The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Adam Rose leaves real estate for jazz

Posted: 02 Jan 2020 02:00 PM PST

Adam Rose will be singing to a different, jazzy tune in 2020. Roughly two years after he stepped down as co-president of Rose Associates to serve as vice chairman, Rose will be retiring for good on Feb. 1, the company announced. The former executive, who’s 60 years old, said he will be spending his time “on philanthropy and jazz including my own jazz piano playing.” Rose Associates is a residential developer and operator founded in

The cold spell blanketing South Florida’s luxury condo market will continue in 2020, experts say

Posted: 02 Jan 2020 01:30 PM PST

Luxury condo inventory in South Florida continues to climb to all-time highs, as sales volume remains stagnant — just as high-end projects such as Paramount Miami Worldcenter, Brickell Flatiron, Ritz-Carlton Residences, Miami Beach, and Residences by Armani/Casa are opening their doors. According to real estate data firm and brokerage Analytics Miami, third-quarter transaction volume for luxury condo sales of $1 million or more dropped 32 percent below 2013 levels, while inventory skyrocketed 146 percent compared

Zayn Malik sells Soho penthouse at a loss

Posted: 02 Jan 2020 12:35 PM PST

Zayn Malik is going in a new direction. The 26-year-old singer, who gained international stardom as a member of British boy band One Direction, has sold his penthouse apartment at 57-63 Greene Street for $9.45 million, property records show. The seller was listed as “Drop Zed Properties NYC, LLC.” Malik was identified as the person behind the LLC when he purchased the property for $10.7 million in 2018. The buyer is named as a trust

Small Talk: Real Estate Predictions for 2020

Posted: 02 Jan 2020 11:30 AM PST

As everyone already knows, the biggest real estate story of 2019 was the August debut of Small Talk in The Real Deal. But 2019 is over, and like all good real estate professionals, our focus at Small Talk is now entirely on the future without any regard for what has happened in the past and whether we can learn anything from it. With that in mind, here are our predictions for the world of real

Extell nabs $440M in financing for Midtown assemblage

Posted: 02 Jan 2020 11:03 AM PST

In one of its last big deals of 2019, Gary Barnett’s Extell Development tightened its grip on a Midtown development site, and sewed up $440 million in new financing for a future project there. The site, not far from Extell’s International Gem Tower, is comprised of a 13-part assemblage at Fifth Avenue between 46th and 47th streets. In two separate transactions in late December, Extell bought out Hong Kong-based Meridian Capital Limited’s stake in the

After calls to increase safety, Cuomo signs elevator mechanic licensing bill

Posted: 02 Jan 2020 10:20 AM PST

Elevators mechanics will have to obtain licenses to work in New York in the future, bringing the state in line with standards required in the rest of the U.S. Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the Elevator Safety Act, which requires anyone who designs, builds, inspects, maintains and/or repairs elevators to be licensed by the state. Similar measures have been introduced since 2012, but faced opposition from real estate groups and others. The measure, which has awaited

The Real Deal’s January 2020 issue is now available to all subscribers!

Posted: 02 Jan 2020 10:00 AM PST

The Real Deal’s January issue is now live, and digital subscribers are getting the first look at what’s inside. Subscribers now have access to stories including: – A look back at TRD’s 250 issues since 2003, plus an exclusive interview with our founders – Inside the complicated plans, problems and possibilities at Related Companies – Loan wolves are on the prowl as condo sales falter – How the multifamily market is holding up in the

Rabsky, Spencer land $70M refi for Broadway Triangle site

Posted: 02 Jan 2020 09:40 AM PST

Brooklyn developers Simon Dushinsky and Joel Gluck have secured another one-year loan for their massive Broadway Triangle development in Williamsburg. Bank Leumi USA, a New York-based subsidiary of Israel’s Leumi Group, provided $70.5 million in new financing for the development site, which spans two trapezoidal blocks in the triangle bound by Harrison, Union and Flushing Avenues, city property records recorded Thursday show. The new debt replaces a one-year, $65 million loan provided by Centennial Bank

New York appeals court reinstates title insurance regs (again)

