ground as 2022 opens in hiring boom

Posted: 04 Feb 2022 02:00 PM PST

The leisure and hospitality industry added 151,000 jobs in January, accounting for nearly a third of all positions added to the U.S. economy, according to government figures released Friday. The robust performance abated fears that the Omicron variant would keep people from returning to the labor market and substantially dent economic activity. A strong January follows a strong 2021, when job growth averaged 555,000 hirings each month, a total that now reflects recent upward revisions.

Four more homes on Saratoga Lake is four too many, locals say

Posted: 04 Feb 2022 01:15 PM PST

How many homes is too many for 30-acre Snake Hill overlooking Saratoga Lake? The Dake family, whose patriarch William is the chairman of Stewart’s Shops, wants to build four. But that’s four more than some lake-area residents want, the Times Union reported. The Saratoga Lake Association says that particular stretch of land should remain pristine. “Our members have raised serious concerns regarding the proposed development of Snake Hill,” said its president, Eliot Cresswell, in a

Amazon doubled its real estate holdings in 2021

Posted: 04 Feb 2022 01:06 PM PST

Amazon literally doubled down on owning real estate last year. The e-commerce giant finished 2021 with twice as much of its own warehouse, distribution and data center space as it began the year. The buying spree brought its owned real estate portfolio to 16.7 million square feet across North America, according to an annual financial report, up from 8.5 million at the end of 2020. The year prior, the company reported 5.6 million square feet

SHoP Architects employees drop unionization effort

Posted: 04 Feb 2022 12:15 PM PST

Employees at one of New York’s top architecture firms dropped a potentially historic unionization effort days ahead of an essential vote. Architectural Workers United announced the move in a tweet on Thursday. “With great sadness, we have pulled our petition to unionize” the group said. “But we will not stop fighting for all other architectural unions in the making and continue to support all workers who deserve justice. Thank you all for supporting us in

Software company claims 42K sf at L&L’s 195 Broadway

Posted: 04 Feb 2022 11:30 AM PST

One software firm has found a more permanent home with an L&L Holding Company property in the Financial District. Code Climate is taking approximately 42,000 square feet at 195 Broadway, the Commercial Observer reported. The company’s lease for the building’s 20th floor is for 10 years and the asking rent was $55 per square foot. L&L’s Andrew Wiener represented the company in the deal, while a Colliers team including Michael Thomas and Taylor Bell represented

Top Eric Adams aide makes move to Manhattan

Posted: 04 Feb 2022 10:38 AM PST

One of Mayor Eric Adams’ top aides, apparently eager to be closer to the political power centers of Manhattan, bought an East Side co-op unit. Public records reveal chief of staff Frank Carone and his wife Diana purchased a three-bedroom, two-bathroom unit at 45 Sutton Place South for a bit more than $2.2 million. A listing for the unit shows the asking price was $2.18 million, but broker Lawrence Rich of Corcoran clarified to The

The Closing: Rafael Cestero

Posted: 04 Feb 2022 09:15 AM PST

When Rafael Cestero took the helm of the Community Preservation Corporation in 2012, he had never worked out a distressed loan portfolio or sold distressed assets. Nor did he have experience restructuring credit agreements. But he had to learn quickly: The nonprofit was on the brink of bankruptcy, in part because it had taken risks on market-rate condo development — a stark departure from its founding mission to restore and create affordable housing. Cestero was

JP Morgan, Zenith IOS launch $700M industrial JV

Posted: 04 Feb 2022 07:59 AM PST

A new industrial real estate venture is looking beyond warehouses and heading out into the sun. Zenith IOS and JP Morgan are teaming up to launch a $700 million joint venture targeting industrial outdoor storage, the companies announced Thursday. The venture aims to target urban infill industrial locations in big cities with growing populations. Brooklyn-based Zenith often targets low-coverage industrial sites, as noted by the Commercial Observer, which first reported the venture. The sites can

City investigating maintenance issues amid fires at NYCHA buildings

Posted: 04 Feb 2022 06:45 AM PST

Maintenance issues are at the center of a probe by the city’s Department of Investigation into a recent string of fires in public housing developments. The agency is investigating three separate fires, according to The City. Those fires all devastated NYCHA developments: the Jacob Riis Houses in the East Village, Wise Towers on the Upper West Side and Mitchel Houses in the South Bronx. Investigators are examining maintenance problems tenants say were left unaddressed, including

Zombie Kmart stalls Yorktown shopping center redevelopment

Posted: 04 Feb 2022 05:45 AM PST

A long-vacant Kmart is playing hardball with its landlord, frustrating the proposed redevelopment of a 15-acre shopping plaza in Westchester County. Oster Properties, owner of the Yorktown Green shopping center in downtown Yorktown Heights, aims to redevelop the 90,000-square-foot Kmart into a mixed-use building with 150 apartments. But Kmart’s parent company, Transformco, has not relinquished the roughly nine years left on its lease — though the store closed in 2019, according to the Rockland/Westchester Journal

