The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

The Closing: Nancy Ruddy

Posted: 15 Sep 2021 03:00 PM PDT

Nancy Ruddy seems to operate at just one level of intensity: contagious excitement. It’s evident when the co-founder of architecture powerhouse CetraRuddy talks about her firm’s marquee projects, such as One Madison in NoMad and Walker Tower in Chelsea, which smashed Downtown sales records. But it’s also there when she notes how many of the firm’s employees are parents (33), or the annual women’s breakfast she hosts. The word “wonderful” was a fixture of the

Amazon plans last-mile distribution center in Hauppauge

Posted: 15 Sep 2021 02:30 PM PDT

Amazon is adding another distribution center to its Long Island pipeline, this time in Hauppauge’s Long Island Innovation Park, according to Newsday. The online retailer wants to operate a 64,000-square-foot facility at 49 Wireless Avenue. It could accommodate 186 delivery vans. Amazon presented plans for the facility to the Smithtown Board of Zoning Appeals on Tuesday. The online retailer has been on an expansion tear over the last year and this week announced plans to

Activist hedge fund Engine No. 1 to open Meatpacking District office

Posted: 15 Sep 2021 02:00 PM PDT

Activist hedge fund Engine No. 1, which is shaking up Wall Street with its push to get Big Oil to reduce carbon emissions, is opening a New York City office in the Meatpacking District. The San Francisco-based firm signed a lease for about 11,500 square feet at Aurora Capital Associates’ 405 West 13th Street, sources familiar with the transaction told The Real Deal. The space also includes about 1,800 square feet of outdoor terrace. A

All Year reaches deal to sell Denizen for $500M — but there’s a catch

Posted: 15 Sep 2021 12:27 PM PDT

UPDATED, 5:19 p.m., Sept. 15: Yoel Goldman’s troubled All Year Management finally reached a deal to sell the Denizen luxury apartment complex for $506 million. But there is a catch. The plan to offload the Brooklyn property to Atlas Capital Group needs approval from the U.S. bankruptcy court in New York, court documents show. In the meantime, All Year and its affiliated entities secured $7 million in emergency financing from Mack Real Estate to help

Now streaming: the debut episode of Deconstruct, TRD’s new podcast

Posted: 15 Sep 2021 12:15 PM PDT

The Real Deal has officially hit the airwaves with the first episode of Deconstruct, a new podcast analyzing the financial, political and cultural force that is real estate. If you’ve joined the ranks of back-to-the-office commuters, close your eyes, pop in your Airpods and let TRD reporter and Deconstruct host Isabella Farr handle the rest. For those of us still Zooming away from the comfort of our living rooms, Deconstruct is the perfect companion for

City won’t landmark Grand Prospect Hall, clearing way for demolition

Posted: 15 Sep 2021 11:15 AM PDT

A last-minute campaign to landmark the Grand Prospect Hall has failed. Despite its cultural cachet, the Brooklyn banquet hall has undergone too many architectural changes since it opened in 1903 to qualify for preservation, according to the Landmarks Preservation Commission. The panel also noted that Angelo Rigas, the local electrician who owns the building, has already gutted much of the building’s interior. “These alterations at Grand Prospect Hall diminish the legibility of the original design

New York: Welcome to the era of sky-high renewals

Posted: 15 Sep 2021 10:45 AM PDT

Did you feel good about locking in a lease at bargain-basement rates during the pandemic? That party is officially over. A television industry employee signed a 10-month lease for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom pad in the East Village for $2,100, only for the landlord to ask $3,500 at renewal time, a spike of 67 percent. A flight attendant inked a lease for a two-bed, one-bath in the same neighborhood for $1,700, but the rent was initially

385 First Ave requiring Bitcoin for retail condo sales

Posted: 15 Sep 2021 10:00 AM PDT

Three retail condominiums at 385 First Avenue are up for sale for $29 million. There’s just one catch: only Bitcoin will be accepted. Magnum Real Estate Group is selling the property — also known as CODA — in partnership with brokerage Meridian Investment Sales and Bitpay, a cryptocurrency payment service, which will process the transaction. The condos cover 9,000 square feet and are fully leased by ProHealth, Mighty Pita and M&T Bank. Two of the

Jason Pomeranc to launch new Theater District hotel

Posted: 15 Sep 2021 09:56 AM PDT

Hotelier Jason Pomeranc is opening a new hotel in the fall titled CIVILIAN. Located at 305 West 48th Street, the hotel will include 203 rooms, a restaurant, secret garden, guest lounge, library and rooftop bar. The building is designed by architect David Rockwell and created in partnership with Joy Construction, Madd Equities and Atlas Hospitality. The hotel will also feature a curated art program, of which a portion of the daily fees will be donated

