The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Viral Instagram post leads to arrest, assault charge for former Christie’s agent

Posted: 06 Dec 2019 03:26 PM PST

The former Christie’s International Real Estate agent accused of attacking a woman in a viral Instagram post from late November was arrested and charged with assault on Thursday, according to the New York Police Department. Cristiano Moura was issued a desk appearance ticket, meaning he was released from the precinct and did not go to central booking, police said. He is due in court on Dec. 23 to answer for the assault charge, according to

Amazon takes big new office space near Hudson Yards

Posted: 06 Dec 2019 03:25 PM PST

It might not be a second headquarters, but Amazon is far from done taking up office space in New York City. The online retail giant has signed a 335,000-square-foot-lease with landlord SL Green Realty for a new location in the Hudson Yards neighborhood, the Wall Street Journal reported. Amazon said the new office will be home to employees from its consumer and advertising groups. Though the initial report did not specify the building’s address, the

Deutsche Bank provided A&E $97M in financing for big Rego Park buy

Posted: 06 Dec 2019 03:00 PM PST

A&E Real Estate Holdings scored $97.5 million in refinancing from Deutsche Bank for its massive Rego Park portfolio, which was purchased together with development rights for $150 million. The financing covers the real estate, purchased for $129.5 million, along with development rights and other business interests that the family owns, according to sources familiar with the transaction. Deutsche Bank provided $97.5 million in financing, according to public records. The loan replaces prior financing from People’s

Billy Macklowe looking to break into Brooklyn

Posted: 06 Dec 2019 02:49 PM PST

Billy Macklowe is making his foray into Brooklyn. The developer’s William Macklowe Company is making a bid to buy a 1.5 block-long site in Park Slope where he can build a 300,000-square-foot mixed-use condominium project, Commercial Observer reported. The seller of the site at 120 Fifth Avenue is Avery Hall Investments, which secured a zoning variance for the site. Avery Hall paid $45.6 million to buy the property in 2017, and could sell it for

Data alert: Brooklyn and Queens’ latest condo inventory stats are in

Posted: 06 Dec 2019 02:30 PM PST

New development condo report Brooklyn • Inventory expanded as developers filed more units than were purchased • Developers filed 16 plans with 140 units • The state approved seven plans with 88 units valued at $59 million • Buyers purchased 115 units valued at $122 million Queens • Inventory expanded as developers filed more units than were purchased • Developers filed three plans with 75 units • The state approved one plan with 46 units

Looking for real estate events? We got two right here

Posted: 06 Dec 2019 02:00 PM PST

Here are real estate events to consider attending next week. Host: Catalyst Financial Partners Date: Dec. 9 Time: 12:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. Catalyst Financial Partners is holding its Cap Intro event on Real Estate Fund Investing at Sparks Steak House, 210 East 46th Street. Hear presentations and attend sessions that focus on the strategies applied to different sectors of the real estate industry. Host: ICSC Date: Dec. 10 to Dec. 12 Time: 9 a.m.

Feil Organization buys Chelsea office building for $72M

Posted: 06 Dec 2019 01:19 PM PST

The Feil Organization is buying an office building in Chelsea that is home to several art galleries for about $72 million, according to sources familiar with the deal. The property is located at 530 West 25th Street between 10th and 11th avenues and spans 95,000 square feet across seven stories. The Feil Organization partnered on the purchase with Peter Armstrong of Rigby Asset Management. The Feil Organization and Armstrong purchased the building from longtime owners

Wall Street is collecting rent payments

Posted: 06 Dec 2019 12:45 PM PST

Wall Street wants your rent. Redwood Trust, one of Wall Street’s largest securitizers of mortgage bonds, is now packaging bonds backed by rent payments. The move marks a broader interest by Wall Street in rental properties amid of rise of home purchased by institutional landlords, rather than families or individual owners. Doubling down on this bet, in October, Redwood paid $490 million to purchase CoreVest American Finance LLC, which is a lender to landlords. And

Maddd Equities, Joy Construction land $130M for UES development

Posted: 06 Dec 2019 12:25 PM PST

Maddd Equities and Joy Construction have landed a $130 million loan from Natixis for 330 East 62nd Street, according to Joy’s Eli Weiss. The financing is a five-year commercial-mortgage-backed-securities loan and replaces an $86.25 million construction loan Natixis provided in February 2018. Brad Domenico of Progress Capital brokered the deal. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center signed a 48-year lease in 2017 for the entire building, which spans about 90,000 square feet. Joy and Maddd purchased

As co-working firms leave London, a new arriver plans to make a splash

Posted: 06 Dec 2019 11:30 AM PST

A flexible office space firm is entering the London co-working market, at a time when others are shuttering operations there. Serendipity Labs, a company that provides on-demand office space in primary and secondary markets, said Friday that it has entered an agreement to license 25 locations in the U.K., including 12 in London. The New York-based firm, which uses franchise and management partnership agreements with its landlords, will partner with U.K.-based firm Newable Flexible Workspace,

The gloves are off: Another lawsuit for boxing chain Rumble

Posted: 06 Dec 2019 11:17 AM PST

It’s one of New York City’s trendiest boutique gyms — and just opened a location in Tribeca — but the legal saga it’s entangled in just got messier. A co-founder of Rumble and its public relations firm filed a defamation lawsuit Thursday against jilted Rumble partner Brian Ripka, who has two of his own pending actions against the gym. One of his cases seeks to confirm his equity position in the nascent brand. The latest

Timbaland drops $8M on Coral Gables mansion

Posted: 06 Dec 2019 10:20 AM PST

Grammy Award-winning record producer and rapper Timbaland bought a mansion in Coral Gables, property records reveal. The musician, singer, songwriter and DJ purchased the home at 5400 Hammock Drive in his name, Timothy Z. Mosley. Luxury homebuilder Balli Development Group, led by Giorgio Balli, sold the property. Timbaland, who’s worked with artists such as Ginuwine, Aaliyah, Missy Elliott, Rick Ross, Madonna, Drake and Jay-Z, paid $7.95 million for the seven-bedroom, 8,600-square-foot home in the Gables.

