The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Pearl River Mart will move to 452 Broadway

Posted: 22 Feb 2021 03:15 PM PST

Pearl River Mart will remain in Soho. In early December, the Asian goods outlet announced it would close its flagship store at 395 Broadway in early 2021, citing stalled negotiations with its landlord. The news saddened its cult following. But the owner has found a new location just three blocks north at 452 Broadway, between Howard and Grand streets. The news was first reported by hyper-local news site Bowery Boogie. Gregory Kim of Sequoia Property

CNN’s Jeff Zucker sells UES pad to hedge funder for $15M

Posted: 22 Feb 2021 03:11 PM PST

CNN’s head honcho Jeff Zucker sold his five-bedroom Upper East Side apartment for $15.35 million to hedge fund billionaire Michael Steinhardt and his wife, Judith. Zucker sold the unit at The Verona co-op building at East 64th Street for a discount from his asking price of $17.5 million. The renovated five-bedroom has a 38-foot wide living room, a private office and library, a chef’s kitchen with multiple dining areas and three working fireplaces. The

Loew’s Theatre in Jersey City set for $72M rehab

Posted: 22 Feb 2021 02:30 PM PST

Developers building apartment towers in Journal Square are betting that millennials will move to Jersey City as an alternative to Manhattan or Brooklyn. Now they have a new pitch beyond cheaper rent and cushy amenities. The historic Loew’s Theatre will get a major renovation to attract high-profile entertainers, officials said Monday. Jersey City and the Devils Arena Entertainment, the operator of the Prudential Center, reached a $72 million deal to turn the century-old theater into

Hedge funder Philip Falcone may lose UES, Hamptons homes

Posted: 22 Feb 2021 02:27 PM PST

Embattled hedge funder Philip Falcone is in danger of losing his pricey homes on the Upper East Side and the Hamptons. The Harbinger Capital founder, whose assets were frozen last year by a Manhattan judge, owns a five-story townhouse at 66 East 67th Street that had been on the market in 2018 asking $39 million; and a 14,000-square-foot mansion at 142 Crestview Lane in Sagaponack that is on the market asking $27.9 million. Now the

Activist investors urge Kohl’s to cut real estate, inventory

Posted: 22 Feb 2021 01:39 PM PST

A group of activist investors have something to say about Kohl’s. Macellum Advisors GP, Ancora Holdings, Legion Partners Asset Management and 4010 Capital are attempting to control the company’s board and influence its trajectory, according to the Wall Street Journal. Together, the group owns a 9.5 percent stake in Kohl’s. Earlier this year it nominated nine people to the retailer’s 12-person board. Now, the investors are calling on Kohl’s to hire directors with retail experience.

Showtime: NYC movie theaters to reopen

Posted: 22 Feb 2021 01:34 PM PST

This time, the coming attraction is the movie theater. After a near year-long shutdown, New York City cinemas will reopen at 25 percent capacity or no more than 50 people per screening starting March 5. Gov. Andrew Cuomo made the announcement on Monday. Moviegoers and theater employees will have to wear masks and abide by pandemic protocols, Cuomo said in a news conference announcing the decision. Theaters will assign seating to ensure social distancing. Theaters

Manhattan luxury market sees another strong week with 36 deals

Posted: 22 Feb 2021 12:00 PM PST

It may be too early to say New York’s luxury residential market is staging a comeback, but the uptick of homes that went into contract over the past few weeks continued post-Presidents’ Day. Last week saw 36 contracts signed for properties asking $4 million or more, just two fewer than the previous week, according to Olshan Realty’s latest market report. The majority of those deals — 26 — were for condos, with seven co-ops and

Charter school developer buys Brooklyn site out of bankruptcy

Posted: 22 Feb 2021 11:30 AM PST

Civic Builders, which finances and builds school buildings for charter school networks, purchased a 28,000-square-foot school building at 720 Livonia Avenue in New Lots for $11.5 million. David Umansky, CEO of Civic Builders, signed for the buyer, limited liability company Civic Saratoga. The building was last purchased for $4.9 million in 2015 by two limited liability companies formed by controversial real estate figure Chaskiel Strulowitz (also known as Cheskel Strulovitch). Civic Builders bought the building

Out-of-state multifamily buyers eye South Florida

Posted: 22 Feb 2021 10:45 AM PST

When JLL’s Maurice Habif brought a 336-unit Hollywood apartment complex to market just before Labor Day, he noticed more than the regular crop of institutional investors active in South Florida paying attention. Habif saw unfamiliar private investors, family offices from outside Florida, even a group financed by 1031 exchange deferred capital gains money. The Parc Station complex, a garden-style apartment community at 2301 North 29th Avenue, eventually sold to Atlanta-based Cortland Partners for $91.7 million,

