The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

AIG, Goldman lend on Shvo’s “Big Red” buy in Chicago

Posted: 12 Aug 2020 04:17 PM PDT

AIG and Goldman Sachs provided Michael Shvo and his partner with a $240 million loan to acquire Chicago’s “Big Red” office tower. Shvo and partner Deutsche Finance America closed Wednesday on the $376 million purchase of the 1.2 million-square-foot tower, a source familiar with the transaction told The Real Deal. AIG and Goldman financed the deal with an eight-year, interest-only loan, according to the source. Shvo declined to comment and AIG and Goldman did not

Thomas Keller closing TAK Room, Bouchon Bakery at Hudson Yards

Posted: 12 Aug 2020 04:00 PM PDT

Celebrated chef Thomas Keller has announced that two Hudson Yards eateries, TAK Room restaurant and Bouchon Bakery, will close for good. In an Instagram post Wednesday, Keller said the decisions were “were not made lightly” and “came after painful deliberations amid a pandemic that has devastated the global economy and caused irreparable damage to our business and our profession.” “Given the challenges of the last five months, we could not find an economically viable path

Bilgili wants Shvo to open his books

Posted: 12 Aug 2020 03:10 PM PDT

Turkish real estate mogul Serdar Bilgili tapped his Rolodex two years ago to build a partnership that’s been buying trophy U.S. properties with abandon. But now that Bilgili claims his partner Michael Shvo cut him out of the team’s most recent deals, and has turned to the courts to demand access to his partner’s books. Shvo’s ability to charge his partners for expenses was limited because “of the fact that he had previously been indicted

REBNY’s RLS chief bows out

Posted: 12 Aug 2020 03:00 PM PDT

The RLS is running without a head. John Canniffe, who joined the Real Estate Board of New York last year to run the residential listings service, has left the trade group for a new role, sources said. Despite his relatively short tenure, Canniffe oversaw the RLS during an eventful few months in which the RLS suspended its days-on-market counter to help agents weather the shutdown of their businesses due to coronavirus. As head of the

Airbnb’s Q2 revenue falls by almost 70%

Posted: 12 Aug 2020 01:55 PM PDT

Airbnb’s revenue fell by a reported 67 percent in the second quarter, as the startup weathered the fallout from a halt in global travel. The company’s quarterly revenue plunged to $335 million — down from more than $1 billion in the same period last year, according to Bloomberg, which cited sources familiar with the matter. By contrast, Airbnb generated $842 million in sales in the first quarter, the publication said. The company reportedly posted a

Discount retailer Stein Mart files for bankruptcy, plans to close most stores

Posted: 12 Aug 2020 12:00 PM PDT

Off-price retailer Stein Mart is the latest brick-and-mortar chain to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The Jacksonville, Florida-based chain plans to close “a significant portion, if not all” of the 281 stores it operates across 30 states, according to a press release. The publicly traded company, founded in the early 1900s, will continue to operate its business in the near term, but it has launched a store closing and liquidation process. Stein Mart sells

Evictions filed pre-Covid can move forward

Posted: 12 Aug 2020 11:30 AM PDT

Evictions issued before Covid-19 shut down housing court can now proceed, but those filed since are still suspended. All evictions started after March 16 — including residential, commercial, nonpayment and holdover evictions — cannot move forward. Though cases filed before the shutdown can proceed, warrants cannot be executed until Oct. 1 at the earliest, according to a Wednesday memo issued by Administrative Judge Lawrence Marks. The guidance comes nearly a week after Gov. Andrew Cuomo

Hotel Trades Council president steps down, taps successor

Posted: 12 Aug 2020 10:45 AM PDT

After more than four decades with the union, Peter Ward is stepping down as president of the Hotel Trades Council. Ward announced his resignation Wednesday, and tapped the union’s general counsel, Richard Maroko, to succeed him as president and head of its local affiliate, Unite Here Local 6. Both organizations subsequently approved Maroko’s appointment, according to the HTC. “I’ve given my life to the Hotel Trades Council and Local 6,” Ward said in a statement.

Former JLL employee sues alleging toxic “boys club”

Posted: 12 Aug 2020 10:30 AM PDT

A former associate in JLL’s New York City office alleges she was fired after speaking up about what she called a toxic “boys club.” Tiffany Catalini — who said she was the only woman in out of more than 15 production associates — filed a lawsuit in Manhattan federal court Tuesday alleging her career at JLL was stymied and ultimately terminated because of the company’s sexist culture. Catalini said the problem started in 2017 when

Iranian princess’ Midtown townhouse sells at deep discount

Posted: 12 Aug 2020 10:00 AM PDT

The long and winding and legally entangled road to sell Princess Ashraf Pahlavi’s Midtown mansion has finally reached an end. The 12,260-square-foot home at 29 Beekman Place sold for $11.5 million, property records show, a sharp drop from the $50 million it had listed for in 2014. The deal concludes the protracted battle over the late Iranian princess’ estate, which included two failed deals. The buyer is a limited liability company whose address tracks to

“I don’t want to beat on our chest and say that we’re perfect:” Redfin’s Glenn Kelman responds to his critics