Here are details on Columbia’s 34-story university housing tower

Posted: 06 Dec 2019 09:30 AM PST

UPDATE, Friday, Dec. 6, 2019, 2:17 p.m.: Columbia University plans to bring a 34-story residential tower to West Harlem amid its massive campus expansion. The project at 600 West 125th Street will span just over 175,000 square feet and have 142 units for students and faculty, according to an application with the city Department of Buildings. It will replace a decades-old McDonald’s that closed a few months ago. The university acquired the deed from the

Jet-setting to follow the money

Posted: 06 Dec 2019 08:45 AM PST

When the yachts go south and it becomes less of a feat to get a reservation at the East Hampton Grill or other local haunts, the residential brokers in the Hamptons have to come up with creative ways to network and keep their pipeline of business flowing. Some globetrot to chase down clients. Others meet with potential clients in Manhattan. And many keep contractors on track. “The fall is kind of a breather, but it’s

Will Ryan Serhant leave New York City?

Posted: 06 Dec 2019 08:00 AM PST

There is at least one thing you do not want to do while visiting a high profile broker’s office: break his stuff. When TRD spent a recent day alongside the star agent Ryan Serhant in his Manhattan office, a certain ceramic piggy bank met its end during the shoot. “You are killing me, Real Deal,” Serhant said, picking coins up off the floor. Oops. Still, the moment made the Nest Seekers International broker reflect on

Amazon nears lease at RXR’s Queens warehouse development

Posted: 06 Dec 2019 07:10 AM PST

RXR Realty’s big bet on logistics space in Queens has paid off. Amazon is in talks to lease the massive vertical warehouse RXR and partner and LBA Logistic are constructing in Maspeth, according to Crain’s. Last year, RXR and LBA revealed plans for a 770,000-square-foot, four-story logistics center in the industrial section of Maspeth, which sought to attract “retailers, e-commerce and New York-centric companies looking to satisfy the expedited shipping demands of customers in the

These were the 10 largest Manhattan real estate loans in November

Posted: 06 Dec 2019 06:45 AM PST

The top 10 Manhattan loans recorded in November totaled $2.1 billion, a 60 percent drop from October. One building appeared in the top four twice, as the owners of the leasehold on 195 Broadway and the ground underneath it both took out big loans to finance their interests in the property. 1) Lease & Loan — $350 million L&L Holding Company and partners secured a $350 million financing package from Germany’s Helaba for the leasehold

Target sets bullseye on Times Square with new lease

Posted: 06 Dec 2019 06:21 AM PST

Target is continuing its leasing spree in New York City, this time with a shop in Times Square. The big-box retailer has inked a lease for a 33,000-square-foot store on 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, CNBC reported. The store will be Target’s 10th small-format shop in Manhattan, and is slated to open in 2022. Even as other retailers shutter stores and file for bankrupcty, Target has found a way to make it work.

Facebook to grow West Side fiefdom with giant Farley Building lease

Posted: 06 Dec 2019 05:45 AM PST

Facebook’s deal for office space at the Farley Building isn’t dead. The social media giant is in talks to lease 700,000 square feet of office space at Vornado Realty Trust’s conversion of the James A. Farley Post Office, according to the Wall Street Journal. Apple had also reportedly been looking into leasing space at the office redevelopment. Facebook’s potential deal comes on the heels of the 1.5 million-square-foot lease it signed at Hudson Yards last

The five best things real estate could get from Albany

Posted: 06 Dec 2019 05:15 AM PST

Although few Albany observers expect the political winds to shift in real estate’s favor next year, and its lobbyists will likely spend more time trying to defeat bills than pass them, there is still some optimism in the industry. Here are the goals it hopes to achieve in the legislative session that begins next month. Kill the eviction bill No legislative measure poses a greater threat to landlords’ business model than state Sen. Julia Salazar’s

Why real estate lobbying needs a makeover

Posted: 06 Dec 2019 04:30 AM PST

In a small Venezuelan restaurant on a bustling street in Jersey City, a group of people on a stage held placards and homemade signs with a simple message: Vote no! The men and women — fighting to repeal a new ordinance restricting short-term rentals — were the public faces of Keep Our Homes, a campaign with legitimate grassroots elements but also nearly $5 million in funding from Airbnb. The effort ultimately flopped: Some 70 percent

Bronx deal cracks list of top outer-borough loans

Posted: 06 Dec 2019 04:00 AM PST

For the first time since August, a deal not in Brooklyn or Queens has made the monthly top-10 list of outer-borough loans. Breaking through was a $155 million loan from PIMCO to Prime Storage for a storage facility at 1260 Zerega Avenue in the Bronx. It grabbed the No. 2 spot, trailing only a $359 million package from Axonic Capital and Apollo Global Management to Innovo Property Group for 24-02 49th Avenue in Long Island