The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Vornado sells 45% stake in prime Manhattan retail portfolio valued at $5.6B

Posted: 18 Apr 2019 04:10 PM PDT

Vornado Realty Trust has sold a minority stake of its Fifth Avenue and Times Square retail portfolio in a deal that values the assets at about $5.6 billion. Just as surprisingly, Vornado also announced on Thursday that Crown Acquisitions’ Haim Chera would be leaving his family firm to join Vornado as its head of retail. The real estate investment trust transferred 45.4 percent common equity interest in the portfolio, which covers 489,000 square feet of […]

Marriott to build the tallest modular hotel in the world in NoMad

Posted: 18 Apr 2019 02:15 PM PDT

The next chapter in the arms race to build the tallest hotel using modular construction is under way, though doubts remain on the method’s merit. With about $65 million in construction financing secured from Avana Capital, the Chun family is finally developing the plot they’ve held since 1993 at 842 Sixth Avenue into a 168-key AC by Marriott using nontraditional building methods. The AC property is the second hotel developed by the Chun family, led […]

Westchester & Fairfield Cheat Sheet: JPMorgan to sell One City Place in White Plains, Greenwich homeowners get used to price cuts… & more

Posted: 18 Apr 2019 01:45 PM PDT

‘Market realities’ force Greenwich homeowners to sell for less Homeowners trying to sell off pricey properties in Greenwich are settling for less than optimal offers — or giving up and renting out their homes instead, the Wall Street Journal reported. One homeowner decided to auction off his Round Hill Road home after it took three price chops during its four years on the market, saying he “[didn’t] want it to drag on.” Music executive Tommy Mottola […]

City Council just created the “largest disruption in the history of New York City real estate”

Posted: 18 Apr 2019 01:15 PM PDT

The City Council’s Committee on Environmental Protection has passed a sweeping package of bills to cut greenhouse gas emissions, paving the way for adoption by the full council later today, Crain’s reported. And with projected costs north of $4 billion, a lot of landlords do not like it. The proposed legislation, dubbed the Climate Mobilization Act and described as New York City’s version of the controversial Green New Deal, would force landlords to cut emissions […]

Airbnb leads $160M funding round alongside RXR, Tishman for hospitality startup

Posted: 18 Apr 2019 12:45 PM PDT

A hospitality startup that provides short-rentals for professionals has closed on a $160 million funding round led by Airbnb. Lyric, which partners with landlords to provide units in multifamily buildings for business travelers, closed on the equity and debt funding round this week, according to TechCrunch. The series B funding round is a huge surge of capital for the company, which had only raised $19 million in previous funding rounds. The platform has gained significant […]

Mueller Report provides new info on Trump Tower Moscow, Felix Sater and more

Posted: 18 Apr 2019 12:16 PM PDT

The long-awaited report by Special Counsel Robert Mueller provides additional details on the abandoned Trump-branded project in Moscow and the 2016 meeting between Jared Kushner and a top Russian bank executive. Much of the information presented in the 400-plus page report, released on Thursday, has already been made public, but it still offers some additional insight into how Mueller and Attorney General William Barr decided against accusing President Trump of collusion or obstruction of justice. […]

Rotem Rosen-led partnership buying development site off Billionaires’ Row

Posted: 18 Apr 2019 12:05 PM PDT

A partnership led by Rotem Rosen and Israel’s largest developer, Zahi Hagag, is making a play near Billionaires’ Row. Rosen and Indian billionaire Anand Mahindra’s MRR Development is teaming up with Hagag to buy a development site for $103.7 million, sources told The Real Deal. The buyers signed a contract for the site Thursday, and plan to purchase it with all cash. The assemblage consists of 13 parcels concentrated at the southeast corner of East […]

These real estate players are thrilled with Netflix’s tax incentive-fueled New York expansion

Posted: 18 Apr 2019 11:45 AM PDT

With the help of up to $4 million in tax incentives, Netflix is beefing up its New York presence with an expansion of its Manhattan office and plans for a massive new production hub in Brooklyn. The company’s new corporate offices will take up about 100,000 square feet at Normandy Real Estate Partners’ 888 Broadway, the governor’s office said in a statement. They will house 127 new employees working in departments including content acquisition, development, […]

Bank OZK continued aggressive condo lending in Q1

Posted: 18 Apr 2019 11:00 AM PDT

Bank OZK is showing no signs of curbing its construction lending this year. Little Rock-based Bank OZK, formerly known as Bank of the Ozarks, reported first quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates, as it real estate lending division originated more than $1.86 billion in new loans. That’s an increase of 86 percent compared to the first quarter of 2018. With just over $23 billion in assets, Bank OZK is one of the largest and most […]

