The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Google to bring workers back to offices starting early next month

Posted: 02 Mar 2022 03:53 PM PST

Google will recall some of its workers to the office starting early next month, ending a voluntary work-from-home model at its Bay Area locations and several others around the U.S. The Mountain View-based company expects most employees to come into the office three days a week, according to an internal email viewed by CNBC. It recently relaxed some of its Covid mandates to prepare to bring workers back, the outlet reported last week. The company

Despite calling for return, financial titans shed NYC office space

Posted: 02 Mar 2022 02:00 PM PST

In a city whose office market depends heavily on financial institutions, several key tenants are downsizing. JPMorgan Chase, New York City’s largest office tenant, cut its commercial footprint by 400,000 square feet last year, Crain’s reported. The bank, which has said it plans to “significantly reduce” its global office footprint in the coming years, also downsized by 300,000 square feet in 2020. The financial institution still rents 8.7 million square feet in the city, according

Adam Gordon’s Wildflower sells Bronx self-storage building for $65M

Posted: 02 Mar 2022 01:15 PM PST

With the self-storage market booming, developer Adam Gordon is cashing out. Gordon’s firm, Wildflower, sold a roughly 3,300-unit facility it built at 3350 Park Avenue in the Morrisania section of the Bronx to Atlanta-based operator Storage Post for $65 million, Gordon told The Real Deal. Wildflower bought the property in 2017 for $9 million, public records show, and developed the nearly 130,000-square-foot self-storage building on the site. Gordon said the sale represents “our firm’s continued

Amagansett boutique with upstairs apartment lists for $12M

Posted: 02 Mar 2022 12:40 PM PST

A high-end boutique in the Hamptons with an upstairs apartment has hit the market asking $12 million. The property at 216 Main Street in Amagansett, home of designer clothing retailer Tiina the Store, is for sale, Behind the Hedges reported. In addition to ground-floor retail space on Montauk Highway, the property comes with a 1,400-square-foot apartment on the second floor. The original structure, which dates to the 1800s, was rebuilt in 2018 by store owner

Dealmaking slows in NYC’s investment sales market

Posted: 02 Mar 2022 10:15 AM PST

After weeks of robust sales, the middle of the investment market — properties that trade for between $10 million and $40 million — cooled considerably at the end of February. A mere seven such deals were recorded in the last two weeks of the month. Columbia University acquired a single-room occupancy building near its main campus in Morningside Heights, an industrial property in Greenpoint sold to private equity firm Sitex for a dramatic markup from

Empire State Realty Trust lands 70K sf tenant at 1359 Broadway

Posted: 02 Mar 2022 09:47 AM PST

Empire State Realty Trust is heading to the delivery room with a new direct tenant at 1359 Broadway. The REIT announced fertility benefits firm Progyny has agreed to lease more than 70,000 square feet at the Garment District building. The lease covers three floors, including one spanning 25,000 square feet that Progyny was already subleasing from IHS Markit. While Progyny already occupies one floor, it will move into its second floor later this year and

Here’s where wealthy Russians have owned trophy real estate in the US

Posted: 02 Mar 2022 09:00 AM PST

As sanctions intensify against Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine, so has scrutiny of Russian wealth in America, from yachts, jets and businesses, to, of course, real estate. The U.S. government is moving to freeze the assets of sanctioned Russian businesses and oligarchs, and elected officials are calling for the outright seizure of properties. “We are joining with our European allies to find and seize your yachts, your luxury apartments, your private jets,”

Levievs sue Tinder Swindler for stealing name

Posted: 02 Mar 2022 08:15 AM PST

Shimon Hayut’s swindling ways may be catching up to him: He is being sued by the family of Israeli diamond and real estate tycoon Lev Leviev. The “Tinder Swindler,” as he was dubbed by a Netflix documentary of that same title, is being sued for pretending to be Leviev’s son and appropriating the family name, the Times of Israel reported. The suit was filed in the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court. “For a long time he

Diners not Russian to Tea Room

Posted: 02 Mar 2022 07:30 AM PST

The Russian Tea Room’s owners are real estate investors based in Manhattan, and have condemned Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, but diners still appear to be avoiding it like the gulag. The famed establishment at 150 West 57th Street was nearly empty during the lunch rush on Tuesday, the New York Post reported. Only 16 customers trickled into the 95-year-old tourist spot over a three-hour stretch. The name of the restaurant is a likely factor.