Zelig Weiss, All Year near deal to end William Vale legal mess

Posted: 04 Feb 2022 05:00 AM PST

A bitter fight between Brooklyn real estate heavyweights Zelig Weiss and All Year Holdings over the swanky William Vale hotel is nearing an end. All Year and Weiss are close to an agreement to settle a legal dispute in which an entity tied to the company alleged Weiss diverted money from the Williamsburg hotel, according to a court filing. The All Year entity sued in June alleging that Weiss, who runs the hotel, refused to

Thinking inside the box: Developers rush to create more warehouse space

Posted: 04 Feb 2022 04:30 AM PST

If anyone believes demand for industrial real estate is cooling, brokers, developers and investors in the sector would say they’re dead wrong. With vacancy rates approaching zero percent in some markets, catapulting asking rents and sparking bidding wars for leases, the sector’s emergence as the hottest commercial asset class continues. “This is not a market we’ve ever seen before,” said Jordan Kovalsky, who heads the Chicago division of the industrial-focused real estate investment firm Faropoint.

Breaking down the stratospheric rise in U.S. home prices

Posted: 04 Feb 2022 04:00 AM PST

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 all the data and market information you need. America’s housing market exploded last year as surging demand met dwindling supply, sparking bidding wars that drove home prices to record highs. After creeping up 3.6 percent in 2019, the average home price surged by nearly triple that rate

Essex predicts return-to-work will drive Bay Area rent rebound

Posted: 03 Feb 2022 05:20 PM PST

Essex Property Trust, a top West Coast apartment owner, believes Bay Area rents, which have lagged the rapidly rebounding market nationally, will jump this year. The catalyst: tech companies, which are finally poised to call workers back, the firm said. Despite the depressed revenues Essex reported for much of Northern California in the fourth quarter, its earnings and overall rental income did improve year-over-year. San Mateo-based Essex said funds from operations — a measure of

Proptech startup Rhino lays off over 20% of its staff

Posted: 03 Feb 2022 04:06 PM PST

Rhino, a proptech startup that offers an alternative to security deposits, has laid off 57 employees, or more than 20 percent of its staff, The Real Deal has learned. Employees were informed of the cuts in an email Thursday morning from CEO Paraag Sarva. Those to be let go were invited to a noon meeting, according to a laid-off staffer who spoke on condition of anonymity. The layoffs were effective immediately, and those employees were

Petco hops across Union Square with 30K sf lease

Posted: 03 Feb 2022 02:30 PM PST

UPDATED Feb. 3, 2022, 6:44 p.m.: No longer leashed to 860 Broadway, Petco is prancing across Union Square for its next retail location. The pet store chain is leasing 30,000 square feet at Reading International’s 44 Union Square, the former Tammany Hall headquarters at the park’s northeast corner, the Commercial Observer reported. Petco will occupy three of seven floors in the 73,000-square-foot building that was renovated in recent years to include a glass-domed roof. Sources

Good times: Norman Lear sells 15 CPW unit for $17.5M

Posted: 03 Feb 2022 01:48 PM PST

TV producer Norman Lear isn’t keeping his unit at 15 Central Park West “All in the Family,” as the 38th-floor condo has sold for $17.5 million. The New York Post reported Lear’s sale, which comes months before his 100th birthday. The transaction took place in an off-market deal and the buyer of the Upper West Side unit wasn’t immediately clear. Lear’s history in the building dates back to the beginning. He and his wife, Lyn

Deals for new condos cooled in January

Posted: 03 Feb 2022 01:00 PM PST

After capping off 2021 with stratospheric sales, New York’s new development contract activity came back to earth in January. Homebuyers signed contracts for homes in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens new developments asking a cumulative $760 million, down 28 percent from last month, according to Marketproof. Median price per square foot and unit price fell 8 percent and 12 percent month-over-month, respectively, and the number of contracts signed fell 13 percent from December to 313. The

Hot boxes: Where industrial rents have soared the most

Posted: 03 Feb 2022 12:00 PM PST

If you’re in the market for warehouse space, get in line — and get ready to pony up. Data released this week by Savills shows the U.S. industrial real estate market lives up to the hype. It is crowded and expensive. Asking rents were up 8 percent last year nationally, and that includes less trafficked locales in flyover country. Increases varied widely. In Columbus, Ohio, and Phoenix, rents were up 11 percent and 9 percent,

