The Real Deal New York

Joseph Harbert

Cushman & Wakefield COO Joseph Harbert has jumped ship for Colliers International, the Seattle-based brokerage looking to raise its New York City profile, Crain’s reported. Harbert will lead Colliers’ expansion into new sectors such as retail and capital markets, and serve as president of the Eastern region. The veteran broker had also previously worked for CBRE, Crain’s said. [more]

Rolex store at 665 Fifth Avenue, a prime retail area

Average asking rents in some New York City retail corridors have shot up by as much as 75 percent year-over-year, according to a market report released today by the Real Estate Board of New York. But overall asking rents for ground-floor retail space in Manhattan are down slightly from last year at this time. [more]

155 Bleecker Street

Trevi Retail had purchased a four-story, mixed-use building at 155 Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village, Crain’s reported. The 7,200-square-foot building, home to three rental apartments and popular bar The Back Fence, had been on the market for $8.4 million. The seller was Avj Aurora LLC. Trevi has been on a buying spree since it launched seven months ago, purchasing 304 Bleecker Street for $5.8 million and 22 West 13th Street for $4.83 million. [more]

Starwood Capital's Barry Sternlicht

JDS Development Group, the company behind the recent conversion of the Ralph Walker-designed Verizon building on West 18th Street, has purchased a majority interest in a development site formerly owned by Starwood Capital at 105 West 57th Street for $40 million, the company told The Real Deal today.

The firm is planning to break ground on a new 100,000-square-foot, mixed-use retail and luxury residential project in the spring or early summer, a spokesperson for JDS said. The project, which will rise to over 50 stories between Sixth and Seventh avenues, will feature condominium units as well as a significant retail component, the spokesperson said. [more]

47 East 3rd Street at center (credit: PropertyShark)

Embattled former Sen. Pedro Espada’s Soundview Health Clinic is set to shutter. The undisclosed buyer of the $90M-plus One57 penthouse unit is not Russian, developer says. Following controversy of “owner occupy” provision, owners make East 3rd Street mansion home. Sisters that own two $70M-plus homes are “the new first family” of ultra-expensive real estate. Lastly, Carolyn Benitez, former model and owner of the Union Square Coffee Shop, and music producer husband Jellybean Benitez list townhouse for $25M. Read these stories and more after the jump.

185 Plymouth Street

One block north of its recently sold out condominium conversion of the Fancy Basket Company warehouse in Dumbo, Alloy Development is planning a similar conversion of a circa-1900 stable and storage building at 185 Plymouth Street, Brownstoner reported. The plans must be approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission in a meeting next Tuesday. [more]

Italian restaurant Rucola recently opened at 190 Dean Street.From the May issue: Developer Abby Hamlin knew she was taking a risk when she bought a block of Boerum Hill properties in 2004 in a joint venture with Francis Greenburger’s Time Equities.

But Hamlin, a longtime Brooklyn resident and the founder of Hamlin Equities, felt confident in her plan to build 23 new construction townhouses there.

“Boerum Hill was thought to be somewhat edgy at that time,” she recalled. Still, “I didn’t need any convincing. It was within walking distance to everything, had 14 subway lines and was five minutes to Wall Street.” [more]

Alex RovtWhile a Russian was not responsible for the record One57 penthouse purchase, don’t expect the region’s influence on the city’s real estate market to wane. In a video on CNBC (watch it after the jump), Alex Rovt, who recently acquired the 1 million-square-foot office tower at 14 Wall Street for $303 million in cast, and Ukraine-born real estate attorney Edward Mermelstein explain the region’s infatuation with New York City Property. [more]

693 Fifth Avenue

In its ongoing effort to land a retail tenant for the former Takashimaya building on Fifth Avenue, Thor Equities is spending another $5 million to spruce up the six-floor space, Crain’s reported. The space has been on the market for 19 months, CoStar Group data shows.

The upgrade intends to convert 2,000 square feet of lobby space into retail space and brings the total six-floor retail square footage to 44,500. When complete in September, a three-story glass facade will also be added to the building. Once a retailer is signed on, Thor will spend millions more to build out the space. [more]