The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Lipstick Building ground rent reset leads to appraisal dispute

Posted: 09 Jul 2020 02:05 PM PDT

Even in the best of times, market-value rent resets on ground leases have been notorious for causing disputes between building owners and the lessors of the ground underneath them. And then there is what’s happening at the famed Lipstick Building, where the coronavirus has fueled an increasing number of problems that started in May. That’s when the office building owner — a partnership led by Argentina’s Inversiones y Representaciones Sociedad Anónima, or IRSA — defaulted

Knotel’s Q2 revenue plunged 20%

Posted: 09 Jul 2020 12:35 PM PDT

UPDATED: July 9, 7:10 p.m.: Flex-office startup Knotel said its revenue plunged 20 percent during the second quarter, offering a glimpse of the economic toll the pandemic is having on the office market. CEO Amol Sarva said the preliminary numbers reflect a “really hard” quarter that forced Knotel to cut jobs and slash expenses. “What we saw in Q2 was really difficult,” he said during a webinar Thursday. “We had to make some really big

Heirs unapparent: How RE firms plan — or don’t — for futures without the founder

Posted: 09 Jul 2020 10:50 AM PDT

One of the main criticisms of the 2020 presidential race could apply to the New York real estate industry as well: A lot of the key players are very old. Just as the quest to evict the 72-year-old Donald Trump from the Oval Office has been dominated by the likes of the 77-year-old Bernie Sanders, the 69-year-old Elizabeth Warren and the 76-year-old Joe Biden, the high-octane world of New York real estate is lorded over

HFZ Capital launches new fund for REIT investing

Posted: 09 Jul 2020 09:45 AM PDT

HFZ Capital’s Ziel Feldman, known for luxury condo developments, has launched a new fund for REIT investment. The developer, along with a group of partners that includes Lionbridge Capital, plans to purchase shares of publicly traded real estate investment trusts that may be undervalued because of the pandemic, according to Bloomberg. The group has put $50 million of seed money and hopes to raise up to $500 million. “We’re in the very businesses we’re investing

Privacy is the newest amenity

Posted: 09 Jul 2020 09:30 AM PDT

UPDATED, July 9, 5:01 p.m.: In a Covid world, privacy has become the ultimate amenity. Balconies, large roof decks, sundecks — and the ultra-exclusive park — have overtaken “tween” rooms, squash courts and pools as must-have items for Chicago luxury renters and condo owners. The outdoor offerings have always been part of the package at upscale residential properties across the city. But as the coronavirus shuttered gyms, pools and other common spaces — and created

Bed Bath & Beyond to close 200 stores

Posted: 09 Jul 2020 09:00 AM PDT

Bed Bath & Beyond may have to rethink the ‘beyond’ part. The retailer said Wednesday that it will close 200 stores over the next two years. Although online sales more than doubled during April and May, the company’s total sales fell by nearly half during its latest quarter. As a result, Bed Bath & Beyond will begin to permanently close a portion of its locations later this year, according to CNBC. As of May 30,

In-person eviction trials to resume in Brooklyn

Posted: 09 Jul 2020 08:31 AM PDT

In-person eviction trials will resume July 27 in Brooklyn, with other counties soon to follow. Justice Anthony Cannataro, the administrative judge of the New York City Civil Court, which oversees the Housing Court, announced the move Thursday morning in an email sent to tenant attorneys. A spokesperson for the court confirmed that other counties will “follow soon incrementally.” The first priority will be evictions that were on the calendar before March 16, when the initial

‘WeWorking while Black’: Ex-employees allege racial discrimination

Posted: 09 Jul 2020 08:00 AM PDT

WeWork’s former head of diversity and inclusion has accused the co-working company of underpaying minority employees and keeping them out of leadership roles. In a lawsuit filed this week, Christopher Clermont, who is Black, said his image was regularly used in the company’s promotional materials, but in reality he was given “little in the way of responsibility,” and relegated to menial tasks such as moving furniture. He accused the company of retaliating against him after

Trader Joe’s to open in LIC early next year

Posted: 09 Jul 2020 06:43 AM PDT

Trader Joe’s has scheduled the opening of its second store in Queens for the first quarter of 2021, sources tell The Real Deal. The specialty grocery chain is taking 17,000 square feet in the base of Circle F’s 70-unit condo in Long Island City at 22-43 Jackson Avenue. The deal, but not the opening date, was first reported in December. The length and terms of the lease have not been announced. However, a source said

Marcus & Millichap CEO predicts “exodus” from cities to last two years

Posted: 09 Jul 2020 06:15 AM PDT

New York City is reopening, but Marcus & Millichap’s CEO is not predicting a return to form anytime soon. Hessam Nadji told CNBC in an interview this week that demand was surging in suburban areas as people fled cities, a trend he predicted would continue for up to two years. “I think the next 18 to 24 months are going to show a lot of exodus out of central business districts,” he said. “We’re seeing

Manhattan rental vacancy hits another all-time high

Posted: 09 Jul 2020 05:45 AM PDT

It may still feel like the worst of times for New York City’s rental market — but months of decline in new activity is finally leveling off. Manhattan’s vacancy rate reached 3.67 percent in June, marking a 14-year high in Douglas Elliman and Miller Samuel’s monthly rental report. May had set a new record, with the rate hitting 2.88 percent. Listing inventory also reached record levels last month, with an 84.7 percent year-over-year jump to

Inside LA’s biggest real estate corruption scandal in recent history

Posted: 09 Jul 2020 04:30 AM PDT

The clock was ticking for a developer’s big downtown Los Angeles debut. Carmel Partners was looking to get its planned mixed-use tower in LA’s growing Arts District across the finish line. But with local residents and unions alarmed by the planned 35-story tower going up in an area consisting mostly of warehouses and two-story retail buildings, the project’s day before the City Council kept getting pushed back. An executive at the San Francisco-based development firm

Day care — and its landlords — get a lifeline

Posted: 09 Jul 2020 04:00 AM PDT

Covid has closed many New York businesses, but none tighter than day care centers. Work-from-home, remote learning, outdoor dining, masks with social distancing — the solutions that have kept some industries alive just didn’t work for 2-year-olds. That has visited desperation on more than 3,000 child-care venues citywide, and left their landlords hard-pressed to collect rent. Finally, the city has a plan. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday a proposal that allows them to reopen.