Erin Boisson Aries leaves Christie’s for Douglas Elliman

Posted: 03 Feb 2022 11:07 AM PST

A top-performing agent is leaving Christie’s International Real Estate amid a series of changes at the brokerage. Erin Boisson Aries, who was the first broker hired in Christie’s expansion to New York City in 2018, is bringing her eight-agent team to Douglas Elliman. It’s a return to Elliman for Aries, who started her career there before a stint at Corcoran followed by a decade at Brown Harris Stevens, where she became the firm’s top-producing agent,

Inside mall scavenger Kohan’s shopping spree for declining shopping centers

Posted: 03 Feb 2022 10:30 AM PST

The majority of its storefronts are dark and its previous owner, CBL & Associates, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2020. So when New York-based Kohan Retail Investment Group landed half of the Burnsville Center property at auction for about $17 million — a fraction of the $64.2 million of outstanding debt on the property — the city had hope for a rejuvenation. That hope faded. “We’re not a developer,” Kohan founder Mike Kohan

American Dream mall down to its last reserves

Posted: 03 Feb 2022 09:45 AM PST

The American Dream mall is nearly down to its last dollar, a startling reality for the $5 billion retail attraction. The beleaguered mall needed to pull $9.3 million from a reserve account on Tuesday to make a payment on about $290 million in debt, Bloomberg reported. A securities filing says only $820 is left in the account, leaving the mall in danger of missing its next payment due Aug. 1. Failing to make a payment

Carlyle picking up iStar’s net-lease portfolio for $3B

Posted: 03 Feb 2022 08:45 AM PST

The Carlyle Group is accelerating its Global Credit platform with the recent acquisition of a net-lease portfolio from iStar for more than $3 billion. iStar announced the sale on Tuesday, which closed at $3.07 billion. An affiliate of the asset manager is acquiring owned and managed net lease assets spanning 18.3 million square feet, including office, industrial and entertainment properties. Carlyle’s Global Credit platform is its fastest-growing segment in recent years, according to the company,

NFL to investigate allegation Stephen Ross paid Dolphins coach for losses

Posted: 03 Feb 2022 07:45 AM PST

Days after former Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores alleged in a lawsuit that team owner and billionaire developer Stephen Ross offered to pay to lose games, the NFL is reported to be readying an investigation into the claim. A person familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal the NFL will investigate Flores’ claim Ross offered to pay him $100,000 per loss during the 2019 season, Flores’ first as the Dolphins coach. The organization

Ornate UES townhomes sell to paper mogul for $20M

Posted: 03 Feb 2022 06:44 AM PST

Two beautifully preserved mansions built for a 20th century Wall Street tycoon have a new owner. An LLC tied to publishing magnate and art collector Peter Brant purchased the George F. Baker house complex at 69 East 93rd Street, public records show. It paid $20 million for the two connected townhomes, $5 million below asking. The homes were built around 1930 and are chock-full of rare art and furniture collected by their previous owner, investment

Mill Creek Residential proposes 191-unit project in White Plains

Posted: 03 Feb 2022 05:45 AM PST

The pandemic-fueled e-commerce boom has powered a surge of industrial purchases across the U.S., but one White Plains redevelopment has proposed a move in a different direction. Mill Creek Residential Trust recently proposed the adaptive reuse of a warehouse at 39 Westmoreland Avenue in the city, according to the Westchester & Fairfield County Business Journals. Preliminary plans call for 191 units at the building. The 86,000-square-foot loft warehouse is owned by Benerofe Properties, but Boca

How to comply with looming emissions law? “Start yesterday”

Posted: 03 Feb 2022 05:00 AM PST

It’s still two years before landlords of most buildings exceeding 25,000 square feet need to slash emissions. But experts say to avoid fines, they should have already started. Multifamily owners in particular. Apartment buildings make up the bulk of properties affected by the measure, Local Law 97. They use more energy than any other sector and most of it comes from natural gas, the Urban Green Council reported. The good news for their owners is

Tall, green and handsome: Lendlease’s COO on building sustainably at scale

Posted: 03 Feb 2022 04:30 AM PST

There’s an iconic scene in “The West Wing” where Martin Sheen’s President Bartlet urges an acolyte to “see the whole board,” to understand all the stakeholders and implications in a given situation simultaneously. It’s a geopolitical masterclass, conducted over a chess game. Few builders can take that approach to development, as it requires scale, capital, a global presence and influence over construction and the supply chain. Lendlease is one of them. The Australian company,

A Harlem real estate drama worthy of Hollywood

Posted: 03 Feb 2022 04:00 AM PST

You can lead a socialist to the fountain of knowledge, but you can’t make her drink. That comes to mind upon reading City Council member Kristin Richardson Jordan’s rationale for opposing a Harlem apartment project with about 650 market-rate and 250 income-restricted apartments. “The market-rate housing is what’s driving up the property values and driving up the cost of living and causing a lot of struggles with congestion in the area and has a big