From left: Ashkenazy Acquisition Chairman and CEO Ben Ashkenazy, Robert Knakal, John Ciraulo, Craig Waggner and Jonathan Hageman of Massey Knakal Realty Associates and 235 East 14th Street

[Updated at 4:50 p.m. with quote from Bob Knakal] Just over a year after buying a bland, mixed-use building on the border of the East Village for less than $4 million, retail-focused landlord Ashkenazy Acquisition is ramping up efforts to sell that location, which is home to a popular International House of Pancakes restaurant, for $14.5 million.

That extraordinary, potential growth in value at 235 East 14th Street, between Second and Third avenues, is due to the long-term IHOP lease inked at the building last year, property sales marketing material shows. But that valuable lease was a bit of an inside deal, because Ashkenazy Acquisition Chairman and CEO Ben Ashkenazy is a managing member of the company that owns the IHOP franchise rights in the tri-state area. [more]

From left: Bob Knakal and Paul Massey of Massey Knakal and Stephen DeNardo, CEO of RiverOak

An equity fund formed by Massey Knakal Realty Services and RiverOak Investment at the end of 2011 is gearing up to begin closing deals this spring, Crain’s reported.

The fund, which currently sits at $6 million but is slated to raise around $50 million, will specialize in providing $3 million to $5 million for small- and mid-sized deals in New York City valued up to $25 million. [more]

127 Seventh Avenue

The heir to one of New York City’s great real estate fortunes is continuing to accumulate properties although recently focusing on modest-priced retail investments.

Lloyd Goldman’s BLDG Acquisition is in contract to buy a retail condo at the Yves, a condominium at 127 Seventh Avenue at 18th Street with 2,064 square feet on the ground floor from the property’s developer, Ben Shaoul’s Magnum Real Estate Group, a document filed this past Friday with the city shows. [more]

From left: Ben Fox, executive vice president of retail leasing at Massey Knakal, a rendering of 837 Washington Street and the Helmut Lang store at 230 Columbus Avenue

While high rents are cooling the retail leasing environment in the trendy Meatpacking District, years of construction have pushed rents down on Columbus Avenue in the Upper West Side and suddenly fashion outlets are flocking to the uptown thoroughfare.

Citing Massey Knakal figures, Crain’s reported that there are at least two dozen availabilities along 14th street west of Fifth Avenue. [more]

The largest development parcel in Queens is up for sale, but a buyer is going to struggle to build anything other than 52 single-family homes on the 18-acre, waterfront site. The New York Daily News reported that the former industrial site 151-45 6th Road hit the market in December with Stephen Preuss, first vice president of sales at Massey Knakal Realty Services, who said it will “sell for a very deep discount.” [more]

A stalled condominium project at 290 Mulberry Street is slated to be revived as a rental building, after being purchased by a mystery buyer for $25 million, Crain’s reported.

The 12-story building, opposite to the Puck Building on Houston Street, was initially conceived as a condo with eight full-floor apartments and a shared 2,600-square-foot terrace by former owner Cardinal Real Estate Investments, said Michael DeCheser, director of sales at Massey Knakal Realty Services, which marketed the building in the spring. However, the new owners have decided to change course.

“I’m told it will be finished as a rental,” DeCheser said. [more]

A prime West Chelsea development site could be home to a new hotel, Crain’s reported.

The 12,083-square-foot parcel, which is right now home to a seven-story, mixed-use loft building, also comes with air rights from nearby properties, James Nelson, a partner at Massey Knakal Realty Services, which has been retained exclusively to market the site, told Crain’s.

The buildings at 146-148 West 28th Street and parking lot at 140-144 West 28th Street offer 170,000 feet of buildable space, Crain’s said, and so could make the perfect site for a new hotel, as many other have sprung up in the area of late — such as the Ace Hotel and Hotel Eventi — and New York City seems to be able to absorb an inexhaustible supply of lodging.
[more]

From left: The UGL, CPEX and Cassidy Turley parties

The city’s commercial firms generally went with scaled-down holiday parties as the industry licked it wounds in 2011 after making it through a difficult year.

Many commercial firms opted for low-key themes either by spending fewer dollars or going for a less formal environment, for example at least two opted for bowling, and CBRE Group headed to the circus. [more]

The largest development site in Queens is on the block, Crain’s reports.

The 18-acre property, at 151-45 Sixth Road in Queens’ Whitestone neighborhood, has been approved for 52 single-family homes, Stephen Preuss, vice president of sales at Massey Knakal, which is exclusively marketing the property, told Crain’s. In addition, the plot includes six underwater acres that could be used to build docks or a marina, Preuss said.

The previous owner defaulted on his loan and the site was foreclosed on by the lender, Preuss said.
[more]

From left: Sam Zell of Equity Residential, Bob Toll of Toll Brothers, Will Silverman, Woody Heller, both of Studley, and 400 Park Avenue South

In the most expensive development site deal of the year so far, home builder Toll Brothers and real estate investment trust Equity Residential partnered in reportedly paying $134 million for a large development site at 400 Park Avenue South.

The joint venture plans to build a 40-story condominium and rental apartment tower at the Park Avenue South and 28th Street site, which has 400,000 square feet of development rights, the companies said in a statement.

Sam Zell’s Equity Residential will own and operate the lower 22 floors with 265 rental apartments and retail, while Toll Brothers will build and sell about 100 condo units on the upper floors, the Wall Street Journal reported. [more]