The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Lennar to sell off residential solar division for $358M

Posted: 17 Feb 2021 03:10 PM PST

Lennar Corp. plans to sell its residential solar division to Sunnova Energy International in a deal worth over $358 million. As part of the agreement, Houston-based Sunnova will become Lennar’s exclusive residential solar provider for new home communities across the country as demand for solar energy grows. Miami-based Lennar agreed to sell the solar division known as SunStreet in exchange for 7.22 million shares of Sunnova common stock, which closed at $49.64 on Wednesday, for

Simon’s Connecticut mall valuation slashed by 88%

Posted: 17 Feb 2021 01:49 PM PST

The valuation for about two-thirds of Simon Property Group’s Crystal Mall in Waterford, Connecticut was slashed 87 percent to just $18.7 million, a sign of just how bad things are for many suburban shopping centers. About 518,000 square feet of the property backed a $95 million commercial mortgage-backed securities loan, according to Trepp. With the new appraisal, the loan-to-value ratio comes to an eye-popping 508 percent, meaning the mall’s debt is worth about five times

Homebuilder confidence picks up after 2 months of decline

Posted: 17 Feb 2021 11:30 AM PST

Homebuilder sentiment is once again trending upward thanks, in part, to a bump in traffic from prospective homebuyers. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index increased to 84, seasonally adjusted, compared to January’s reading of 83. The slight increase comes after two month-over-month declines for the index. The NAHB index tracks homebuilder confidence in current and future single-family home sales and traffic of potential homebuyers on a monthly basis. Of the index’s

Acore Capital raises $1B to provide rescue cash to hotels

Posted: 17 Feb 2021 11:05 AM PST

Acore Capital raised $1 billion to provide rescue capital to struggling hotels. The lender said it will originate and acquire senior loans, mezzanine debt and preferred equity to North American hotel owners, according to Bloomberg News. The company is seeking to provide the financing to hoteliers who can no longer extend their existing debt with their lenders. In many cases, it will provide mezzanine loans or preferred equity, which generally carry a higher interest rate

Vornado’s effort to dump Trump was “news to me”: Steve Roth

Posted: 17 Feb 2021 10:48 AM PST

When Vornado Realty Trust held its third quarter earnings call in the fall, the outcome of the 2020 presidential election was still up in the air. In the months since, a lot has happened. During the company’s fourth quarter earnings call on Wednesday morning, several analysts asked about the company’s plans for 1290 Sixth Avenue in New York and 555 California Street in San Francisco, in which former President Donald Trump owns a 30 percent

Manhattan Beach townhouse tops Brooklyn’s luxury market

Posted: 17 Feb 2021 10:15 AM PST

Seeking beach views? One buyer shelled out millions to secure just that in Brooklyn last week. A Manhattan Beach house was the priciest of 24 luxury contracts signed last week, according to Compass’ weekly report on homes in the borough asking $2 million or more. The week before, the borough saw 20 luxury contracts signed. The combined value of the 24 contracts inked was $69.5 million with a median asking price of nearly $2.5 million.

CVS inks lease at 217 Broadway

Posted: 17 Feb 2021 09:30 AM PST

CVS is opening on Broadway — 217 Broadway, to be exact. The drug store chain has signed a 15-year lease for 19,350 square feet at the Astor Building, just south of City Hall. CVS will occupy 6,850 square feet on part of the ground floor and 12,500 square feet on the second floor. CBRE’s Bruce Surry, David LaPierre and Kristen Crossman represented the owner, Columbus Properties, in the deal. Ariel Schuster, Brandon Eisenman and T.J.

92% of restaurants could not make December rent

Posted: 17 Feb 2021 09:00 AM PST

The situation for New York City’s restaurateurs — and their landlords — got even more dire at the end of 2020. A new report by the New York City Hospitality Alliance found that 92 percent of restaurants could not pay their full December rent, the highest that number has been since the pandemic began. That number has also increased every month during the health crisis; in June, 80 percent of restaurateurs couldn’t afford rent, and

Storage Wars: HFZ Capital battles to save tenants’ stuff from auction

Posted: 17 Feb 2021 08:30 AM PST

HFZ Capital Group seems to have a million problems. With the once prolific developer battling lawsuits and contractors’ liens as it clings to its Manhattan condo buildings, its travails seem fit for an HBO drama. But the latest episode is more like a plot from A&E’s “Storage Wars.” A storage company tried to auction off two HFZ tenants’ storage units, which include sports memorabilia and antiques, after HFZ fell behind on its payments. At one

