The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Hamptons Cheat Sheet: Sag Harbor OKs Billy Joel’s home reno plans, noting its “harmony” … & more

Posted: 18 Sep 2018 03:30 PM PDT

Sag Harbor OKs Billy Joel’s home reno plans, noting its “harmony” Sag Harbor officials are finally singing Mr. Long Island’s tune. The Sag Harbor Board of Historic Preservation and Architectural Review approved Billy Joel’s plans to combine two structures on his property with a two-story addition and to raise one of those properties up to 30 feet, 27East reported. Town officials previously rejected a plan to raise the structure slightly higher. Four board members, however, […]

Saratoga Spring firm buys Jamaica self-storage facility for $27M

Posted: 18 Sep 2018 03:23 PM PDT

Self-storage facility operator Prime Group Holdings is continuing its expansion in Queens, closing a deal to acquire two industrial buildings in Jamaica. The Saratoga Springs-based firm bought 109-09 180th Street and 180-05 110th Avenue for $26.5 million. The adjacent properties, which together span 106,000 square feet, once housed a location for Treasure Island Storage. The seller is Cayre Equities. The firm acquired the assemblage for $6.5 million in 2005, property records show. This is the […]

The multifamily market hit a summer slump

Posted: 18 Sep 2018 03:00 PM PDT

New York’s multifamily market hit a summer slump. The city saw 38 transactions across 70 buildings worth a total of $530.81 million in July, according to a report from Ariel Property Advisors. Compared to the monthly average for the first half of the year, this was a 37 percent drop in dollar volume and an 8 percent drop in transaction volume. Building volume ticked up by 3 percent. Compared to June, dollar volume dropped by […]

Gural family notches 2 big leases at 520 Eighth Ave

Posted: 18 Sep 2018 02:30 PM PDT

GFP Real Estate signed two leases totaling 52,769 square feet at its office building 520 Eighth Avenue, the company announced Tuesday. Travel and entertainment company Entertainment Benefits Group is taking 12,769 square feet at the property in a five-year deal, which was brokered by GFP’s Matthew Mandell. Meanwhile, labor organization Mason Tenders’ District Council Welfare Fund renewed its 40,000-square-foot lease for 10 years. The asking rent in the building is $48 per square foot. GFP, […]

Dermot lands $120M loan for Hell’s Kitchen rental complex buy

Posted: 18 Sep 2018 02:00 PM PDT

The Dermot Company secured a $120 million loan for its acquisition of the Helux apartment complex in Hell’s Kitchen. HSBC originated the new debt, which replaces a $55.8 million Fannie Mae mortgage from 1999, according to records filed with the city on Tuesday. Dermot was reported to have gone into contract to buy the property, at 520 West 43rd Street, for $193 million in April. The seller is Boston-based investment firm AEW, which paid $170 […]

Descendants of one of Manhattan’s oldest families snags Parge House for $11M

Posted: 18 Sep 2018 01:15 PM PDT

The Parge House on the Upper East Side sold for $10.5 million — after hitting the market for $12 million at the end of June. The buyer is listed as “866 Lex, LLC,” which is tied to the Beekman Estate, according to New York City Department of Finance records. The Beekman Estate’s properties also include 857, 855 and 853 Lexington Ave. Listing brokers for the property, at 866 Lexington Avenue, were Cushman & Wakefield’s Guthrie […]

WeWork revises non-compete agreements following settlement with NY AG

Posted: 18 Sep 2018 12:40 PM PDT

The New York Attorney General’s office has reached a settlement with WeWork over non-compete agreements which the company had required almost all its employees to sign. The overly broad agreements barred employees from working for competitors after leaving WeWork regardless of their salaries, responsibilities and knowledge of confidential information, according to Attorney General Barbara Underwood. Her office’s investigation of the company found that it had made employees at almost all locations across the country sign […]

Follow The Real Deal’s Deal Sheet on Instagram!

Posted: 18 Sep 2018 12:00 PM PDT

Shaya Sonnenschein and Shaya Ackerman of Meridian Capital Group represented the owner, Marx Development Group. The loan was issued by Mack Real Estate Credit Strategies. #commercialrealestate #nycrealestate #trdny #trddealsheet #nyc #nycloans #trdloans A post shared by The Real Deal’s Deal Sheet (@trddeals) on Jun 20, 2018 at 10:17am PDT The Real Deal’s Deal Sheet is on Instagram! Our latest social media channel features snaps of retail and office leases, financing acquisitions and commercial and residential […]

Trump’s latest tariffs on China target steel, metal products

Posted: 18 Sep 2018 11:05 AM PDT

Steel and other metal products are among the goods included in President Trump’s latest round of tariffs against Chinese imports, and come months after a similar tax on imported metals. The trade war between the U.S. and China intensified Tuesday, as the Chinese government announced $60 billion in tariffs on American goods in response, according to Bloomberg. On Monday, the president announced he would impose a 10 percent tariff on $200 billion of Chinese goods. […]

The city that Shelly built

Posted: 18 Sep 2018 10:20 AM PDT

(Editor’s note: On Monday, Sheldon Silver, the state’s former Assembly speaker and once one of Albany’s most influential politicians, was denied his request to remain free on bail while appealing his latest conviction. He was found guilty of federal corruption charges including extortion and money laundering during his re-trial. In July, the 74-year-old was sentenced to seven years in prison and must turn himself in to authorities on Oct. 5. The story is republished in […]

