The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Macy’s to close 125 stores, slash 2K jobs

Posted: 04 Feb 2020 02:50 PM PST

Beleaguered retail giant Macy’s is planning to close over 100 of its stores, cut 2,000 jobs and test out a new strategy for future locations. The Cincinnati-based company intends to shutter 125 of its weakest locations over the next three years, its chief executive told the Wall Street Journal. The closures represent about a fifth of the troubled retailer’s portfolio and include the 30 store closures that were announced in January. Macy’s also will close

Should landlords worry about retroactive re-regulation?

Posted: 04 Feb 2020 02:30 PM PST

It appears landlords don’t have to worry about the re-regulation of certain apartments — at least for now. For several years, Assembly member Linda Rosenthal has proposed a variation of eliminating vacancy decontrol, as well as the re-regulation of apartments rented below a certain rate. Last April, her vacancy decontrol bill was part of a package of measures proposed by the state Assembly. While the vacancy decontrol component was ultimately included in the bill signed

Father of “Property Wars” star pleads guilty to bank fraud

Posted: 04 Feb 2020 02:00 PM PST

The battle is one step closer to coming to an end for the father of a “Property Wars” reality TV star. Miami resident Joseph Menaged pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud in connection to his acquisitions of luxury condos in Miami Beach and New York City. Menaged, father to Scott Menaged, who was among the cast members of Discovery Channel’s “Property Wars” show, was indicted last year on charges of bank fraud, transactional

Developer: UWS residents flocking to tower their neighbors fought

Posted: 04 Feb 2020 01:30 PM PST

The 668-foot tall tower rising at 200 Amsterdam Avenue has faced stiff resistance from Upper West Side residents for years. But now that it is almost done, most of its customers are from that same neighborhood, according to the developer. “The bulk of buyers are locals, specifically buyers from the Upper West Side,” SJP Properties CEO Steve Pozycki recently told Mansion Global, “which we attribute to the pent-up demand in the neighborhood due to a

Shvo, partners buy San Francisco’s iconic Transamerica Building for $700M

Posted: 04 Feb 2020 12:34 PM PST

San Francisco’s iconic Transamerica Building has been sold for the first time. The pyramid-shaped tower was acquired for close to $700 million by a partnership led by New York developer Michael Shvo, according to two people familiar with the transaction. The deal closed Monday, the sources said. Transamerica, a holding company that owns multiple life-insurance firms, has owned the 850-foot-tall building since it was constructed in 1972. After a failed marketing attempt to sell a

LA is one of the trickiest cities for institutional investors to understand. Here’s why

Posted: 04 Feb 2020 12:15 PM PST

Dorothy Parker is often misquoted as calling L.A. “72 suburbs in search of a city.” The famous satirist probably didn’t say that, but whoever did had a point that stands 100 years after Parker supposedly said it — L.A. is unlike almost any other global city due to its sprawl. “The biggest problem L.A. has is its lack of a center” said John Eichler, a Cushman & Wakefield broker who specializes in Downtown L.A. “And

Comic news: Durst case scenario

Posted: 04 Feb 2020 11:30 AM PST

Nearly four decades after the suspicious disappearance of his first wife, New York real estate scion Robert Durst is scheduled to go on trial in Los Angeles this month. He is accused of the 2000 murder of a longtime friend shortly after he found out she had been contacted by investigators reopening the case of what happened to his wife. Robert Durst’s first wife, Kathleen McCormack, unexpectedly showed up at a dinner party thrown by

Office leasing picks up in Midtown but slows elsewhere

Posted: 04 Feb 2020 10:45 AM PST

Midtown accounted for nearly half of Manhattan’s office leasing volume in the first month of the new decade while activity slowed in Midtown South and Downtown. A total of 3.56 million square feet in Manhattan office leasing deals closed in January, according to the latest market report from Colliers International — a third less than in December and 17 percent below the year-earlier figure. Midtown’s spurt in leasing activity was led by renewals, as financial

Corcoran’s Steven Cohen and team jumps to Elliman

Posted: 04 Feb 2020 10:05 AM PST

UPDATED Tuesday February 4, 2:56 p.m.: After 20 years, Steven Cohen is leaving the Corcoran Group. The broker is moving to Douglas Elliman and bringing his four-agent team with him, he confirmed Tuesday. Agents on Cohen’s team include Tim Malone, Sarah Silva, Taylor Grand Pre and Serine Labidi. Elliman confirmed the hire. Cohen said his decision to switch firms was prompted by the new decade — though he admitted that top Elliman executives had casually

