The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Amazon’s real estate footprint grew leaps and bounds in 2020

Posted: 02 Feb 2021 04:00 PM PST

It’s a new era for Amazon. Jeff Bezos is stepping down as CEO of the company and transitioning to executive chair of the Amazon Board. Andy Jassy, chief executive of Amazon’s cloud computing division, will become CEO during the third quarter of this year. But, as the saying goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same. The e-commerce giant experienced another stellar quarter amid Prime Day and the holiday season. The online

Macerich looks to tap investors after stings from Covid then day traders

Posted: 02 Feb 2021 03:41 PM PST

Macerich Company, the beleaguered mall REIT whose stock briefly soared last week before falling back down, is preparing to issue up to $500 million of new equity. One of the largest shopping center owners in the U.S., Macerich is now shopping for investors to help it meet its outstanding debt obligations, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Santa Monica, California-based company has a $1.5 billion line of credit that was fully

Triplemint moves into Westchester with Elliman team

Posted: 02 Feb 2021 03:05 PM PST

On the heels of a banner year for New York’s suburban housing market, Triplemint is expanding into Westchester County. Triplemint has tapped Douglas Elliman’s Owen Berkowitz and Carol Marrone to serve as founding agents for its Westchester business. The agents are bringing along their three-person team, which includes Susan Reddy, Michael Taraboulos and Matthew Marrone. The Westchester-based team has received Elliman’s Pinnacle Award, meaning that its annual gross commission income was among the top 2

Opendoor looks to raise $700M

Posted: 02 Feb 2021 02:55 PM PST

Six weeks after going public, Opendoor is hungry for more cash. The instant homebuying startup plans to raise more than $600 million by offering 24 million shares of its common stock, the company said in a regulatory filing Tuesday. Opendoor is yet to price the shares, but estimated net proceeds based on a closing price of $26.12 on January 29. The company could raise just under $700 million if underwriters at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs

Jeff Bezos, who turned real estate upside down, quits

Posted: 02 Feb 2021 02:43 PM PST

Jeff Bezos, the e-commerce titan who drove one of the biggest office and industrial space expansions in history, and displayed an insatiable appetite for real estate in his personal life as well, is stepping down as CEO of Amazon, the firm he founded. The company said Tuesday that Bezos, 57, would transition to executive chairman, and Andy Jassy, who runs the company’s cloud-computing division, would become CEO. On the personal front, Bezos, befitting his title

New York lawmakers get some answers on rent relief

Posted: 02 Feb 2021 02:25 PM PST

Landlords and tenants expecting a rent relief check from New York state shouldn’t count on it before March, a state official said Tuesday. The admission came as lawmakers questioned RuthAnne Visnauskas, the leader of the state’s main housing agency, at a state budget hearing. Applications for the state’s second round of a rental assistance program implemented last summer were due yesterday. Visnauskas, who runs the Division of Homes and Community Renewal, told legislators it may

Brookfield Property Partners reports $2B in losses in 2020

Posted: 02 Feb 2021 01:32 PM PST

Closing the book on a devastating year, Brookfield Property Partners recorded about $2 billion in losses in 2020, with its office and retail holdings getting slammed by the pandemic. The real estate arm of Brookfield Asset Management reported a net loss of $38 million in the fourth quarter, veering sharply from its net income of $1.55 billion over the same period in 2019. At its fourth quarter earnings call on Tuesday, Brookfield Property Partners reported

Bespoke Real Estate brokerage expands in South Florida

Posted: 02 Feb 2021 01:15 PM PST

Luxury brokerage Bespoke Real Estate is expanding in South Florida with a new office in Miami Beach. The company, one of the top firms in the Hamptons, inked a lease for space at 119 Washington Avenue, as it plans to capitalize on the migration of ultra high-net worth individuals into South Florida, said Cody Vichinsky, co-founder and president of Bespoke, in an interview with The Real Deal. The firm is also ramping up in Miami

Manhattan office availability hits record-high 14.9%

Posted: 02 Feb 2021 12:30 PM PST

Manhattan has never had as much office space available as it does now. The office availability rate in January rose for the eighth consecutive month to a record-high 14.9 percent, up 0.6 percentage points from December 4.9 points from a year ago, according to Colliers International. January’s leasing volume was 1.9 million square feet, the highest since July 2020. But that was still 47 percent below the pre-pandemic monthly average. The average asking rent declined

Ben Lambert’s legacy: Eastdil founder brought Wall Street to real estate

Posted: 02 Feb 2021 11:10 AM PST

Until the ’70s, commercial real estate brokerage was the unruly stepchild of dealmaking. Properties worth hundreds of millions of dollars were marketed off-the-cuff, research and due diligence were patchy, and the commission-dominant compensation most firms used inspired the infamous “eat what you kill” culture. Benjamin V. Lambert decided that wasn’t for him. He envisioned the business as an extension of Wall Street, with institutionalized practices backed by detailed property-level analysis and a focus on relationships