RXR, Jericho firm picked for $125M transit-oriented project on Long Island

Posted: 02 Mar 2022 06:45 AM PST

Riverhead is turning to RXR and Georgica Green Ventures to revitalize the area around its train station, long a dilapidated element of the Suffolk County town. The town board voted unanimously to name the firms master developers of the lot surrounding Osborne Avenue and Railroad Street, Newsday reported. Manhattan-based RXR, which is led by Scott Rechler and has a Long Island office, will serve as majority partner for the project. Georgica Green, a 10-year-old affordable

Irony rules: Crown Heights family claiming ownership uses tenant protections

Posted: 02 Mar 2022 05:45 AM PST

The Crown Heights family that re-entered their home — alleging deed theft — after being evicted last month can stay put for now, a housing court judge ruled this week. The decision brought a certain irony to the case: The family will leverage state tenant protections to pursue claims that they are not tenants at all. Judge Jack Stoller paused the eviction and restored possession to the family, headed by 98-year-old Ida Robinson, while the

Watch: Breaking down the Ukraine invasion’s impact on US real estate

Posted: 02 Mar 2022 05:45 AM PST

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to some of the most punitive economic sanctions imposed on one nation since the Cold War. Russia’s currency and stock market has tanked, with its ability to participate in the global banking system hobbled. Energy giants BP and Shell announced that they were exiting joint ventures with Russian energy companies, and you might see the same thing play out in other industries. What might that all mean for U.S.

Future City: Opendoor comes home

Posted: 02 Mar 2022 04:00 AM PST

Coming home Opendoor, the largest iBuyer in the U.S., has flipped tens of thousands of homes, but not in its own backyard — until now. The San Francisco-based company said this month that it will enter the Bay Area market, where it will target homes ranging in value from $400,000 to $2.5 million in 200 zip codes from Sonoma to Santa Clara in Silicon Valley. The Bay Area’s expensive and variegated housing stock could make

Douglas Elliman reports gains in first earnings as public company

Posted: 01 Mar 2022 04:08 PM PST

Douglas Elliman had reason to celebrate on its first earnings call since going public last year. On Tuesday, the brokerage reported consolidated operating income of $20.1 million, down from $25.1 million in the third quarter, before its spinoff from former parent company Vector Group, but up 44 percent from $14 million in the same period in 2020. Net income for the full year was $98.7 million, compared to a $46.3 million loss reported in 2020.

Fifth Wall hits the wall on $150M real estate SPAC

Posted: 01 Mar 2022 03:35 PM PST

Proptech-focused venture capital firm Fifth Wall has bailed on plans to raise $150 million by taking a second real estate tech firm public through a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The Marina del Ray-based firm withdrew its SEC registration for Fifth Wall Acquisition Corp. II, according to a filing submitted Friday and first reported by dot.LA. Fifth Wall revealed plans for a second SPAC last March, intending to list the blank-check company on the

Lawmakers seek to unmask property owners behind LLCs

Posted: 01 Mar 2022 03:20 PM PST

As officials call for action against Russian oligarchs who own real estate in New York City, state lawmakers are seeking to make it easier to find. Their measure, though, would not only apply to oligarchs. A new bill would change disclosure rules for limited liability companies, requiring them to disclose “beneficial owners,” defined as those who have a membership interest in the LLC. The legislation would require that this information be disclosed on an LLC’s

BRP lands $294M for New Rochelle construction

Posted: 01 Mar 2022 02:23 PM PST

BRP Companies is ready to break ground for a mixed-use development in Westchester after scoring a massive construction loan from a variety of partners. The developer nabbed $294 million in construction financing for its project at 500 Main Street in New Rochelle, where the company said it aims to start construction immediately. BRP’s mixed-use building will deliver 477 housing units to New Rochelle, approximately 25 percent of which will be set aside for affordable housing.

