210 Joralemon Street
United American Land has closed on the 50,000 square-foot commercial condominium at 210 Joralemon Street, commonly known as the Brooklyn Municipal Building, for $10 million, the developer told The Real Deal. United American won a request for proposal from the city last year to redevelop the three floors of retail at the building, between Court Street and Boerum Place in Downtown Brooklyn. [more]
The real estate investment firm owned by the Laboz family, United American
Land, paid Brooklyn Law School $10.7 million for a 12-story dormitory building at
184 Joralemon in Brooklyn Heights which was caught up in a four-month contract
dispute, a source close to the deal said.
United American closed on the purchase of the 30,000-square-foot Beaux Arts
property, between Court and Clinton streets, last Thursday. The company and
the law school confirmed the sale, but did not provide details on the price.
The buyer, led by brothers Albert, Jody and Jason Laboz, plans to renovate the
23-unit building, “and introduce modern, luxury residential rentals, which are
in great demand in this Brooklyn Heights submarket,” Albert, a principal, said.
He expected to offer the units, most of which are two-bedrooms, at between
$3,500 per month and $5,000 per month. The developer was still studying what
amenities the building would have. [more]
Clockwise from top left: Mayor Michael Bloomberg, 210 Joralemon Street (credit: PropertyShark) and Al Laboz
Mayor Michael Bloomberg will pick Albert Laboz’s United American Land to redevelop the Brooklyn Municipal Building in Downtown Brooklyn as a retail destination, sources told NY1. The city has been in the process of relocating its offices in some prime Downtown Brooklyn buildings, including the municipal building at 210 Joralemon Street, in an effort to spur retail growth in the area and cut costs. Borough President Marty Markowitz had hoped for an Apple Store in the 37,000-square-foot space, but according to NY1, a high-end supermarket or furniture store is the most likely tenant for the space. [more]
Albert Laboz and his latest residential development, Soho Mews
Albert Laboz, chairman of the Fulton Mall Improvement Association and developer of the glassy new Soho Mews condominium, has added another Soho property to his family’s bu [more]
A series of attorney general’s office rulings favoring the developer of Soho Mews may signal a turning point for condo buyers looking to break their contracts at boom-era new developments across the city. At the West Broadway and Canal Street project, 31 of the 68 units were in contract before the real estate collapse. To date, only 15 apartments have closed, and developer Albert Laboz of United American Land has been hit with seven complaints by buyers looking to get their deposits back. In five cases, deposits were given to the developer after the buyers’ complaints — about an error in the description of the property and about misrepresentations of the closing date — were found to be insignificant. Another buyer settled and the seventh had raised a question about federal law, so that case was not decided. While lawyers for buyers in similar pending litigation at New York City condo developments said their own claims were based on more substantive errors, John D’Agostino, a lawyer for Soho Mews, said the decisions were a turning point. [NYT]
It seems like an unlikely scenario: A team of luxury interior stylists decorates your property for free, stuffing it with pricy furnishings, taking professional photos of it and then publishing them in a nationwide magazine. But for the developers of some unsold high-end condo units in New York City, the dream can be reality. Albert Laboz, a principal with United American Land, is one such developer. One of his unsold units at the Soho Mews at 311 West Broadway was photographed for Town & Country magazine, among others, which he let the publication use at no cost. Laboz said that the response from the photo shoot has been noteworthy.” The traffic uptick is tremendous,” Laboz said, noting that this tactic is part of a shifting promotional strategy among developers. “It’s no secret that the market is challenging.” Laboz’s unit is one of at least three homes that has swung its doors wide — and for free — for designers looking to showcase their work on the cheap.
