The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

City Council signals support for restricting hotel development

Posted: 01 Nov 2018 03:30 PM PDT

The de Blasio administration’s plan to restrict new hotel projects may be gaining traction. City Council leaders signaled support for the resolution that would require developers to go through a public review process before opening a hotel in light manufacturing districts, Crain’s reported. At a subcommittee hearing, the Department of City Planning argued that hotel development has pushed out other uses in industrial zones. Council Speaker Corey Johnson voiced support for the measure, which will […]

This penthouse is hitting the market for a whopping $78M

Posted: 01 Nov 2018 03:00 PM PDT

A triplex penthouse at Madison Square Park Tower is hitting the market with hefty price tag: $77.7 million. The asking price is also a nod to the apartment’s elevation, at 777 feet, Mansion Global reported. Douglas Elliman’s Fredrick Eklund, John Gomes and Noble Black have the listing. The penthouse at 45 East 22nd Street spans more than 13,000 square feet. It includes two separate studio apartments for staff or office spaces — plus two parking […]

City Council approves rezoning for Madison Realty Capital’s Woodside rental project

Posted: 01 Nov 2018 02:30 PM PDT

The City Council gave the green light Wednesday to Madison Realty Capital’s 431-unit rental project in Woodside, after the local council member originally said he’d oppose the project. The Council voted yesterday to approve Madison Realty’s application to rezone the site at 69-02 Queens Boulevard, which will include 129 units of affordable housing under the city’s Mandatory Inclusionary Housing program. “Despite an overwhelming demand across the borough, Queens has seen only a handful of developers […]

Editor’s note: Co-working gets coopted

Posted: 01 Nov 2018 02:15 PM PDT

Forget the free cold brew and pingpong. WeWork and other co-working companies are today less focused on luring freelancers and young startups and instead are looking to fill entire offices buildings with corporate tenants. WeWork — which now occupies more office space in Manhattan than any other company — billed its business model as a revolutionary approach to the workplace, with budding entrepreneurs sitting side by side (and sometimes collaborating) as part of a community. […]

Dream Hotel Group lands $56M loan for Midtown portfolio

Posted: 01 Nov 2018 01:45 PM PDT

Dream Hotel Group landed a $56 million loan for a Midtown commercial portfolio that includes the — what else — Dream Midtown hotel. The loan covers 200, 204 and 210 West 55th Street, according to records filed with the city on Thursday. It replaces a $55 million Ladder Capital loan from 2013. Loancore Capital assumed the $52.25 million of outstanding debt on the properties and provided a $3.75 million gap mortgage. The Dream Hotel, at 210 West 55th […]

EB-5 immigrant petitions are at lowest levels in at least five years

Posted: 01 Nov 2018 01:30 PM PDT

Only 617 new EB-5 immigration petitions were filed with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services in the third quarter of 2018, the lowest quarterly figure for new applications in at least five years, according to data released by USCIS this week. Last quarter, there were 1,607 applications and 4,402 a year ago. The drop comes as Chinese investors increasingly express their dissatisfaction with long wait times for visas. It’s led some to lawyer up to […]

GreenOak, Slate secure financing for $90M UWS condo conversion

Posted: 01 Nov 2018 01:00 PM PDT

GreenOak Real Estate and Slate Property Group got a nearly $50 million construction loan for the Upper West Side rental building they are converting into condominiums. Apollo Global Management provided the $48.7 million loan for the project at 150 West 82nd Street, brokers at JLL who secured the financing for the borrowers told The Real Deal. JLL’s Aaron Appel, Keith Kurland, Adam and Jonathan Schwartz, Michael Diaz and Patrick Heitmann arranged the financing. The new […]

Jho Low, former Goldman Sachs bankers face criminal charges in Malaysian money laundering case

Posted: 01 Nov 2018 12:30 PM PDT

Two former Goldman Sachs bankers have been indicted alongside fugitive Jho Low in relation to the $4 billion embezzlement of a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund. The former bankers, Tim Leissner and Roger Ng, were named Thursday by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, according to The New York Times. Authorities had been negotiating a plea deal with the former bankers for several months, and reportedly charged them with conspiring to commit money laundering and violation of anti-bribery […]

Brookfield to convert at least 100 GGP shopping malls into “mini cities”

Posted: 01 Nov 2018 12:00 PM PDT

Brookfield Property Partners plans to “future proof” a majority of General Growth Properties’ malls by turning them into mixed-use “mini cities.” Executives of the firm said on Thursday during a third quarter earnings call that it plans to redevelop at least 100 of the 125 malls in GGP’s portfolio. The company estimates that it will spend between $800 million and $1 billion each year over the next few years to reposition or add office and/or […]

One of Chicago’s biggest resi brokerages sold stake to PE firm

Posted: 01 Nov 2018 11:30 AM PDT

@properties, Chicago’s highest-performing locally-based residential brokerage by volume, quietly sold a portion of the company to a Virginia-based private equity firm, The Real Deal has learned. A Federal Trade Commission filing did not say how large a stake Quad-C Partners bought in the brokerage, or how much the Charlottesville-based firm paid to acquire it. A spokesperson for @properties declined to share either figure. The deal occurred in April, according to the commission. Quad-C lists “majority […]

What oversupply? Panelists say Brooklyn’s real estate market is starting to reset

Posted: 01 Nov 2018 11:00 AM PDT

Conventional wisdom may say that Brooklyn is dealing with an oversupply of rental properties. But according to panelists at a recent Bisnow event, the reality is much more complex. Concerns over a glut may stem from a roughly two-year stretch when the borough saw between 2,400 and 3,000 rental units come online, said Sean Kelly, senior director of investment sales at Ariel Property Advisors. He pointed to TF Cornerstone’s 33 Bond Street project as one […]