Sears sues Eddie Lampert, alleging ex-CEO looted failing retailer of billions

Posted: 18 Apr 2019 10:20 AM PDT

Sears is suing former CEO and current Chairman Edward Lampert, claiming he and other company officials made billions off the failing retailer as it slid into a “death spiral” that ended in bankruptcy. The suit alleges Lampert and the other named defendants sold off Sears assets and pocketed the proceeds in their roles as major company stockholders, even as the company struggled to pay its bills. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in […]

Scott Rechler’s RXR nearing unorthodox partnership deal with Airbnb

Posted: 18 Apr 2019 09:24 AM PDT

Airbnb is negotiating a partnership with Scott Rechler’s RXR Realty to provide apartment-style hospitality spaces in commercial buildings. The startup, valued at $35 billion, is navigating options to workaround city laws that have hampered its operations here. With RXR, the short-term rental firm is planning to operate hospitality spaces in existing commercial buildings with a goal to target professionals and business travelers, according to Politico. New York City council has targeted users of Airbnb in […]

Barr issues strong defense of Trump shortly before Mueller report’s release

Posted: 18 Apr 2019 07:49 AM PDT

Attorney General William Barr vigorously defended President Trump in a press conference Thursday morning ahead of the release of the Special Counsel’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 election. Barr repeatedly stressed that the report concluded no members of the Trump campaign coordinated with the Russian government in its attempts to interfere with the 2016 presidential election, often using one of the favored phrases of the president himself: “no collusion.” And while the special […]

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Posted: 18 Apr 2019 07:15 AM PDT

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Aby Rosen is no longer planning a hotel for the Chrysler Building

Posted: 18 Apr 2019 06:35 AM PDT

As the new owner of the Chrysler Building, Aby Rosen is weighing his options — and a hotel is no longer one of them. The RFR Holding head previously considered bringing in a hotel but has since nixed the idea, Bloomberg reported. Rosen reaffirmed his goal to bring back the Cloud Club, which operated as a speakeasy during prohibition and expand amenities available for the public — including restaurants and hair salons. Rosen noted that […]

Blackstone Group, the world’s largest real estate owner, is converting to a corporation

Posted: 18 Apr 2019 05:58 AM PDT

UPDATED, April 18, 10:41 a.m.: Blackstone Group is changing is corporate structure to become a corporation, in a move that others have used to boost stock ownership. The company said the change from a partnership will be effective on July 1. The conversion to a C-corp comes after the tax law changes lowered the highest corporate rate to 21 percent from 35 percent. “We believe the decision to convert will make it significantly easier for both […]

Brooklyn retail rents are “starting to flatten”: REBNY

Posted: 18 Apr 2019 05:30 AM PDT

Retail rents in Brooklyn are dropping throughout a majority of the borough’s prime neighborhoods, according to the latest report from the Real Estate Board of New York. REBNY analyzed 17 corridors in the borough in its biannual Brooklyn Retail Report and found that average asking rents for ground floor retail had decreased year-over-year in 10 of them and increased in only five of them. Overall, more established areas in Brooklyn have been seeing rents soften, […]

Fairfield sales fall as buyers shift toward smaller homes

Posted: 18 Apr 2019 05:00 AM PDT

As Fairfield buyers opt for smaller homes, the Connecticut county’s luxury market remains soft. The number of sales dipped 2.6 percent in the first quarter versus a year earlier to 1,968 deals, according to Douglas Elliman’s latest market report. At the same time, the median sales price fell 6.6 percent to $359,450. That decline was driven by buyers opting for smaller properties, said Jonathan Miller, CEO of appraisal firm Miller Samuel and author of the […]

How investors are squeezing profits from shared housing

Posted: 18 Apr 2019 04:30 AM PDT

It seems co-living is finally coming of age. The problem is how to scale. The high-end communal housing model is expanding in a number of cities, including New York, and fewer property owners, investors and bankers are cringing at the thought. In late March, Tishman Speyer teamed up with local co-living company Common to launch Kin, a shared living space for families in the city. The move came just after the Collective paid $58 million […]

Lawsuits, pop-ups and ragers: Why 60 Guilders took a $25M loss on its prized Soho retail property

Posted: 18 Apr 2019 04:00 AM PDT

In spring 2016, retail-focused investment firm 60 Guilders and the Carlyle Group made a big bet on Soho with one of the priciest retail investment deals ever. In the three years since, all they’ve gotten in return was a soured expansion deal, repeated eviction threats, just two short-term pop up tenants, and finally, a $25 million loss. 60 Guilders and Carlyle have sold the retail co-op unit at 106 Spring Street to SL Green Realty […]