From left: French President Francois Hollande, Amy Williamson, vice president of sales at the Trump Soho, and the Trump Soho

Move over Russians — there’s a new nationality set to make its mark on the city’s residential real estate market. According to the New York Times, the French are increasingly looking to invest in New York City real estate following the election of Socialist Francois Hollande as president earlier this month. During his campaign, Hollande promised to tax income over £1 million at a 75 percent clip and raise the tax rate on capital gains in an effort to lessen the country’s £1.3 trillion debt. [more]

From left: Woody Heller and Will Silverman of Studley and 525 Broadway (credit: PropertyShark)

JPMorgan Chase paid $87.5 million for the eight-story Soho building where one of its most popular bank branches is located, in an effort to protect the valuable location, several industry sources said. A number of real estate investors offered to pay around $68 million for the building, 525 Broadway, industry sources said, while others were well into the $80s. [more]

Core CEO Shaun Osher and the site at 15 Renwick Street

New York-based residential real estate firm Izaki Group Investments USA has taken control of a development at 15 Renwick Street in partnership with real estate investment firm Glacier Global Partners, it announced, following a foreclosure auction on the Soho property yesterday. It has tapped residential brokerage Core to head sales at the property.

The partnership is planning a boutique condominium development on the site and plans to break ground this fall, Izaki said; Core will oversee sales at the property as well as another luxury condo project at 93 Worth Street, which will feature 90 apartments, six penthouses and 10,000 square feet of commercial space. [more]

15 Leonard Street

The Landmarks Preservation Commission shot down developer Steven Schnall’s plans to build a nine-story condominium building at 15 Leonard Street in Tribeca, according to Curbed. Schnall had planned to replace two single-story parking garages with a building composed of a two-story glass base topped with five stories of steel residences and a two-story roof addition.

The developer intended to move his family into the two-story base and the cellar, to form a three-floor, 6,000-square-foot maisonette. Below that would be a commercial parking garage. The four lower levels of the five-story middle section would include full-floor, 2,600-square-foot apartments, while the top floor of the middle section and the rooftop addition would form a triplex penthouse. [more]

A rendering of the development at 11 North Moore Street

VE Equities, which yesterday announced a new residential development at 290 West Street, is preparing to break ground on yet another project in its favorite neighborhood, Tribeca.

VE, headed by Zach Vella and Justin Ehrlich, said construction will begin on a new, 20-unit condominium at 11 North Moore Street in the next month or two. The 80,000-square-foot Adjmi + Andreoli-designed condo, which is being developed in partnership with a family that’s owned the land for several decades, is set for completion in around 18 months, Vella said. [more]

From left: Justin Ehrlich and Zach Vella of VE Equities and the site at 290 West Street and Elliman's Fredrik Eklund

VE Equities, the development team behind recent sold-out Tribeca projects like the Carriage House at 60 Collister Street and 471 Washington Street, has purchased a Tribeca development site at 290 West Street, according to public records filed with the city on Friday. The company is planning another luxury residential development on the site, co-founder Zach Vella told The Real Deal today.

VE bought the 85-foot by 85-foot site, which formerly served as a gas station, from Exxon Mobil earlier this month, records show. The company paid $15.46 million for the vacant residential land, which was cleared by Exxon before the sale. [more]

From left: Michael White and Osteria Morini

Better access to celebrated food isn’t enough to compel Soho residents to alter zoning requirements for a renowned chef. DNAinfo reported that James Beard Award-nominated chef Michael White’s plan to expand his Osteria Morini restaurant into a neighboring Lafayette Street retail space was rebuffed by Community Board 2. [more]

50 Varick Street and a rendering of its upgrade

An old Verizon building in Tribeca will soon be home to model photo shoots and fancy rooftop parties. Curbed reported that Estate Four, a development firm that builds working and living spaces for artists, is well underway converting 50 Varick Street into a United States studio outpost of U.K.-based Spring Studios. [more]

From left: Laurence Gluck and 233 Spring Street and 161 Sixth Avenue

Stellar Management President Larry Gluck closed on his purchase of two industrial office buildings in Soho and plans to combine the structures into a single tower, according to the New York Post. Gluck paid $200 million for the 16-story, 320,000-square-foot office building at 161 Sixth Avenue and the 10-story, 250,000-square-foot property at 233 Spring Street, both of which are off the corner of Sixth Avenue and Spring Street. [more]

NestSeekers' Ryan Serhant and the office at 156 Reade Street

Riding on the recent success of “Million Dollar Listing New York,” TV star and NestSeekers International broker Ryan Serhant has been tapped by his firm to head its newest office at 156 Reade Street in Tribeca, he told The Real Deal yesterday.

The 2,000-square-foot Tribeca storefront, NestSeekers’ 10th, will house 40 agents over two floors, Serhant said. The official Serhant team, which currently includes seven NestSeekers employees and is housed at 415 Madison Avenue, is slated to expand to 17 to occupy the space in the coming months, he said. The executive vice president is aggressively recruiting outside the firm. Other NestSeekers agents will relocate from other office to fill the remainder of the space. [more]