Daughter of casino magnate Neil Bluhm buys $20M condo

Posted: 02 Feb 2021 10:15 AM PST

Meredith Bluhm-Wolf, daughter of real estate and casino magnate Neil Bluhm, has purchased a $20 million condo at Zeckendorf Development’s 520 Park Avenue. Bluhm-Wolf went into contract to buy the sponsor unit on Jan. 21 and closed the next day, property records show. Measuring 4,628 square feet, the 26th-floor unit has four bedrooms and five bathrooms. Its original offering price was $24.45 million, a document filed with the attorney general’s office shows. The $20 million

“King of Queens” actor Kevin James returns to Delray Beach with $14M mansion buy

Posted: 02 Feb 2021 09:30 AM PST

Actor Kevin James is back in Delray Beach after spending $14 million to acquire an oceanfront estate. James, known best for his role on “The King of Queens,” closed on the 11,500-square-foot mansion at 344 North Ocean Boulevard under his real name, Kevin Knipfing, according to closing documents obtained by The Real Deal. The New York Post first reported the sale. National Realty Investment Advisors sold the six-bedroom, seven-bathroom property. It was listed for nearly

Amazon unveils woodsy plans for HQ2

Posted: 02 Feb 2021 08:45 AM PST

Amazon has unveiled new plans for its second headquarters in Northern Virginia that will have an outdoorsy, woodsy theme. The tech giant’s second phase of its campus in Arlington, Virginia, will include three 22-story office buildings, a smaller retail building, an outdoor amphitheater, a dog run and parking for about 950 bicycles, according to the Wall Street Journal. It will be encircled by woodlands. The highlight of the project will be a 350-foot tower named

Council speaker, member trash Eichner project near Botanic Garden

Posted: 02 Feb 2021 08:01 AM PST

City Council leaders just put another nail in the coffin of Bruce Eichner’s big Crown Heights project. City Council Speaker Corey Johnson and Crown Heights Council member Laurie Cumbo issued a joint statement denouncing the rezoning Eichner requested to build his two 35-story tower project at 960 Franklin Avenue. At the crux of the issue are concerns that the apartment towers’ shadows would damage horticulture at the Botanic Garden, Brooklyn’s top tourist attraction. “The Brooklyn

Blackstone to buy Interior Logic for $1.6B

Posted: 02 Feb 2021 07:02 AM PST

Blackstone is targeting another recession-resistant business. The private equity behemoth plans to buy the design technology company Interior Logic Group for about $1.6 billion including debt, according to Bloomberg. Blackstone acquired the company from a group that includes private equity firms Littlejohn & Co. and Platinum Equity. The company provides home builders with interior finishes, such as flooring, countertops, cabinets and window coverings. It also offers supply-chain and installation-management services to homebuilders. The company operates

Thor Equities nabs financing for Amazon warehouse in Red Hook

Posted: 02 Feb 2021 06:40 AM PST

Joe Sitt’s Thor Equities is one step closer to bringing Amazon to Brooklyn’s Red Hook neighborhood. Thor Equities nabbed $76 million construction financing and a $155 million joint venture equity recapitalization for its warehouse property at 280 Richards Street, according to the Commercial Observer. The warehouse is 100 percent pre-leased to Amazon. Funds managed by Apollo Global Management provided the seven-year construction loan. The joint venture equity recapitalization was provided by a foreign entity, according

Divvy, which helps renters become owners, raises $110M

Posted: 02 Feb 2021 06:00 AM PST

UPDATED: Feb. 2, 8 p.m.: Rent-to-own startup Divvy Homes has raised $110 million to meet a wave of demand from customers who cannot secure a traditional mortgage. The Series C was led by Tiger Global Management with participation from GGV Capital, Moore Specialty Credit, JAWS Ventures and others. According to Divvy, the infusion of cash will accelerate its geographic expansion and support the launch of new products, including brokerage and title insurance. “We’re starting to

TRD Tips: Selling luxury real estate during a pandemic

Posted: 02 Feb 2021 05:30 AM PST

“The home has become more important than ever and will be more important than ever,” real estate agent Lauren Muss told The Real Deal in October when discussing the promises and possibilities of putting older homes on the market during the pandemic. A top broker at Douglas Elliman, Muss has grossed $6 billion in sales throughout her career. She recently sat down with TRD editor-in-chief Stuart Elliott to talk about the challenges and opportunities of

Mid-market sales fall off after strong start to 2021

Posted: 02 Feb 2021 05:00 AM PST

Just one mid-market investment sale was recorded in the last week of January across New York City, after three straight weeks of $100 million or more in deals. The latest sale totaled $25 million, for two commercial condo units in the Financial District. The total added to the $412 million in mid-market sales spread across 25 properties that were recorded to start the new year. Mid-market sales are between $10 million and $30 million. The

Here’s what tenants are paying at 860 Washington

Posted: 02 Feb 2021 04:00 AM PST

In one of the few major office acquisitions to close in Manhattan since the start of the pandemic, Meadow Partners and California Public Employees’ Retirement System last month picked up the ground lease at 860 Washington Street in the Meatpacking District for $232 million. Romanoff Equities and Property Group Partners completed the boutique building in 2016. Shortly before the ground lease sale, Romanoff bought out Property Group in a sale-leaseback deal valuing the land at