Real estate pros call tenant takeover bill flawed

Posted: 04 Feb 2020 09:00 AM PST

Housing experts say a proposed bill to turn tenants into building owners won’t work without funding to back it up. The state bill would grant tenants the first opportunity to buy their building should it come up for sale. If they cannot come to terms with the owner on a price, it would be determined by an independent appraiser based on the market, according to those crafting the legislation. But giving tenants the inside track

City’s basement apartment crackdown ramps up

Posted: 04 Feb 2020 08:15 AM PST

An estimated 114,000 people live in basement apartments in New York City, many of whom risk being relocated if the Department of Building finds their living situation to be illegal. According to city records, those cases are on the rise. The DOB issued 5,151 violations to landlords for illegal apartment conversions last year, mostly in Brooklyn and Queens, the City news site reported. That’s a 10 percent increase from the 4,665 violations issued in 2018.

Forever 21 takeover group plans to keep struggling retailer open

Posted: 04 Feb 2020 07:35 AM PST

The Simon Property Group-led partnership now poised to take over Forever 21 intends to keep the ailing retail chain open. That was Simon Property CEO David Simon, during the mall owner’s fourth quarter earning’s call Tuesday morning. A venture among Simon, Brookfield Property Partners and Authentic Brands Group was recently named the stalking horse bidder to acquire Forever 21, which filed for bankruptcy in September. The bid has to succeed in an auction, but should

Amazon insiders: HQ2 campaign driven by Bezos’ ego, subsidy envy

Posted: 04 Feb 2020 07:04 AM PST

Early in Amazon’s search for a second headquarters location, the company had a list of 25 cities that could support 20,000 new employees. But instead of narrowing it down, CEO Jeff Bezos decided to go big and brash — with unfortunate results, Bloomberg reported Monday. A year after Amazon’s Valentine’s Day breakup with Long Island City amid opposition by local politicians, Bloomberg’s in-depth examination revealed that much of the HQ2 selection process was driven by

Ex-Obama housing secretary registers as mayoral candidate

Posted: 04 Feb 2020 06:11 AM PST

As the 2021 mayoral race has started to look increasingly bleak for the city’s real estate interests, a candidate with extensive housing experience is ready to enter the fray. Former Bloomberg and Obama administration official Shaun Donovan filed paperwork Monday with the New York City Campaign Finance Board to run for an undeclared office, the New York Daily News and other publications reported. City & State reported last week that Donovan was planning to announce

Here’s why Zillow is getting brokerage licenses

Posted: 04 Feb 2020 05:30 AM PST

For years, Zillow Group insisted it didn’t want to replace brokers or usurp their clients. But its quest to obtain brokerage licenses nationwide may test those claims. The push to get licensed comes as the Seattle-based listings giant pilots new features like rental payments and referral fees, which flirt with the kind of brokerage services offered by traditional firms. Most recently, Zillow got a brokerage license in New York, as The Real Deal reported Monday.

Law firms topped the list of January’s biggest office leases in NYC

Posted: 04 Feb 2020 05:00 AM PST

New York City’s office leasing scene took a bit of a dip in December but got right back up to speed in the first month of the new year. Sizable leases from Amazon and a trio of law firms brought the city’s top 10 office leasing scene back up to the volumes it was seeing in October and November. The total square footage of January’ top 10 office leases made public comes to 2.2 million

How much bigger can Brookfield get?

Posted: 04 Feb 2020 04:30 AM PST

You don’t become the city’s biggest commercial landlord without taking some big risks. Buying malls when everyone says brick-and-mortar retail is dying. Building a megaproject in the South Bronx where other developers still fear to tread. Taking on 666 Fifth Avenue when the notorious office building’s reputation has lived up to its address. Brookfield Asset Management did all of these things, all while taking on acquisitions that few other firms would be able to absorb.

WeWork gets serious: Inside the hiring of Sandeep Mathrani

Posted: 04 Feb 2020 04:00 AM PST

WeWork has found its knight in shining armor. After a months-long search, the office-space company will replace its two incumbent CEOs this month with Sandeep Mathrani, a real estate veteran who once led a company back from bankruptcy. Mathrani left his position as the CEO of Brookfield Properties’ retail group in January, a departure now seen as precipitated by his landing the WeWork job. He is joining the company after it endured one of the