The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Richard Meier & Partners alums launch architecture firm

Posted: 29 Jan 2020 02:00 PM PST

The architect who oversaw Richard Meier & Partners after its founder was accused of misconduct has launched a new firm. Bernhard Karpf and Parsa Khalili launched Karpf Khalili Architects late last year, according to New York Department of State records. Karpf left Meier’s firm in July 2019, after more than 30 years with the company. He’d taken over day-to-day operations in October 2018, following a New York Times story that detailed multiple allegations of sexual

Pols pounce as city caves in on Sunset Park property

Posted: 29 Jan 2020 01:39 PM PST

Three elected officials are seething about a city agency’s decision to let a Sunset Park landlord rent to office tenants at a warehouse formerly reserved for industrial use. City Council member Carlos Menchaca and Reps. Nydia Velázquez and Jerrold Nadler have expressed “serious concerns” about the EDC’s deal with Salmar Properties to loosen deed restrictions that required 85 percent of the 1.1 million-square-foot Liberty View Industrial Plaza to be set aside for industrial tenants. “While

Scott Stringer calls for “universal affordable housing,” end to 421a

Posted: 29 Jan 2020 11:20 AM PST

Mayoral contender Scott Stringer laid out a housing plan Wednesday that would require affordable apartments in all projects larger than 10 units. He also called for the elimination of the most popular tax break for new housing in the city. Stringer, the city comptroller, proposed “universal affordable housing” — developers of all projects with 10 units or more would have to make at least 25 percent of the apartments affordable. On average, they would have

Mall landlords’ stocks plunge as REIT eyes bankrupt Forever 21

Posted: 29 Jan 2020 11:15 AM PST

The news that Simon Property Group could buy bankrupt retailer Forever 21 has cost the mall landlord nearly $2 billion in market share and thumped its competitors. Wall Street reacted negatively Friday’s headline, sending Simon Property’s stock price down nearly 4.5 percent since Bloomberg News reported just before 3 p.m. Friday that the landlord and partner Authentic Brands Group are considering a bid to buy the troubled retailer. Shortly after the news hit, Simon’s stock

Corruption, unit loss in Mitchell-Lama targeted by Assembly

Posted: 29 Jan 2020 10:00 AM PST

Cheating, mismanagement and the deregulation of units have for years plagued the Mitchell-Lama middle-class housing program. Now the state Assembly has formed a task force to figure out some solutions. Headed by Assembly Housing Committee Chairman Steven Cymbrowitz, it will look at threats to the program from “increasingly common dissolutions, corruption in the admissions process, and development-level mismanagement,” according to a press release. Last year, legislators failed to pass an Assembly bill that would overhaul

Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture school is closing after 88 years

Posted: 29 Jan 2020 09:30 AM PST

The architecture school founded by Frank Lloyd Wright is closing after almost 90 years. The School of Architecture at Taliesin, which has campuses in Wisconsin and Arizona, said it would shutter operations after the school’s board failed to reach an agreement with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, according to Archinect. “The School of Architecture at Taliesin will cease operations after this semester, after a gut-wrenching decision by its governing board on Saturday,” the school board

New York Community Bank doubles down on multifamily lending

Posted: 29 Jan 2020 08:00 AM PST

New York Community Bank has a message for the industry: Lending on rent-regulated buildings is still its bread and butter. Officials from New York Community Bank on its fourth quarter earnings call this morning fired back at analysts scrutinizing the bank’s multifamily portfolio in light of the new rent law. “We have been six months under new rent regulations, to date we are not seeing any negative asset-quality trends,” Joseph Ficalora, CEO of New York

Extell proposes UWS mixed-use tower after completing assemblage

Posted: 29 Jan 2020 07:37 AM PST

Gary Barnett’s Extell Development has filed plans to build a 22-story mixed-use tower on the Upper West Side. The firm is proposing a 276,578-square-foot building at 2551 Broadway, and will include 130 residential units, according to property filings. Extell completed its assemblage of the site in 2017, when it closed on the $80 million acquisition of 262 West 96th Street. The property previously housed a Gristedes supermarket and came with 151,000 buildable square feet with

Facing store closures and falling sales, Victoria’s Secret owner may sell retailer

Posted: 29 Jan 2020 07:05 AM PST

The owner of Victoria’s Secret is in talks to potentially sell the company, as sales fall at the iconic lingerie brand. Leslie Wexner, who has built the retail empire of L Brands — the parent company of Victoria’s Secret — over nearly six decades, is also considering stepping aside as CEO, according to the Wall Street Journal. He reportedly could stay on as chairman. A sale of the company could involve a full or partial

Billy Macklowe in contract for contested Park Slope site

Posted: 29 Jan 2020 06:35 AM PST

Billy Macklowe has gone into contract to buy a controversial Park Slope development site. The developer has partnered with investor David Welsh to buy the Key Food grocery store at 120 Fifth Avenue for “less than $65 million,” according to the New York Post. Macklowe has reportedly been negotiating for the site since at least December. The property, which would mark Macklowe’s first residential project in Brooklyn, is expected to be demolished and redeveloped into

JPMorgan looks to sell Plaza District office building for $550M

Posted: 29 Jan 2020 06:00 AM PST

A decade ago, Avenue of the Americas Plaza was part of a Harry Macklowe portfolio that came apart at the seems in the financial crisis. Now, JPMorgan Asset Management is looking to part ways with the Plaza District office tower. The bank’s asset management arm put the 23-story office building at 125 West 55th Street up for sale, sources familiar with the property told The Real Deal. JPMorgan Asset Management is expecting the late 1980s-era

City lets industrial landlord off the hook in Sunset Park

Posted: 29 Jan 2020 05:30 AM PST

In 2011, Salmar Properties set out to transform a 1.1 million-square-foot vacant warehouse in Sunset Park into a state-of-the-art industrial center. In exchange for tax breaks worth millions of dollars, the landlord promised the city to set aside 85 percent of the building for manufacturing tenants. Actually, never mind that. After years of the property sitting half-empty, the landlord has received permission from the de Blasio administration to lease to commercial office tenants up to

Fairway landlord: Private-equity owners ruined Red Hook store

Posted: 29 Jan 2020 05:00 AM PST

The landlord of the Fairway Market in Red Hook vowed to “immediately” look to replace the supermarket with another grocery store if the bankrupt company shuts it down as expected in the next few months. Gregory T. O’Connell, managing partner of the O’Connell Organization, said he and his family initially hoped that Fairway would provide Red Hook with jobs and affordable food. For years, it did exactly that, but then new ownership took over the

A look back at 17 years of real estate history

Posted: 29 Jan 2020 04:30 AM PST

No backlash for senator who broke ranks on rent vote

Posted: 29 Jan 2020 04:00 AM PST

When Senate Democrats passed a historic, tenant-friendly rent law last June, their Long Island delegation was landlords’ lone pocket of support in the conference: Four of the six Nassau and Suffolk County members voted against the bill. But one who supported it, Sen. Todd Kaminsky, still received $82,000 from the real estate industry in the six months that followed. That was up from $48,000 during the equivalent period in 2017, an analysis by The Real