The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Serenity now? Distressed debt firm buys loan on troubled luxury condo complex

Posted: 07 Oct 2021 03:00 PM PDT

A distressed-debt firm bought a $25 million piece of a construction loan on a Beverly Hills luxury condo complex whose developer is being sued by a dozen contractors. New York City-based Maguire Capital purchased the loan on the 18-unit Gardenhouse condo and retail property at 8600 Wilshire Boulevard, according to a source familiar with the deal. The debt is part of the $40 million construction loan that Mosaic Real Estate Investors provided developer Palisades for

Retailers in central business districts still face sluggish sales

Posted: 07 Oct 2021 02:30 PM PDT

As U.S. retailers emerge from the pandemic’s record-lows for business, those in residential neighborhoods are showing signs of life while ones in central business districts remain as dormant as the offices around them. Businesses in residential neighborhoods were recovering faster than small businesses in central business districts, according to an analysis from the Mastercard Economics Institute reported by Bloomberg. The report examined businesses in 28 metropolitan areas that accept credit cards. Small and medium-sized businesses

Clinton Hill multifamily sold for $34M

Posted: 07 Oct 2021 02:05 PM PDT

The Carlyle Group scooped up a 40-unit loft apartment building in Clinton Hill for $34 million. The global investment firm closed on the deal on Wednesday to acquire the six-story Knitting Factory Lofts complex at 79 Clifton Place, people familiar with the matter said. The deal gave the seller Freo Group a handsome return of nearly 50 percent in less than two years. The European investment firm bought the property for $22.9 million in January

Housing funds imperiled in $3.5T reconciliation bill

Posted: 07 Oct 2021 01:30 PM PDT

The $330 billion for housing in the Build Back Better reconciliation bill, which would be an unprecedented investment, might be one of the first items cut as Congress tries to shrink the price tag. According to multiple reports, lawmakers are looking at slashing these funds to appease moderate Democrats who consider the $3.5 trillion package too expensive. Debate over the bill has held up passage of a $1.2 trillion infrastructure plan. The funds include $90

How San Francisco’s king of quirk moves hard-to-sell homes with style

Posted: 07 Oct 2021 01:00 PM PDT

With over 20 years as a Bay Area real estate agent, Herman Chan has had his share of cookie-cutter, quick-sale properties. But it’s the oddballs that really get his heart racing. “I am getting a weird reputation for listing outlier properties,” he said. “Mind you, these take 10 times more work, the inventory of buyers is smaller and I know there are agents banging out listings like they’re on a conveyor belt. But that would

New Paltz latest to consider “good cause” eviction law

Posted: 07 Oct 2021 12:00 PM PDT

Backers of “good cause” eviction, trying to build momentum across New York, have put the measure on the agenda in another town. The Village of New Paltz began holding public hearings about a law in mid-August, according to the Times Union. A public comment period followed, but hopes for a vote at the end of September were dashed. The legislation, which passed in Albany and is being pondered in Hudson, varies from place to place.

Lost without office workers, Midtown storefronts struggle to find tenants

Posted: 07 Oct 2021 11:17 AM PDT

As resurgent Covid caseloads kept New York City’s office workers at home through the summer, retail corridors that depend on their foot traffic struggled to fill empty storefronts. Just under 30 percent of retail storefronts in the Grand Central and Midtown East business districts — home to 15 percent of the city’s office stock — remained vacant this summer, more than double the 10 to 15 percent vacancy rates seen before the pandemic, according to

$125M for landlords with deadbeat tenants now up for grabs

Posted: 07 Oct 2021 10:45 AM PDT

Before this week, the state’s rent relief program had proved an empty offer for landlords like Claudia Avin. The owner of a brownstone in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Avin and her partner Paul Chineye had rented a duplex apartment through AirBnB to a man in Nov. 2019. He quit paying rent the following February and has managed to rack up over $65,000 in arrears since. When the state’s rent relief program opened in early June, Avin jumped at

City Council may override local pol to approve Blood Center project

Posted: 07 Oct 2021 10:15 AM PDT

The Blood Center’s $750 million expansion might come to fruition despite local City Council member Ben Kallos, not because of him. A Council hearing on the Upper East Side project is set for later this month following the City Planning Commission’s majority vote in favor of it. The City reports that final approval could be granted despite Kallos’ lack of support, as his rationale does not resonate with colleagues. Kallos is set to leave his