Next stop, Canada: BQX czar stepping down next month

Posted: 18 Sep 2018 09:15 AM PDT

The head of the Brooklyn-Queens Connector project (BQX) is stepping down, perhaps signaling even further trouble for the proposed $2.7 billion light rail. Adam Giambrone, director of the BQX, told colleagues on Monday that Oct. 5 will be his last day, as he will be “pursuing a new opportunity in the transit space north of the border,” Politico reported. Giambrone, former chair of the agency that runs Toronto’s streetcar network, is leaving just two years […]

Stillman reveals pricey revamp of long-shuttered Times Square Theater

Posted: 18 Sep 2018 08:53 AM PDT

Stillman Development is planning a $100 million makeover for one of the last vestiges of old Times Square. The company and its partner, the South Korean financial firm Daishin Securities Co., are renovating the long-shuttered Times Square Theater at 217 West 42nd Street to draw in entertainment-focused retailers, the Wall Street Journal reported. “We wanted to design a project that would be insulated from the risks of e-commerce,” company president Roy Stillman said. Stillman last […]

Low apartment stock could spell trouble for residents displaced by Hurricane Florence

Posted: 18 Sep 2018 08:00 AM PDT

Low apartment inventories might make relocating residents displaced by Hurricane Florence particularly difficult in small cities in North Carolina. The hurricane pummeled some of North Carolina’s smaller cities, where single-family homes make up much of the rental inventory, the Wall Street Journal reported. For example, Wilmington and Fayetteville each have fewer than 1,500 empty apartment units, according to apartment research firm RealPage Inc. That’s less than half of the vacant units in Charleston, South Carolina. […]

Lee & Associates brings on Eastern Consolidated broker for newly created investment sales division

Posted: 18 Sep 2018 07:31 AM PDT

Lee & Associates NYC has tapped Eastern Consolidated’s Ben Tapper to help grow its newly launched investment sales division. Tapper, 42, started as a senior managing director at Lee & Associates earlier this month, Commercial Observer reported. The brokerage announced in July that it had launched an investment sales team. Tapper worked at Eastern Consolidated for nearly 15 years. Noteworthy deals during that time included the $90 million sale of a 230,000-square-foot self-storage warehouse at […]

WeWork says it’s now Manhattan’s largest office tenant

Posted: 18 Sep 2018 06:50 AM PDT

WeWork is now the largest office tenant in Manhattan. The co-working firm said it now has a portfolio totaling 5.3 million square feet, putting it ahead of JPMorgan Chase, according to a blog post from company executive Granit Gjonbalaj. WeWork now has 60 locations in New York City. Out of that total, 50 are in Manhattan. The first WeWork location opened at 154 Grand Street in 2010. A Cushman & Wakefield report from last August […]

City Council committee to consider commercial rent control next month

Posted: 18 Sep 2018 06:30 AM PDT

A City Council committee next month will consider a bill that would entitle commercial retail tenants to a 10-year lease renewal if they meet the terms of their existing contracts. The council’s Committee on Small Business will hold a hearing on the Small Business Jobs Survival Act, better known as the commercial rent control bill, Crain’s reported. Bronx Council member Mark Gjonaj, chairman of the Committee on Small Business, said the bill will be one […]

Point, click, buy: Startup with $225M offers digital home buying

Posted: 18 Sep 2018 06:05 AM PDT

The days of buying a house — entirely online — have arrived. Bungalo, a startup with $225 million in financial backing, has launched a solely digital platform where buyers can search, finance and purchase newly renovated homes. The company is an offshoot of Austin-based Amherst Holdings, a $13 billion financial firm that in 2012 created Amherst Residential, which owns and manages 20,000 single-family rentals nationwide. Amherst said it invested $225 million to launch Bungalo — […]

Go directly to prison: Sheldon Silver’s request to remain free on bail denied

Posted: 18 Sep 2018 05:30 AM PDT

Sheldon Silver, once one of Albany’s most powerful politicians, is heading to prison. Federal Court Judge Valerie Caproni on Monday denied the former New York State Assembly speaker’s request to remain free on bail while he appeals his latest conviction. Caproni said “the true purpose of Silver’s appeal is simply to postpone his day of reckoning,” the New York Times reported. Silver must turn himself in to authorities on Oct. 5. In July, Silver was sentenced […]

Here’s what the $10M-$20M NYC investment sales market looked like last week

Posted: 18 Sep 2018 05:00 AM PDT

In the world of mid-market New York City investment sales last week, the NYC Housing Partnership bought the former Empire State Dairy Company complex in East New York, and East Harlem Tutorial Program acquired a church site. 1.) Education nonprofit East Harlem Tutorial Program bought a church site in East Harlem for $15.2 million. The package includes St. Lucy’s Church and School at 342-344 104th Street and two vacant parcels at 346 East 104th Street […]

WATCH: Ben Brafman on his comedy days, his bonds with Diddy and Charlie Kushner, his views on #MeToo and more

Posted: 18 Sep 2018 04:30 AM PDT

 With clients like Harvey Weinstein, Puff Daddy, Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Michael Jackson, it’s nearly impossible for Benjamin Brafman to avoid the limelight. “Like when somebody drowns at the beach, there’s 2,000 people who try and look and see and it’s sort of morbid curiosity,” the criminal defense lawyer told The Real Deal. “It’s a strange form of voyeurism and I don’t like it.” Related: The Closing with Ben Brafman Brafman, who just turned 70, […]

These were the top 10 outer borough loans in August

Posted: 18 Sep 2018 04:00 AM PDT

The top 10 outer borough loans recorded in August pulled off the rare feat of being more valuable than the top 10 loans in Manhattan. The loans were worth about $2.8 billion overall, mainly thanks to a $1.2 billion bond financing from the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York to Montefiore Health System. This was the largest outer borough deal by far for August, while a $380 million loan from Natixis Real Estate […]