Top row, from left: Howard and Steve Rubenstein, Donald Trump, Mort Zuckerman; bottom row, from left: Jerry Speyer, Dottie Herman and Pamela Liebman

Mayor Michael Bloomberg is the most powerful man in New York City — so says the New York Observer, which released its annual list of the top 150 most powerful New Yorkers. This year’s ranking included 24 influential real estate players, including real estate PR bigwigs Howard and Steve Rubenstein of Rubenstein Communications (ranked 17th and 78th, respectively), Donald Trump (19th), Boston Properties honcho Mort Zuckerman (20th), Tishman Speyer co-founder Jerry Speyer, Prudential Douglas Elliman CEO Dottie Herman (53rd) and Pamela Liebman, president and CEO of the Corcoran Group (89th). The list included a handful of surprises, as well. TRD [more]

Jeff Sutton

From the December issue: When asked last month about investor Jeff Sutton, a spokesperson for a major commercial brokerage innocently responded: “Who’s that?” The question is a telling one for someone who has in the last two decades built up a portfolio, mostly of New York City retail properties, that may be worth upward of $1 billion. While Sutton is well known to the small community of retail brokers, investment sales players and other high-level executives in the industry, what’s surprising is just how many people in New York City real estate don’t know him, or his company, Wharton Properties. [more]

From left: James Stuckey, dean of the NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate and Michael Fascitelli, CEO of Vornado Realty Trust; Panelists from left: Larry Silverstein, Michael Fascitelli, Willliam Mack, Marc Holliday and Bill Rudin

“Sometimes being a REIT felt like being between a dog and a fire hydrant,” Vornado Realty Trust CEO Michael Fascitelli said this afternoon, reflecting on the past couple of years in the industry before a packed ballroom at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel, and pausing for effect.

But no longer.

While public real estate investment trusts suffered significant losses in the immediate aftermath of the real estate crash, they’ve bounced back with impressive vigor, Fascitelli said. Plus, he offered as proof, there were very few bankruptcies.

Speaking on a panel at NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate’s annual conference on capital markets, Fascitelli was joined by Marc Holliday, who said that life is pretty good over at SL Green right now, too. [more]

James Mead

Real estate investment trust SL Green Realty has appointed James Mead as the company’s CFO, effective Dec. 1. He will succeed Gregory Hughes. Mead, 51, previously served as the CFO for Strategic Hotels and Resorts, a Chicago-based REIT specializing in high-end properties. Earlier in his career, Mead also worked at JPMorgan Chase, where he was a vice president, and at the Irvine Company, where he was treasurer and CFO. “We’re thrilled to be able to bring in Jim Mead, a veteran executive with deep knowledge of REIT financial operations and a strong track record with other public companies,” said Marc Holliday, CEO of SL Green. “We anticipate a smooth transition, even as we lose one of the industry’s great CFOs.” TRD

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SL Green CEO Marc Holliday, 3 Columbus

The Moinian Group has struck a deal with SL Green to recapitalize its stake in 1775 Broadway, recently renamed 3 Columbus Circle, a 768,565-square-foot office tower on Eighth Avenue between 57th and 58th streets, the firms announced today. The deal, which includes a standby mortgage commitment and a possible future investment agreement, will free up funds for Moinian, who defaulted on a $250 million mortgage on the building in March. Moinian, who will keep roughly 51 percent of the building while handing over a 49 percent stake to SL Green, is said to be [more]

Marc Holliday

SL Green Realty CEO Marc Holliday is feeling optimistic. The commercial real estate behemoth has raised its performance expectations for 2010, predicting that earnings per share could hit as much as $4.75 by the end of the year. The company’s previous earnings guidance suggested that earnings per share would reach anywhere between $3.90 and $4.10 by 2010′s end. Holliday said that recent events have influnced his company’s outlook. “The repayment of our loans in connection with the sale of 510 Madison Avenue marks the conclusion of one of SL Green’s most successful debt investments to date,” Holliday said, noting that gradually stabilizing market conditions have also shaped his outlook. “We are pleased with the steady improvement of the New York City office market in 2010, both on the leasing and investment fronts.” TRD

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SL Green Realty, the largest commercial landlord in Manhattan, is poised to enact portfolio-wide rent hikes, according to Crain’s, as leasing activity in office space begins to gradually stabilize. Steven Durels, director of leasing and property at SL Green, said that it’s too early to tell precisely how much the rates could climb for his company’s 30-building portfolio, which encompasses around 22 million square feet. If the across-the-board rent hikes are enforced, Durels said they would take place in the next two months. Additionally, SL Green plans to reduce the number of tenant incentives it handed out during the recession. “In spaces where there had been no activity [in the past several months], we are now in active lease negotiations,” Durels said. “It feels pretty good.” [Crain's]

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While SL Green failed to scoop up 510 Madison Avenue last week, after Boston Properties announced it had reached a deal to buy the troubled Macklowe building for $317 million, it does stand to gain a tidy windfall from the property, according to Crain’s. Once Boston Properties closes on the deal, SL Green will gain a $50 million profit on the two discounted loans it purchased on the building last year — marking a 50 percent return on the investment. Anthony Paolone, an analyst for JPMorgan Chase who has researched the deal, said that SL Green has reason to celebrate, even though it didn’t win the ultimate prize. “[SL Green] almost certainly wanted to own 510 Madison given its location and quality, but we think the sale of the asset and the ultimate payoff of the debts [owed to SL Green] is nonetheless a lucrative outcome for the company,” Paolone said. [Crain's]

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510 Madison Avenue, Harry Macklowe of Macklowe Properties (top) and Marc Holliday of SL Green (bottom)

Harry Macklowe and SL Green Realty have reached an agreement on 510 Madison Avenue, the 30-story tower on which SL Green recently purchased the debt and then tried to foreclose. The ownership battle headed to court earlier this year, hindering already-struggling efforts to lease the building. Under the agreement, Macklowe has until next March to repay loans to SL Green. The balance on those loans as of March of this year, when the loans were due, was around $253.1 million, plus $131,548 in interest. If Macklowe fails to pay it back by the deadline — plus a loan extension payment of $822,500 by Sept. 1 — he has agreed not to fight an SL Green foreclosure. Thus far, Macklowe has signed just one tenant for the building, investment firm Jay Goldman, which is trying to back out of the lease. [Crain's]

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510 Madison Avenue, Harry Macklowe of Macklowe Properties (top) and Marc Holliday of SL Green (bottom)

Harry Macklowe and SL Green Realty have reached an agreement on 510 Madison Avenue, the 30-story tower on which SL Green recently purchased the debt and then tried to foreclose. The ownership battle headed to court earlier this year, hindering already-struggling efforts to lease the building. Under the agreement, Macklowe has until next March to repay loans to SL Green. The balance on those loans as of March of this year, when the loans were due, was around $253.1 million, plus $131,548 in interest. If Macklowe fails to pay it back by the deadline — plus a loan extension payment of $822,500 by Sept. 1 — he has agreed not to fight an SL Green foreclosure. Thus far, Macklowe has signed just one tenant for the building, investment firm Jay Goldman, which is trying to back out of the lease. [Crain's]

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