$8.3M condo shatters Williamsburg sales record

Posted: 15 Sep 2021 09:37 AM PDT

With the ink dry on the deed, an apartment in Williamsburg has broken the Brooklyn neighborhood’s record for the biggest condo deal. The $8.31 million sale at 2 Northside Piers closed Tuesday afternoon. Compass’s Ralph Modica represented the seller, developer Craig Rosenman of the Daten Group. The unit was Rosenman’s home, but the condo tower was not his project. The buyers were represented by Corcoran’s Thea Zagata, who declined to identify them. Brooklyn Heights has

Homebuilders finally get a break on material costs

Posted: 15 Sep 2021 09:00 AM PDT

For the first time this year, homebuilders received a respite from rising materials costs. The producer price index dropped nearly 1 percent in August for residential construction goods, excluding energy costs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Last month marked the first decline in construction material costs in 2021, according to Inman. August was also the second consecutive month that saw price growth for the relevant goods either slow or decline. It’s a relief

Colombo mob boss arrested over alleged construction union shakedown

Posted: 15 Sep 2021 07:40 AM PDT

A construction union in Queens was squeezed by alleged mobsters who demanded monthly payments from a health fund tied to the union, according to an indictment unsealed in a Brooklyn federal court. Prosecutors allege that defendants, including Andrew Russo, the reputed boss of the Colombo crime family, made threats to take control of the health fund and demanded $10,000-plus monthly payments beginning in 2019. The union wasn’t named in the indictment, according to the Wall

Pressure on home shoppers eases as bidding wars hit 2021 low

Posted: 15 Sep 2021 06:45 AM PDT

Home shoppers can take a breath: Competition for listings is lower than it has been at any point this year. Last month, 58.8 percent of home offers written by Redfin agents dealt with competing bids, according to a market report from the company. That is the lowest since December 2020, when 53.7 percent of offers were in bidding wars. The figure represents a massive drop from April, when 74.3 percent of offers drew bidding wars,

Landlords sound alarm on commercial rent regulation bill

Posted: 15 Sep 2021 06:03 AM PDT

Landlords are once again gearing up for a fight over whether the city should regulate retail and office rents. The City Council’s Committee on Small Business plans a hearing Friday on a bill to create a rent guidelines board that would limit rent increases on small commercial spaces. The board would have jurisdiction over small retail and office spaces — up to 10,000 square feet — as well as manufacturing establishments up to 25,000 square

California Gov. Newsom wins recall election; homeless, housing crises loom

Posted: 15 Sep 2021 05:35 AM PDT

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has survived a recall election, easily defeating the Republican-led effort that gained momentum in its opposition to his pandemic restrictions on businesses. Nearly two-thirds of California voters said “no” on the ballot’s first question, which asked whether Newsom should be removed as governor. As of 4:45 a.m PT, Newsom had 64 percent of the “no” votes, or 5.8 million votes; compared to 3.2 million “yes” votes, about 35 percent, according to

Renaissance Westchester Hotel to shutter West Harrison property

Posted: 15 Sep 2021 05:30 AM PDT

A temporary pandemic closure has given way to a permanent shuttering for the Renaissance Westchester Hotel in West Harrison. The hotel filed a notice with the New York State Department of Labor, according to the Westchester and Fairfield County Business Journals. The outlet reports there appears to be no activity in and around the hotel and rooms can’t be booked for future occupancy. A specific date for the hotel’s closing reportedly wasn’t provided in the

Real Estate Roundtable: Break deadlock on $1T infrastructure bill

Posted: 15 Sep 2021 05:00 AM PDT

When the Senate passed a $1 trillion infrastructure bill with bipartisan support last month, the Real Estate Roundtable applauded, with the trade group’s new chairman, John Fish, calling it a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to rebuild and reimagine the buildings of tomorrow.” But the infrastructure package — a vast array of funding streams including $110 billion for roads and bridges, $65 billion for power grids, $65 billion for broadband, $55 billion for water and sewer projects and

Buyers undaunted as climate change risks staggering number of U.S. homes

Posted: 15 Sep 2021 04:30 AM PDT

Ian Solomon is just 24, but he has already faced some of the most severe consequences of climate change — from fires to floods. Last year, sharing a house with four friends in Compton, California, he remembers struggling to breathe as wildfires turned the sky red and ashes fell around him. His sinuses constantly inflamed, he left before the next fire season, moving into a studio loft in Detroit, his hometown. But the city’s aging

Co-living startup The Collective set to lose flagship development project

Posted: 15 Sep 2021 04:00 AM PDT

Co-living startup The Collective is set to lose its flagship shared-living development project as the pandemic takes its toll on the $1 billion company’s business. The U.K.-based company is behind on the $49 million mortgage for its Williamsburg development site at 555 Broadway, where the firm had planned to build a 500-apartment tower, according to a source familiar with the matter. The lender on the site, the Kalikow family’s Gamma Real Estate, has hired a