Posted: 02 Jan 2020 08:52 AM PST

The relentless back and forth on the legality of New York’s strict title insurance regulations continues. The state appeals court has reinstated rules that ban the title insurance industry from wining and dining its clients. And the court’s decision once again comes in response to a ruling from New York Supreme Court Judge Eileen Rakower, who had overturned the regulations in their entirety. If all this sounds familiar, that’s because it is. The state Department

In nod to union, de Blasio will seek special permit for hotel development

Posted: 02 Jan 2020 07:30 AM PST

In a victory for New York City Hotel Trades Council union, Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration will seek to enact a special permit requirement for hotel construction. The citywide requirement would mandate hotel developers receive City Council approval for projects — giving the HTC the opportunity ensure new hotels are unionized, according to the New York Times. Developers say the requirement would hinder hotel development at a time when New York tourism is booming, but

WeWork’s Miguel McKelvey lists townhouse for $21M

Posted: 02 Jan 2020 06:45 AM PST

WeWork co-founder Miguel McKelvey is looking to part ways with his Greenwich Village townhouse. McKelvey, the embattled flexible-office-space company’s chief culture officer, listed the 5,000-square-foot home for $21 million, the New York Post reported. Douglas Elliman’s Clinton Stowe and Melissa Bolotow have the listing, which is also being offered up as a $50,000-per-month rental. He bought the property at 18 West 11th Street for $12 million in 2015, city records show. The Weatherman — a

Investors partner on $170M Bronx affordable housing purchase

Posted: 02 Jan 2020 06:00 AM PST

A trio of real estate companies have joined together to buy an affordable housing portfolio in the Bronx for $170 million, the firms announced on Thursday. LIHC Investment Group, Belveron Partners and Camber Property Group are buying eight buildings in the borough from Cammeby’s International Group. The Mitchell-Llama buildings contain 1,275 affordable housing units in total, along with 10 commercial units. They were built in the 1970s and renovated in 2014, and the units are

Robert Durst admits to alerting authorities to location of body

Posted: 02 Jan 2020 05:48 AM PST

Just ahead of Robert Durst’s long-anticipated murder trial, attorneys for the real estate scion confirmed that he wrote an anonymous note to police 20 years ago. A Christmas Eve filing made by Durst’s attorneys confirmed that he penned a letter in 2000, leading authorities to recover the body of his friend and crime writer Susan Berman, CNN reported. The new evidence emerges a month before Durst is expected to stand trial in her killing. “This

The 10 priciest Hamptons home sales of 2019

Posted: 02 Jan 2020 05:00 AM PST

HED: Top Hamptons home sales of 2019 A $27 million spec home. A $26 million teardown. A palatial estate snagged for a $40 million discount. These were the top Hamptons home sales of 2019, a year in which buyers still held the upper hand after nearly two years of rising inventory. Much like last year, discounts and off-market deals were pervasive — but some lingering properties found buyers before the decade’s close. https://therealdeal.com/issues_articles/top-hamptons-home-sales-2018/ Overall, last

After fatality, analysis shows façade rules widely ignored across city

Posted: 02 Jan 2020 04:30 AM PST

Nearly eight months ago, city officials fined the owner of 729 Seventh Avenue $1,250 for failing to maintain the building’s façade. The owner, Himmel + Meringoff Properties, paid the penalty but never documented that the damaged terra-cotta identified by city inspectors was repaired. Nor did it install a sidewalk shed to protect passersby. The killing of a pedestrian Tuesday by a chunk of façade from the Times Square building called attention to the building’s history.

Vornado sells another $55M condo at 220 Central Park South

Posted: 02 Jan 2020 04:00 AM PST

There’s been another $55 million condominium sale at Vornado Realty Trust’s Billionaire’s Row tower, 220 Central Park South. The sale brings the total sellout of the project so far to about $1.84 billion, according to property records. The entity Dauton66 LLC bought unit #66 for $54.5 million, property records filed Tuesday show. The buyer, which records name Armelle Koelf as the company’s authorized signatory, also took out a $38 million mortgage for the transaction. Koelf