Carlyle Group secures $160M refi for 866 UN Plaza

Posted: 01 Nov 2018 10:30 AM PDT

Carlyle Group secured a $160 million loan for its office condominiums at 866 United Nations Plaza in Midtown East. The loan covers 56 unsold units that the firm acquired last year for $218 million. AllianceBernstein provided the new debt, which replaces a $168 million Deutsche Bank mortgage from 2017, according to property records. The financing package also includes a $5 million gap mortgage. The previous owner, Meadow Partners, acquired the 471,000-square foot building in 2013 […]

The Real Deal’s November issue is now available to our subscribers

Posted: 01 Nov 2018 10:00 AM PDT

The Real Deal’s October issue is live, and digital subscribers to TRD are getting the first look at what’s inside. Subscribers now have access to stories including: – How co-working has gone corporate – The tumultuous rise of 125 Greenwich – SL Green’s $2 billion stock buyback – A ranking of the city’s top property management firms – The resi records being set despite a general slowdown And plenty more! Subscribe now to stay one […]

JLL’s asset management arm is betting big on commercial lending

Posted: 01 Nov 2018 09:34 AM PDT

The asset management arm of JLL is making a play at commercial lending in the U.S., acquiring a middle-market fund with deals in growing markets like Denver and San Francisco. LaSalle Investment Management is acquiring a majority stake in Latitude Management Real Estate Investors, which manages $1.2 billion across credit funds, Bloomberg reported. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Latitude targets the middle market — lending $5 million to $35 million to multifamily, office, hotel, […]

Former Venezuelan oil exec pleads guilty in $1B money laundering scheme

Posted: 01 Nov 2018 09:00 AM PDT

A former official with Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA pleaded guilty on Wednesday for his role in a $1 billion money laundering scheme in which prosecutors allege some of the proceeds went into South Florida real estate. Abraham Edgardo Ortega, 51, PDVSA’s former executive director of financial planning, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He is scheduled to be sentenced on […]

LISTEN: Albany politics and NY real estate collide in TRD’s latest subscriber call

Posted: 01 Nov 2018 08:20 AM PDT

For our latest subscriber conference call, The Real Deal’s Jill Noonan and Damian Ghigglioty chatted with reporters Katie Brenzel and Will Parker about their October deep dive into the interplay between Albany politics and New York’s real estate industry. Check out the SoundCloud player to listen to the full conversation, and be sure to keep an eye out for more information about our next conference call for subscribers.

The newest entrant to the co-living game is… New York City?

Posted: 01 Nov 2018 07:30 AM PDT

To address the growing housing crisis, Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration in the last five years has encouraged the construction of micro-units and tiny houses, and even pushed for private developers to build on public housing land. Now you can add co-living to the list. New York City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development is slated to announce a pilot program that will let developers access public funding for more affordable co-living projects. The program […]

Diddy’s scrapped UES megamansion is back on the market

Posted: 01 Nov 2018 06:30 AM PDT

The Upper East Side building that was once slated to be a megamansion for rapper and producer Diddy is back on the market. Yet again. The property at 807 Park Avenue is listed for $29 million, down from $31 million in August, the New York Post reported. It was listed for $39 million last year. Stribling’s Alexa Lambert, Timothy Desmond, Linda Melnick and Marc Achilles have the listing. The building is for sale after Diddy scrapped […]

Wendy Maitland launches her own brokerage after BHS exit

Posted: 01 Nov 2018 06:00 AM PDT

Wendy Maitland is starting her own brokerage business. The broker launched a new residential and commercial real estate firm after being pushed out at Brown Harris Stevens in September. Maitland’s company will also offer high-end auctions through a partnership with Misha Haghani’s Paramount Realty USA, the New York Post reported. “Like a Basquiat or a Picasso, or a piece of rare jewelry, some real estate simply deserves to be sold by auction,” Maitland told the […]

Coastal homes, once prized, now losing cache among buyers amid flood concerns

Posted: 01 Nov 2018 05:30 AM PDT

Growing concern over flooding and climate change are making once highly sought-after coastal homes nationwide less attractive to buyers. An analysis of pricing in coastal areas around the country by Realtor.com and the Wall Street Journal found that homes with high flooding risks have appreciated slower than homes farther inland. The analysis tracked homes over the last few years, and found the slowing prices was greater along the Eastern seaboard, in states like Florida, North […]

These top resi brokers want to change how the industry does business — with a new advocacy group

Posted: 01 Nov 2018 05:00 AM PDT

Last September, five of New York’s top brokers met to brainstorm a new idea. Collectively, the agents and their teams — from Compass, Douglas Elliman and Sotheby’s International Realty — had closed more than $1 billion in sales in 2016. But despite their individual successes, they felt the industry was lacking consistent standards and proper transparency: Why don’t brokers do a better job of sharing data? Why is measuring square footage still not standardized? By […]

Ranking the hottest hoods in L.A.

Posted: 01 Nov 2018 04:30 AM PDT

Having welcomed a wealth of investment over the last several years, Los Angeles continues to enjoy a development boom, with investors sniffing out every corner of the county in search of the next big opportunity. Using data from the Los Angeles County property appraiser, The Real Deal analyzed historical residential and commercial property values to find out which enclaves have seen the steepest recent growth relative to how fast property values had increased in each […]

Corcoran is going the franchise route. Here’s what it’s up against.

Posted: 01 Nov 2018 04:00 AM PDT

Four decades after Barbara Corcoran launched her eponymous brokerage, the firm is again banking on the Corcoran name. Last week, parent company Realogy Holdings said it plans to franchise the Corcoran brand in “global mega-cities” and leisure markets in a bid to attract independent firms and boost its overall market share. But the New York-based firm will be competing with some of the largest franchises in the business — including Keller Williams and Berkshire Hathaway, […]