SL Green CEO Marc Holliday and Hines Interest founder Gerald Hines
SL Green Realty has brought in Hines Interest to help the firm in a rare ground-up construction attempt across the street from Grand Central Terminal, according to the Wall Street Journal. The move marks the first step forward for the firm’s planned 1.2 million-square-foot building along Madison Avenue between 42nd and 43rd streets, since it acquired its last needed lot, at 51 East 42nd Street, in December. [more]
Ruby Foo's at 1626 Broadway
The Times Square restaurant Ruby Foo’s is fighting to renew its lease at 1626 Broadway after the 36-story office tower was acquired last May by a U.S. division of the Kuwaiti Investment Authority in one of the priciest deals of the year.
An affiliate of the 300-seat Pan-Asian restaurant filed documents in New York Supreme Court last week seeking a ruling that would prevent the new landlord, Fosterlane Management, from trying to find a new tenant to replace it in the space. [more]
From left: Sam Zell, Jeff Blau and Jerry Speyer
From the February issue: Until a few years ago, Brazil was but a Plan B among America’s real estate investors. Now they increasingly view South America’s largest nation as a lucrative, and safe, haven for commercial property investment.
“Brazil is a democracy, Brazil has a free press, Brazil elected a left-wing president back in 2002,” Hines Interests senior vice president Doug Munro told The Real Deal by phone last month from his São Paulo office. “Brazil [now] has control over its inflation concerns of the past. In the 1980s, Brazil was just a basket case in terms of the management of its economy. [more]
From top left: SL Green President Andrew Mathias, Darcy Stacom and Bill Shanahan, vice chairmen of CBRE; at right: 10 East 53rd Street
SL Green Realty agreed to purchase the HarperCollins Building from Hines Interests for $252.5 million, the firm announced in a press release yesterday. An unnamed partner joined SL Green in the acquisition of the 390,000-square-foot office tower at 10 East 53rd Street, between Madison and Fifth avenues, and will hold a 55 percent stake in the property.
Darcy Stacom and Bill Shanahan, vice chairmen of CBRE Group, represented Hines in the transaction, which earlier reports estimated would be worth $242 million. Hines purchased the property for $58.3 million in 1993. [more]
From left: Tishman Speyer CEO Jerry Speyer, Hines Interests Chairman Gerald Hines and Simon Property Group CEO David SimonAs commercial construction remains stagnant in America, several high-profile American developers have turned to China for new projects, including several with notable ties to New York.
But for all the obstacles these developers are accustomed to encountering in the city, according to the New York Times there are even more hurdles to clear in China.
In addition to the obvious language and cultural barriers — for example, the Chinese do not consider a contract a binding agreement, and disputes with tenants are better settled over dinner than in a court room — unpredictable policy, layers of bureaucracy and the necessity of building local relationships make the prospect of development difficult. … [more]
Already behind the controversial MoMA Tower and a new Bryant Park tower, perpetually under-the-radar real estate firm Hines Interests is undertaking another major project, the New York Observer reported in a lengthy profile, by reviving the stalled 56 Leonard Street condominium project in Tribeca.
The Herzog & de Mueron-designed 57-story condo was first announced by developer Alexico Group a month before Lehman Brothers collapsed, and even sold four of its planned 145 units. But the recession took the plans for the building down with it, and the site currently has a foundation and little else. Typical of the understated firm, Hines refused to divulge much detail other than to say it would become another of Herzog & de Mueron’s “global landmarks.”… [more]
Kuwaiti investment firm Fosterlane Management, the former owner of the Lipstick Building and 350 Park Avenue, is getting back into the New York City real estate game with the purchase of Hines Interests’ 750 Seventh Avenue for $485 million, or roughly $808 per square foot, the Post reported. Earlier this week, the Observer reported that the 600,000-square-foot tower near 49th Street tower was in contract to sell to an anonymous offshore investor. Hines purchased the 36-story tower, half of which is occupied by Morgan Stanley, for $150 million in 2000 through a partnership with General Motors. … [more]
Hines Interests is in contract to sell off 750 Seventh Avenue, the 600,000-square-foot tower at 48th Street, to an offshore investor after drawing interest from at least 20 to 30 bidders, according to the Observer. It’s unclear what the still-anonymous buyer has agreed to pay for the 36-story building, which was acquired by Hines for $150 million in 2000 through a partnership with General Motors and is half-occupied by Morgan Stanley. Other tenants include Ernst & Young and Mendes and Mount. CB Richard Ellis brokers Darcy Stacom and Bill Shanahan had been quietly shopping the property to investors, and according to one source, prospective buyer activity was “through the roof.” [NYO]
Hines Interests is looking to sell its 600,000-square-foot tower at 750 Seventh Avenue and has tapped commercial powerbroker Darcy Stacom of CB Richard Ellis to handle the deal, sources told the Observer. The real estate investment firm purchased the 32-story building, half of which is occupied by Morgan Stanley, for $150 million in 2000 through a partnership with General Motors. That works out to $260 per square foot. It’s unclear what Hines will be hoping to fetch for the 48th Street property, which is also home to Ernst & Young and Mendes and Mount, as it’s not officially on the market yet. [NYO]
The retail space at 40 Mercer, the Jean Nouvel-designed condo developed by Hines Interests and Andre Balazs, has sold for $41.9 million to a company called GLL Real Estate Partners, city records show. The space, which has a street address of 465 Broadway, contains 9,400 square feet of space at the ground level. When it hit the market in June 2008, it was leased to high-end retailers Bose, Dermalogica and Vivienne Tam and to a Wachovia Bank. Studley’s Woody Heller reportedly had the listing, and at the time, he predicted that the retail condo would go for roughly $50 million. He declined to comment to the Observer yesterday. [NYO]
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