Clipper Equity lands $100M DoBro refi

Posted: 22 Feb 2021 10:00 AM PST

David Bistricer tapped the CMBS market to refinance one of his Downtown Brooklyn office buildings with a $100 million loan. Bistricer’s Clipper Equity secured financing from Citi for the REIT’s 216,000-square-foot 141 Livingston Street, the CEO confirmed. “We refinanced early and extended the term with a lower interest rate,” Bistricer said. Clipper had about three years left on the $79.5 million mortgage that New York Community Bank provided the property in 2016. Bistricer said the

CBRE acquires 35% stake in flex-office provider Industrious

Posted: 22 Feb 2021 08:45 AM PST

CBRE Group has acquired a 35 percent stake in Industrious ahead of the flex-office provider’s possible 2021 IPO. “We are big believers in the flexible workspace arena and see a tremendous opportunity,” CBRE CEO Bob Sulentic said in an interview with Bloomberg News. The investment makes CBRE the largest shareholder in Industrious, and it’s not done yet: The real estate giant plans to buy another 5 percent stake in the company in the next few

Bonds for troubled American Dream mall up 25% this year

Posted: 22 Feb 2021 08:09 AM PST

Municipal bonds issued for the American Dream mall in 2017 were hammered as the pandemic and other problems plagued the project, but investors have been scooping them up in recent months. As shoppers gradually return to the New Jersey mall and entertainment complex, the property’s longest duration bonds, issued by the mall’s owner, Triple Five Group, have returned 25.8 percent this year, Bloomberg News reported. American Dream bonds that in September traded at 87 cents

DA Vance subpoenas NYC tax agency in Trump Org criminal probe

Posted: 22 Feb 2021 06:45 AM PST

Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance’s investigation into the Trump Organization may be ramping up. Vance’s office subpoenaed the New York City Tax Commission, which reviews property tax assessments, as part of its criminal investigation into former President Donald Trump’s company, Reuters reported. The subpoena would likely force the agency to provide Vance’s office with documents the Trump Organization filed with the agency in an effort to lower tax assessments for its portfolio, including Trump Tower

Central Park ice rinks stay open amid Trump Org contract spat

Posted: 22 Feb 2021 06:15 AM PST

In a rare win for the Trump Organization, the ice-skating rinks at Central Park that bear the former president’s name will remain open for the next few months, after being slated to close on Sunday. City Hall announced on Sunday that the Wollman and Lasker rinks will stay open under the current management, Trump Organization, for the remainder of the season, the New York Times reported. “But make no mistake, we will not be doing

Redfin, CoreLogic and CoStar’s love triangle

Posted: 22 Feb 2021 05:30 AM PST

What CoStar wants, Redfin gets The battle lines have been drawn on rental listings. Taking on the likes of Zillow and CoStar, Redfin struck a deal to buy RentPath for $608 million, the company said Friday. Yes, that’s the same RentPath that called off a $588 million sale to CoStar last year, after federal regulators blocked the deal on antitrust grounds. With Redfin, there are no such concerns since Redfin is new to the rental

Lucid Motors inks Meatpacking District lease

Posted: 22 Feb 2021 05:00 AM PST

Another luxury automotive company is coming to the Meatpacking District. Lucid Motors, which is currently developing an electric vehicle, will lease 3,200 square feet at 2 Ninth Avenue for a showroom, The Real Deal has learned. Last year, the company announced that it would open a location in the Meatpacking District, though it did not disclose the address at the time. A spokesman for Lucid confirmed that the showroom will open in April, just in

Brookfield’s internal affairs

Posted: 22 Feb 2021 04:30 AM PST

There are several reasons why taking Brookfield Property Partners private might be a bad deal. The company’s investors lose a lucrative dividend, hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of fees to its parent Brookfield Asset Management go by the wayside and the Brookfield empire gives up an established line to the public markets. But privatization gives Brookfield something more valuable than money: time. It allows the company, one of the world’s largest commercial real estate

What tenants pay Fisher Brothers & JPMorgan at 605 Third Avenue

Posted: 22 Feb 2021 04:00 AM PST

Built by Fisher Brothers in 1963, the 44-story office tower at 605 Third Avenue has long attracted high-profile tenants thanks to its location near Grand Central Terminal and the United Nations. Fisher Brother retains a 51 percent stake in the building and manages it, while the remaining ownership interest has changed hands twice in the past decade. Rockpoint Group bought the 49 percent stake from National Bulk Carriers in late 2013 and about a year