New York restaurateurs decamp to South Florida

Posted: 17 Feb 2021 07:45 AM PST

It’s not just New York City residents who have migrated to South Florida in the past year. Business owners, including restaurateurs, are following suit. Part of the reason? South Florida’s relatively relaxed Covid-19 restrictions, the New York Post reported. New York’s dining restrictions have changed frequently and sometimes abruptly. Indoor dining was forbidden in December as confirmed coronavirus cases rose, and then allowed again — at 25 percent capacity — just last week. In contrast,

Affordable, market-rate apartments surge 40%, but remain rare

Posted: 17 Feb 2021 07:00 AM PST

Rents have fallen across the city, but most market-rate apartments are still out of reach for essential workers. From mid-March to the end of 2020, only 11,690 units citywide were affordable to essential workers — 40 percent more than during the same period the year prior, but still a pittance, according to a StreetEasy study reported by the New York Times. The apartments represented just 4 percent of the city’s market-rate rental inventory. “It sounds

Shinnecock Nation will build Southampton casino

Posted: 17 Feb 2021 06:22 AM PST

The Shinnecock Nation says it will build a casino on its Southampton reservation. Newsday reported that in developing the property, the tribe will work with Jack Morris, principal of Tri State Partners. An announcement is expected on Wednesday. Tri State has worked on a casino project with the Seminole Tribe of Florida, owner of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino chain. The Shinnecock Nation and Morris have been in talks since at least September. Hard

Trump Plaza in Atlantic City is demolished

Posted: 17 Feb 2021 06:08 AM PST

This is the way the casino ends. Not with a bang but a whimper. An auction to detonate the former Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City didn’t happen, but tickets to watch the spectacle were sold at $10 apiece, and the venue imploded at 9:08 a.m. Wednesday, according to the New York Times. About 16,000 viewers watched via the city’s webcam. Trump Plaza was the first of three casinos owned by the former

Brookland Capital, Nager Management score Central Brooklyn deals

Posted: 17 Feb 2021 06:00 AM PST

Multifamily buildings in Brooklyn made up the two mid-market investment sales recorded in New York City last week, totalling $34.2 million in transaction volume. The week prior saw nearly $58 million in deals for two commercial buildings. Here are more details of the two investment deals between $10 million and $30 million for the week ending Feb. 12. 1. Ronel Ben-Dov sold a 51,000-square-foot apartment building at 689 Marcy Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant for $22.5 million.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman buys Boca Raton mansion

Posted: 17 Feb 2021 05:30 AM PST

Gary Bettman, commissioner of the National Hockey League, bought a waterfront mansion in Boca Raton’s Sanctuary neighborhood for $8 million. Records show Bettman and his wife, Michelle “Shelli” W. Bettman, bought the house at 4020 Ibis Point Circle from Andrew J. Green. Bettman has been commissioner of the NHL since 1993. The seller listed Green Realty Corp., a real estate development company in Cincinnati, Ohio, for his address. He bought the home in 2015 for

Where de Blasio went wrong on property tax reform

Posted: 17 Feb 2021 05:00 AM PST

Deputy Mayor Vicki Been is known for policy expertise, not political savvy. Case in point: When she was asked in September 2019 whether property taxes would be reformed during the de Blasio administration, she answered honestly. “I don’t know that that’s realistic. I think the foundation can be laid,” Been said. “Laying the foundation now makes it a topic that has to be front and center in the next mayoral election, and I think that’s

Home mortgage applications fall as rates, prices rise

Posted: 17 Feb 2021 04:00 AM PST

Applications for home loans fell again as mortgage rates and average loan size continued to grow. An index tracking applications to purchase homes dropped 6 percent, seasonally adjusted, last week compared to the week prior, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The MBA metric, known as the purchase index, had sunk 5 percent the previous week. Joel Kan, MBA’s head of industry forecasting, attributed the decline to rising mortgage rates. The rate for a 30-year,

Silverstein’s Tal Kerret seeks $250M for SPAC

Posted: 16 Feb 2021 05:22 PM PST

Scott Rechler has a SPAC. Rob Speyer has two. And now, Silverstein Properties’ Tal Kerret is joining the craze. In a regulatory filing Tuesday, SilverSPAC Inc. said it intends to raise $250 million for a blank-check firm that aims to take a proptech firm public. In addition, SilverSPAC will target fintech startups and enterprise tech companies that have real estate applications. Developer Larry Silverstein, who founded Silverstein Properties in the 1950s, will not be involved.