Cathie Wood’s ARK is moving from NYC to St. Petersburg

Posted: 07 Oct 2021 09:30 AM PDT

ARK Investment is trading its New York City office this fall for new headquarters in St. Petersburg, Florida. The investment firm, which specializes in disruptive innovation, announced Wednesday it’s set to close its New York headquarters Oct. 31 and make the move official Nov. 1. “We are thrilled to relocate our corporate headquarters to St. Petersburg, Florida, as we believe the Tampa Bay region’s talent, innovative spirit, and quality of life will accelerate our growth

Landlords brace for winter as natural gas costs soar

Posted: 07 Oct 2021 09:00 AM PDT

Natural gas futures hit a 12-year high Tuesday as supply constraints collided with forecasts of a nationwide cold front, a perfect storm for rising prices, Marketwatch reported. At $6.312 per million British thermal units, prices were 180 percent higher than a year ago. New York landlords are less than a week into the city’s heating season. With gas supplies down 15 percent year-over-year and La Niña expected to produce a rough winter, some are bracing

Kuwaiti investor Wafra in contract to buy 720 West End Avenue

Posted: 07 Oct 2021 06:45 AM PDT

Wafra Capital Partners, an affiliate of Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund, is making a move to buy a 16-story building in the Upper West Side. Through the entity WCP Investments, the developer is in contract to buy 720 West End Avenue from Brack Capital Real Estate for about $165 million, sources told the Commercial Observer. The sale of the building is expected to close in the coming weeks. WCP is getting a building that is both

Could hotels become the new hubs for hybrid work?

Posted: 07 Oct 2021 06:00 AM PDT

The past 18 months have blurred the line between home and office as kitchen tables become boardrooms and closets become offices. Remote employees have carved out pieces of their homes to create workspaces wherever they could. Hybrid workplaces must adapt in kind, bringing a touch of home into office design. The unique opportunity for office landlords to make hybrid workspace feel warmer and welcoming is already being seized by the hotel industry, bringing a formidable

Procore’s Levelset purchase a “Trojan horse” in battle for market dominance

Posted: 07 Oct 2021 05:30 AM PDT

Procore, the maker of construction management software that went public this year, may pull away from rivals after making its biggest acquisition yet. The California company put up $500 million in September to buy Levelset, a lien payments platform. The deal widens an economic moat around the company and opens prospects for future business in other areas of construction management, analysts said. Levelset may prove to be a “Trojan horse” that allows Procore to corner

Michael Jordan’s ex-wife sells Chicago mansion for discounted $4.5M

Posted: 07 Oct 2021 05:00 AM PDT

Juanita Vanoy Jordan, the ex-wife of basketball great Michael Jordan, sold her Chicago mansion for $4.5 million, less than the $4.72 million she paid in 2007. Jordan sold the six-bedroom, 10,200-square-foot home in River North on Oct. 5, according to Crain’s Chicago Business. She listed it on the market in June for $4.98 million and it went under contract with a buyer in late September. After Jordan bought the house a year after her divorce,

Battle of Monmouth: Zell and Sternlicht’s $2B struggle over warehouse REIT

Posted: 07 Oct 2021 04:30 AM PDT

Sam Zell waited seven years to make his next billion-dollar move. Then Barry Sternlicht crashed the party. The two real estate titans spent the summer locked in a $2 billion bidding war for Monmouth Real Estate, a family-run firm in a New Jersey suburb about an hour outside New York. At stake: Monmouth’s more than 120 warehouses across the country — property that surged in value as e-commerce usage skyrocketed during the pandemic. “It’s been

Eric Adams’ cup runneth over with real estate cash

Posted: 07 Oct 2021 04:00 AM PDT

In an 11-week span after Eric Adams became a shoo-in for the mayoralty, the real estate industry poured $500,000 into his campaign coffers. Adams is the heavy favorite against Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, the brash radio host and Guardian Angels founder. But Adams has been busy padding his campaign account, and property interests have played a big part. Between July 12 and Sept. 27, members of some of New York’s most powerful real estate firms