Posted: 12 Aug 2020 09:30 AM PDT

The shocking death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police in May prompted real estate executives around the country to speak out against racism and encourage non-violent protests. Glenn Kelman, CEO of the national brokerage Redfin, for one, pledged in a blog post that his company would commit to “hiring and developing more people of color to positions of power.” But following that announcement, some former Redfin employees rebuked Kelman’s comments as disingenuous

Shvo’s proposal for Miami Beach resi tower faces opposition

Posted: 12 Aug 2020 08:45 AM PDT

New York real estate developer Michael Shvo’s proposal to build a 200-foot-tall tower beside three Art Deco hotels was continued yet again by Miami Beach’s Historic Preservation Board. Tuesday’s unanimous vote to continue the item to Sept. 8 came after four hours of discussion, during which three board members expressed concern about the tower’s massing, height and location on the 3-acre oceanfront South Beach site anchored by the landmark Raleigh Hotel. Because Shvo’s plans require

CBRE closes 2 offices, expands presence at MetLife HQ

Posted: 12 Aug 2020 08:15 AM PDT

CBRE is consolidating its New York City offices and expanding its headquarters. At its MetLife Building HQ, the brokerage is taking an additional floor, spanning 44,000 square feet, according to Commercial Observer. Rents in the building range from $65 to $86 per foot, according to the publication, citing CoStar Group data. The new lease encompasses the 18th floor and brings CBRE’s total footprint in the building to 215,000 square feet. Its advisory services team at

Tobacco shop Nat Sherman to close after 90 years

Posted: 12 Aug 2020 07:30 AM PDT

Another day, another beloved New York retailer shuts its doors. This time it’s the famed tobacco shop in Midtown, Nat Sherman Townhouse. The high-end tobacco retailer, which has operated for 90 years near the corner of 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue, will shutter on Sept. 25, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Sherman family founded the store in 1930, and sold it to tobacco producers and marketer Altria Group in 2017. Though Altria will

$242M Harlem mixed-use project will include civil rights museum

Posted: 12 Aug 2020 07:00 AM PDT

Partners have unveiled their plans for a $242 million mixed-use project in Harlem that will include 170 units of affordable housing, a civil rights museum and a Target store. The 17-story building, to be called the Urban League Empowerment Center, will have the residential component, along with 90,000 square feet of retail and 73,000 square feet of office space, according to the New York Post. Nearly half of the retail space at the 121 West

Home loan applications rise as rates fall to another record low

Posted: 12 Aug 2020 06:30 AM PDT

Applications for home loans rose last week, though concerns about supply and the economy linger. The volume of applications to purchase homes rose by 2 percent, seasonally adjusted, compared to the week prior. The metric, known as the purchase index, is tracked in the Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly survey of 75 percent of the residential mortgage market. The index saw declines in the final weeks of July, but year over year is up 22 percent,

Simon, Authentic Brands to buy Brooks Brothers

Posted: 12 Aug 2020 06:00 AM PDT

Brooks Brothers has found its white knight in mall giant Simon Property Group and apparel licensing firm, Authentic Brands Group. A venture between the two companies, known as Sparc Group, has agreed to buy the retailer for $325 million, the Wall Street Journal reports. Brooks Brothers will close 75 of its 200 stores as part of the deal. Sparc submitted a $305 million stalking horse bid last month. Brooks Brothers, which filed for Chapter 11

Miami Beach’s Star Island regains its luster

Posted: 12 Aug 2020 05:30 AM PDT

Miami Beach’s Star Island has long attracted such high-profile residents as Sean “Diddy” Combs, Gloria and Emilio Estefan, plastic surgeon Leonard Hochstein, and Philip and Patricia Frost. Soon, more stars may be heading to the exclusive island — where all homes are waterfront. After years of zero to few sales, a few mansions have recently sold, one house recently rented for $250,000 a month, and a number of properties are under contract, spurred by the

Scoundrels of the skyline: Charles Bagli on the most colorful characters in the real estate biz

Posted: 12 Aug 2020 05:00 AM PDT

When Charles Bagli first started poking into the businesses and lives of New York’s real estate elite more than three decades ago, he made his ground rules clear. “As a former Catholic boy, I make a distinction between sins of omission and sins of commission,” he would tell the likes of Harry Helmsley, Donald Trump and Harry Macklowe, developers and inveterate gamblers he got to know well over his career on the beat. “Never lie

These were the top outer borough loans in July

Posted: 12 Aug 2020 04:30 AM PDT

Though July’s biggest real estate loan in the outer boroughs was well eclipsed by the largest loan the previous month, the overall value of the top 10 loans was up 7 percent month-over-month, to just shy of $700 million. According to an analysis of top outer-borough loans by The Real Deal, the largest recorded loan in July was for Moinian Group’s PLG, a rental complex in Prospect Lefferts Gardens. Moinian scored $170 million from American

Fear and loathing in a pandemic: Insurers battle business interruption claims

Posted: 12 Aug 2020 04:00 AM PDT

As a Las Vegas casino owner, Phil Ruffin is used to taking risks. But this time the odds seem stacked against the billionaire mogul. For months, slot machines sat empty across the Vegas strip, while hotel conference rooms laid bare. And Ruffin’s Circus Circus Hotel & Casino — perhaps best known as the scene of a drug induced bender in Hunter S. Thompson’s “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” — was forced into closure for