The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

LaSalle CEO Jeff Jacobson stepping down

Posted: 09 Dec 2020 04:15 PM PST

Change is coming to one of commercial real estate giant JLL’s subsidiaries. LaSalle Investment Management announced this week that CEO Jeff Jacobson will step down effective Jan. 1. Jacobson, who has been in the CEO role for the past 14 years, will remain with the company as chairman through June. He’ll be replaced by Mark Gabbay, who currently serves as CEO and chief investment officer for LaSalle Asia Pacific. As global CEO, Gabbay will be

SoftBank-backed online lender SoFi eyes IPO

Posted: 09 Dec 2020 03:50 PM PST

Online lender Social Finance, or SoFi, is the latest SoftBank-backed startup to eye a public offering through a blank-check company. The San Francisco-based company has held talks with several special purpose acquisition companies about an IPO, reported CNBC. SoFi did not comment. CEO Anthony Noto, a former Goldman Sachs banker, has previously said that going public is a goal. SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son has publicly said he expects several of the Vision Fund’s investments to go

Karlie Kloss, Joshua Kushner revealed as buyers of Miami Beach mansion

Posted: 09 Dec 2020 02:45 PM PST

Model Karlie Kloss and her husband, Joshua Kushner, are reportedly the buyers of a waterfront Miami Beach mansion that sold over the summer for $23.5 million. Kloss recently posted a photo on Instagram in the pool of the mansion at 2318 North Bay Road, and Page Six first reported that the couple purchased the home. Hospitality mogul Keith Menin sold the eight-bedroom, nearly 15,000-square-foot mansion in August to Malibu Summer 2020 LLC, a Delaware company,

Checkmate in WeHo for LA’s megamansion king

Posted: 09 Dec 2020 01:10 PM PST

Nile Niami has placed a West Hollywood spec mansion into bankruptcy, eight months after a creditor filed a notice of default on the property. The bankruptcy filing, submitted by an entity Niami controls, values the property at $30 million and its liabilities around $59 million, according to the Wall Street Journal. The property hit the market in early 2019 for $55 million then cut to $40 million. It’s not currently listed publicly. A spokesperson for

Democrats launch probe into Kushner’s 666 Fifth Ave bailout

Posted: 09 Dec 2020 12:56 PM PST

Democrats in Congress have launched an investigation into whether the bailout financing for Kushner Companies’ 666 Fifth Avenue impacted United States foreign policy. The probe seeks to determine whether a payment in excess of $1 billion for the Kushner family’s skyscraper was connected to the lifting of a Saudi blockade of Qatar. Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas requested a bevy of documents from Brookfield Asset Management, which bailed out

Facebook will invest $150M to build affordable housing in Bay Area

Posted: 09 Dec 2020 09:15 AM PST

Facebook plans to invest $150 million to build 2,000 homes for low-income residents in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Silicon Valley-based social media giant said Wednesday the money would support the development of affordable homes for families making less than 30 percent of the region’s median income. The funds will be available to local governments and nonprofit groups in the form of low-interest loans. Projects in San Francisco, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Alameda, and

Flushing development wins key vote, now on path to approval

Posted: 09 Dec 2020 08:30 AM PST

UPDATED Dec. 9, 2020, 1:40 p.m.: The Flushing megaproject is a go. Citing a deal with unions representing hotel and building service employees, two City Council panels on Wednesday approved a development district that will transform Flushing’s waterfront. The City Council’s Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises and then its Committee on Land Use voted in favor of the Special Flushing Waterfront District, meaning the proposal heads to the full Council on Thursday. Council members credited

Ascena rescued from bankruptcy by private equity firm

Posted: 09 Dec 2020 07:21 AM PST

Private-equity firm Sycamore Partners got the green light to grab several Ascena Retail Group brands — Ann Taylor, Lane Bryant, Loft and Lou & Grey — out of bankruptcy. Judge Kevin Huennekens of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Richmond, Virginia, approved the sale of the majority of Ascena’s remaining assets to Sycamore Partners, the Wall Street Journal reported. The firm agreed last month to a purchase price of $540 million. The deal overall is valued

Seven big mall owners in precarious state: S&P

Posted: 09 Dec 2020 06:45 AM PST

With more pandemic shutdowns taking place, malls remain in a precarious position that may only get worse, according to a new report from S&P Global Market Intelligence. S&P’s Quantamental Research group on Tuesday highlighted seven names: CBL, PREIT, Simon Property Group, Taubman Centers, Brookfield Property REIT, Macerich and Washington Prime Group, according to CNBC. In determining vulnerability, S&P weighed tenant bankruptcy, foot traffic and cash flow. More than 11,000 retail locations have announced closures so

New tactic to sell Trump’s childhood home: GoFundMe

Posted: 09 Dec 2020 06:16 AM PST

Donald Trump’s childhood home is on the market, but the seller has only one owner in mind: the president himself. The owner is starting a crowdfunding campaign to raise $3 million. Once the goal is met, the seller plans to gift the five-bedroom Tudor in Jamaica Estates to the outgoing president, the New York Times reported. The effort is the latest in a number of attempts to re-sell the modest house at a profit. The

Penthouse at 111 West 57th Street fetches over $50M

Posted: 09 Dec 2020 05:50 AM PST

A penthouse apartment at 111 West 57th Street has gone into contract for more than $50 million. The deal in the under-construction ultra-skinny tower on Billionaires’ Row, reported by the Wall Street Journal, is one of the priciest since the pandemic started. Offering plans list the unit at $57 million. JDS Development’s Michael Stern did not reveal the price or buyer. In 2019, a penthouse in the building fetched $58 million. Earlier this year, a

Mid-market investment sales top $100M

Posted: 09 Dec 2020 05:00 AM PST

Seven mid-market investment sales in the city combined for $100 million last week, the highest total in what has been an active three weeks. Every borough except Staten Island recorded a sale in the $10 million to $30 million range. Manhattan and Brooklyn each notched two deals while the Bronx recorded three. Here are more details for the week ending Dec. 4. 1. Chinese investment firm J&C International Group purchased 11 mixed use buildings in

Inside the plight of a small retail landlord

Posted: 09 Dec 2020 04:30 AM PST

David Swerdloff is a far cry from what many picture a Manhattan commercial landlord to be. The 75-year-old owns a single building, on Seventh Avenue in Chelsea. Soaring condos and offices dwarf the one-story structure, whose air rights he sold in 1997. Swerdloff, who lives in the suburbs of Westchester County, didn’t set out to be a landlord. He inherited his building in the early 1980s, when it housed his family’s kitchen and bathroom showroom.

Mortgage applications fall after nearly a month of gains

Posted: 09 Dec 2020 04:00 AM PST

Homebuyer demand cooled last week after three weeks of increases. An index tracking the volume of applications for home loans dropped 5 percent, seasonally adjusted, last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The MBA metric, known as the purchase index, had reported increases for the previous three weeks. The average size of purchase loan applications also fell to $366,100 from a record high of $375,200 the prior week. Joel Kan, MBA’s head of industry