Manhattan office availability hits new peak

Posted: 01 Mar 2022 01:06 PM PST

Office availability in Manhattan hit a new high in February, bringing office landlords to a new low. Just under 94 million square feet of office space is available for rent in Manhattan, according to a report from Colliers. The availability rate reached 17.4 percent last month, up 74 percent since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, even as demand has more than doubled from a year ago. Sublet availability increased by 1.27 million

Former broker buys $13M Naftali condo

Posted: 01 Mar 2022 01:00 PM PST

When Sarah Fiszel went luxury condo shopping, it was far from her first rodeo. As a former Warburg agent and the daughter of Compass uber-broker Richard Steinberg, she has been around the block a few times. But as the ex-wife of a successful hedge fund manager, her days of racing around to meet clients seem to be over — and her checkbook fatter. Fiszel just scooped up a sponsor unit at Naftali Group’s 1045 Madison

Airbnb to offer housing for 100K Ukrainian refugees

Posted: 01 Mar 2022 12:05 PM PST

Airbnb said this week it will offer free, short-term housing for up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees fleeing the Russian invasion. The program will be backed by Airbnb.org, an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and funded by donors and hosts. CEO Brian Chesky announced the program on Twitter, asking “people who can offer their homes in nearby countries, including Poland, Germany, Hungary and Romania” to sign up on the nonprofit arm’s website. 1. Airbnb and https://t.co/enqjlQB0rH are

Paired testing bill targeting agent bias passes NY Senate

Posted: 01 Mar 2022 11:00 AM PST

The state Senate passed two bills aimed at reducing discriminatory real estate practices. One would require the state attorney general’s office to do undercover testing to make sure brokers aren’t steering clients to or away from certain neighborhoods based on race, according to Newsday. The other bill would require brokers and sales agents to report client demographic data to the state. Both measures need approval by the Assembly to become law. The bills, which weren’t

The world is not enough: Serhant readies launch into UNIVERS

Posted: 01 Mar 2022 10:00 AM PST

Serhant is ready to take over the UNIVERS. The technology-focused brokerage in New York City announced Monday it will have its own metaverse, called UNIVERS, as a virtual operating world for employees and agents. The company released a sneak peak of what it will look like. “We are future-obsessed and mobile-first,” said Ryan Serhant, founder and CEO of Serhant. “Developing our own proprietary virtual operating world has been a cornerstone of our business plan since

Deutsche Bank delays $1.5B CMBS deal tied to HQ

Posted: 01 Mar 2022 09:00 AM PST

A CMBS deal worth nearly $1.5 billion and tied the Deutsche Bank Center was temporarily scuttled after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine threw markets for a loop, sparking fears that more deals could be put on hold. The single-asset, single-borrower CMBS deal at Deutsche Bank’s new Columbus Circle headquarters was postponed last week due to market weakness, Bloomberg reported. The securitization financing was backed by GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

Eviction cases “overwhelming” legal services 6 weeks after moratorium’s end

Posted: 01 Mar 2022 08:00 AM PST

A City Council Committee hearing held to gauge the state of evictions since the moratorium ended six weeks ago revealed an influx of filings is threatening to overwhelm legal aid providers. Anna Aboody, a staff attorney at legal nonprofit Mobilization for Justice in the Bronx, compared the flood of cases to the scores of Covid patients entering understaffed hospitals at the height of the pandemic. “Unlike the overburdened ERs and ICUs who had no control

Madison Realty Capital sells $73M Queens industrial site

Posted: 01 Mar 2022 07:15 AM PST

Two more firms are jumping into the busy Queens industrial market. KABR Group and FCA-Orbita Group teamed up to purchase a 3.5-acre site at 184-10 and 184-60 Jamaica Avenue for $73.5 million, the companies announced. The interconnected five- and six-story buildings span 620,000 square feet. The two buildings are 60 percent occupied, the companies said. The property includes cargo bays, secured access 24 hours a day and more than 120 parking spaces. The new owners

TRD Brand Studio: Your business, powered by The Real Deal

Posted: 01 Mar 2022 06:30 AM PST

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