The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

State pulls the plug on rent relief

Posted: 12 Nov 2021 02:50 PM PST

New York’s portal for emergency rental assistance will stop accepting new applications Sunday night, shutting out potentially hundreds of thousands of landlords — and their tenants. Gov. Kathy Hochul, in a press release Friday afternoon, said the state had earmarked virtually all of the $2.4 billion in available funding to applicants and had requested another $996 million from the Treasury Department. Absent that federal infusion, the portal will close to new applicants at 10 p.m.

Edison Properties sells Manhattan Mini Storage for $3B

Posted: 12 Nov 2021 01:45 PM PST

Three months after exploring a multi-billion-dollar sale of Manhattan Mini Storage, Edison Properties has found a buyer. StorageMart has reached an agreement to acquire Manhattan Mini Storage and its 18 self-storage facilities in the borough, the Missouri-based firm announced Friday. Neither side disclosed the financial terms, but Crain’s reported that StorageMart paid just over $3 billion, citing people familiar with the matter. The acquisition brings StorageMart’s portfolio to 20 million net rentable square feet and

Hackman, Square Mile venture nabs Kaufman Astoria Studios

Posted: 12 Nov 2021 12:30 PM PST

Eight months after submitting an offer for the property, a pair of big-name landlords have emerged victorious in their bid for Kaufman Astoria Studios. Hackman Capital Partners and Square Mile Capital Management acquired the century-old landmarked property at 34-12 36th Street, Bloomberg reported. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but The Real Deal reported in March that the 500,000-foot building, which includes 11 sound stages, was valued at $600 million. The acquisition signals the

5 home offices that blow coworking spaces out of the water

Posted: 12 Nov 2021 12:00 PM PST

Here’s a memory: You’re meeting up with a friend for lunch on a Wednesday. You live in Prospect Heights, they live somewhere in Queens. For no less than 50 hours a week, though, you’re across the street from each other in your respective glass towers in Midtown. You step out of the elevator. There are pipes everywhere. Orange ottomans and lime green armchairs. Guys chilling with laptops at a grainy wooden dining table — presumably

Durst accuses MTA of stalling East Harlem development

Posted: 12 Nov 2021 11:30 AM PST

After five years of getting the runaround from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the Durst Organization has said enough is enough. The developer is suing the MTA over the prolonged discussions involving its three properties at Park Avenue and East 125th Street, alleging that the public transit authority’s slow decision-making, lack of diligence, changing stances and failure to cooperate have cost the company money and deprived it of its rights to use the properties. The lawsuit,

Churchill Real Estate raises another $1B for credit arm

Posted: 12 Nov 2021 11:15 AM PST

Churchill Real Estate has raised another $1 billion for its credit lending business, which has already put about $2 billion to work on residential real estate projects. The firm, which specializes in debt, equity and distressed real estate, raised the funds for its warehouse lending arm, in which it provides credit to other mortgage originators, who then lend out to borrowers. The business is focused on transitional residential projects, ranging from fix-and-flip investments to ground-up

Over 4,000 people flood The Real Deal’s Miami Showcase and Forum

Posted: 12 Nov 2021 10:30 AM PST

South Florida’s top mayors, major developers, brokers and hospitality moguls attracted thousands of people to The Real Deal’s South Florida Real Estate Showcase and Forum this week. More than 4,100 people attended the event, entering through the showcase of booths where developers, brokers, lenders, architects and other vendors featured their products. Lending Bankers made it rain with wads of fake $100 bills scattered all over its booth and beyond; and Envoy, an electric car share

Eviction bans squeezed supply, bringing rents to boil: report

Posted: 12 Nov 2021 10:00 AM PST

As it did for home prices, short supply has lit a fire under rents. A report from brokerage HouseCanary says eviction moratoriums are partially to blame for the price increases. Throughout 2020 and much of 2021, national and local eviction protections kept renters in their homes and made some landlords reluctant to list vacancies for fear a new tenant might move in and stop paying. As protections have expired — the Supreme Court tossed President

Goodbye BQE? How infrastructure bill boosts real estate

Posted: 12 Nov 2021 08:23 AM PST

With a massive infrastructure allowance coming to New York, decision-makers are eyeing ways to transform the city’s transportation systems, floating grand plans that would boost property values and spur development. Among the most radical proposals is to demolish and redesign the Bronx-Queens Expressway, Gothamist reported. The president and CEO of New York Building Congress, Carlo Scissura, told business leaders Wednesday he wanted an underground tunnel to replace the hulking highway so the land might be

Home improvement startup Block Renovation taking platform national

Posted: 12 Nov 2021 07:30 AM PST

Block Renovation, a startup that wants to make home makeovers more predictable and less painful, is taking its New York-tested platform national. Just four months after its last fundraise, Block raised $50 million in a Series C round led by Softbank’s Vision Fund 2, with participation from existing investors Giant Ventures, NEA, Morningside and Lerer Hippeau. The raise brings the startup’s total funding to $104 million. Block’s Series C comes amid a national housing boom

Software giant Altus acquires real estate data firm Reonomy for $200M

Posted: 12 Nov 2021 06:51 AM PST

The small world of commercial real estate data just got a bit smaller. Altus Group, an industry software provider, is expected to close today on the acquisition of Reonomy, the 8-year-old real estate data startup turned heavy hitter. Altus paid just under $200 million cash for Reonomy, which had raised about $128 million as of summer 2020 thanks to hefty investments from the likes of SoftBank, Bain Capital Ventures and Sapphire Ventures. Mike Gordon, Altus’

New Rochelle mixed-use development snags $77M loan

Posted: 12 Nov 2021 05:30 AM PST

The Rockwell, a New Rochelle mixed-use complex, landed a $77.2 million refinancing package from Cerberus Capital Management, according to the Commercial Observer. The project is a joint venture between Young Companies and Phil Craft. The financing deal was arranged by a Greystone Capital Advisors team that included Drew Fletcher and Matthew Klauer, the Observer reports. The development, located at 585 North Avenue, contains 114 apartment units, as well as 21,000 square feet of commercial space.

Coldwell Banker v. Bellmarc suit ends in defeat for Neil Binder

Posted: 12 Nov 2021 05:00 AM PST

As Coldwell Banker moves on to bigger and better things in New York City, the Bellmarc Group has been an apparition for years. Yet their legal battle has continued. And now the Realogy-owned franchise has won an $8 million judgment against Bellmarc, a defunct Manhattan residential brokerage, court documents show. Coldwell Banker declined to dance on Bellmarc’s grave, saying only that it looked forward to supporting and growing all of its affiliates in the New

Commercial brokers’ confidence at all-time high: REBNY survey

Posted: 12 Nov 2021 04:00 AM PST

The economist who came up with the Consumer Confidence Index in the 1960s struggled for years to get anyone to take it seriously. But eventually business people came to regard the survey asking people how they feel about the future as a valuable metric for decision-making. These days, confidence surveys abound. And the one taking New York residential and commercial brokers’ temperature shows they are hopeful — even more so than before the pandemic. The