From top left: Christopher Jeffries, founding partner of Millennium Partners, Kyle Blackmon, senior vice president of Brown Harris Stevens, 50 Central Park South and Jeffries' penthouse unit

Millennium Partners founding partner Christopher Jeffries has listed the duplex penthouse in the Ritz-Carlton condominiums he developed for $77.5 million, the New York Times reported.

Jeffries bought the 10,882-square-foot unit, on the 30th and 31st floors of 50 Central Park South, for $20 million in 2002 and has now listed it with Kyle Blackmon, the senior vice president of Brown Harris Stevens who recently sold Sandy Weill’s $88 million 15 Central Park West condo. [more]

Donald Trump and Tavern on the Green

Donald Trump may have only just announced his intent to take over the now-shuttered Tavern on the Green a few days ago, but the real estate tycoon is already laying out his vision for the staple Central Park eatery, according to the New York Post. If he is given the reins at the Tavern, Trump said he would demand that the now-demolished Crystal Room dining area be rebuilt, under a new design. “Without a new Crystal Room, you’d have 30 seats,” Trump said of the restaurant, in which he would invest upward of $20 million…. [more]

Tavern on the Green, the warmly ostentatious, perennial tourist favorite nestled in Central Park on the corner of West 66th Street and Central Park West, will host its last group of diners tomorrow before changing hands — and, possibly, names — with new management at the helm. The city awarded management of the 75-year-old Manhattan mainstay to Dean Poll, the manager of the Central Park Boathouse, on Aug. 28, ending the LeRoy family’s 35-year control of the New York City institution. Not long after losing the bid to renew her contract at the restaurant, Jennifer LeRoy, the current license holder and daughter of the late restaurateur Warner LeRoy, announced that the restaurant was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, a move that riled the restaurant’s more than 450 creditors. Earlier this month, The Real Deal’s Amy Tennery attended the Association of Real Estate Women’s holiday luncheon at the soon-to-be-shuttered institution and documented Tavern on the Green’s last holiday season (see slide show above). TRD… [more]

Tavern on the Green, which is slated to close Dec. 31, and Jennifer LeRoy

Eight years after taking the reins at Tavern on the Green, Jennifer LeRoy is bidding farewell to the famed restaurant once operated by her father. The heiress to a once-burgeoning restaurant empire, LeRoy was put in control by her father when she was just 22. Now, after losing a bid to renew her family’s lease at the landmark Central Park restaurant, a Crain’s profile describes LeRoy as angry over “the city’s rejection of her family.” Currently locked in a battle over the rights to the name “Tavern on the Green,” those close to LeRoy say she’s taking the latest legal turmoil — and closure of the restaurant — hard. “Her mind frame is fragile,” Michael Desiderio, COO of the restaurant, said. “Tavern’s closing is heartbreaking for the LeRoy family.”

… [more]

Co-op sales above $5 million in Manhattan increased during the first
half of 2008, compared to last year, while $5 million-plus townhouse
sales decreased, according to a mid-year luxury market report released
by Stribling broker Kirk Henckels. There were 105 co-op sales over $5 million in the year’s first six
months, compared to just 69 during the first half of 2007. Of those 105
sales, 71 were in the $5 million to $10 million range, 21 were between
$10 million and $20 million and 13 were over $20 million. Each category
saw increases from last year.
… [more]

Manhttan’s average rents fell in August, compared to the same time last
year, according to The Real Estate Group’s Manhattan Rental
Market Report. Studios and one-bedrooms and non-doorman two bedrooms all saw declines in rent from the same time last year. The only category that saw a rent increase from last August was
two-bedroom units in doorman buildings, which increased 0.8 percent to
an average rent of $5,750. TRD… [more]

While some retailers, like Steve & Barry’s and Comp USA, are going bankrupt, many of the retail sectors in New York City are staying strong. Brokers say the Meatpacking District, Broadway in Soho and Fifth Avenue are seeing rent increases and new retailers. The growth is largely due to international tourists, rezoning and landlords becoming more flexible about rent to keep their space from becoming vacant.

Real estate firms rich in cash have snatched up the most high-profile
office towers on the market in Manhattan this year, while
highly-leveraged players have been sidelined. Shorenstein Properties
bought two of the seven office buildings that Harry Macklowe needed to
unload, the Park Avenue Tower at 65 East 55th Street and 850 Third
Avenue. Shorenstein, based in San Francisco, had never bought a New
York City property until 2003. Just 44 Manhattan towers have been sold
this year, down 57 percent from last year, according to Real Capital
Analytics. Other newly active buyers include investor Lloyd Goldman and
a joint venture between L&L Holding Co. and Prudential Real Estate
Investors.
… [more]

After two consecutive quarters of vacancy increases, Manhattan’s office
market showed a slight tightening in July from the previous month,
according to a market report published by the brokerage Colliers ABR. The market’s overall vacancy rate decreased to 8.6 percent, down 10
basis points from 8.7 percent in June. Manhattan’s 8.6 percent vacancy
rate represents a 170 basis point increase from 6.9 percent in July
2007. Class A vacancy showed an even more significant recovery, falling to 6.7 percent in July, from 7.0 percent the month before.
… [more]

Rose Associates has dissolved its long-standing relationship with
Bellmarc Realty, which has handled apartment sales for the family-run
company for nearly two decades. Bob Scaglion, managing director of residential marketing at Rose, said
the company is now beefing up its own sales division and handling its
transactions in-house. Scaglion said the companies had been working together for 16 years and
that the amicable break came about two months ago. He said the two
companies had a good relationship, but that Rose now has sales
expertise internally and doesn’t need to farm out the services. TRD
… [more]