Jones Lang LaSalle has hired the Newmark Knight Frank team of Paul Berkman, Craig Slosberg, Davie Berke and Justin Haber, according to a statement from JLL today. The team will head JLL’s expansion of its tenant representation practice in the retail sector. [more]

From left: Silverstein Properties President Larry Silverstein and Jones Lang LaSalle Tri-State President Peter Riguardi

The slow pace of Manhattan leasing is “shocking,” Jones Lang LaSalle Tri-State President Peter Riguardi told the New York Post, as leasing activity through February was down 40 percent from the same two months in 2011.

Commercial landlords and real estate brokers alike are becoming frustrated with the lack of activity and the negative absorption since the final three months of 2011, the Post said. [more]

From left: 4 MetroTech Center and Peter Riguardi, president at Jones Lang LaSalle

Deutsche Bank, the Frankfurt-based investment and financial services institution, will take 50,000 square feet of space at 4 MetroTech Center in Downtown Brooklyn, the New York Observer reported.

The bank will house its operations and other less-than-vital staff at the building, owned by JPMorgan Chase, which was chosen for its proximity to Deutsche’s Financial District office, at 60 Wall Street.

Deutsche’s offices in Manhattan are at 120 West 45th Street, 1251 Sixth Avenue, 345 Park Avenue, 622 Broadway and 885 Third Avenue, the Observer said.
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From the December issue: As 2011 draws to a close, real estate executives and brokers say it’s now clear that office tenants made faster leasing decisions this year than last. The coming off the fence was driven, professionals say, by the realization that the economy was not likely to experience any major changes — for better or worse — anytime soon.

Peter Braus, managing principal at commercial firm Lee & Associates, which last month announced an affiliation with Midtown-based Sierra Realty, said the mood in 2011 was a recognition that the economy was not going to turn around right away.

“[This year] has been more of a realization that the recessionary economy is here to stay — at least for the foreseeable future,” he said. [more]

From left: JLL New York President Peter Riguardi, 330 Madison Avenue, CBRE New York CEO Mary Ann Tighe and 200 Park Avenue

Commercial brokerages CBRE and Jones Lang LaSalle are best known for finding office space for businesses in need, but each firm is quietly moving into new spaces of its own.

The Wall Street Journal reported that after inking deals in 2010, CBRE recently moved into new offices in the Met Life Building at 200 Park Avenue and JLL will soon take up space at 330 Madison Avenue.

JLL pays about $60 for each of its 82,000 square feet, and spent $20.5 million renovating the space. [more]

From left: Edward Minskoff, founder of Minskoff Equities, Paul Glickman, vice chairman of Jones Lang LaSalle, a rendering of 51 Astor Place and Robert Futterman

Minskoff Equities has tapped commercial real estate brokerage Jones Lang LaSalle to market the office space at 51 Astor Place, the company’s forthcoming 400,000-square-foot property, which is currently under construction near Cooper Union, company founder Edward Minskoff told The Real Deal today. Robert K. Futterman & Associates will be marketing the property’s retail component, he said.

“Jones Lang LaSalle had good market coverage for the tenants out there that we feel strongly about — stronger than other firms,” Minskoff said. “They represent a lot of the tech tenants and financial tenants that we feel are our most promising [prospects.]”

As for Futterman, Minskoff said he had a long and successful relationship with the brokerage, making it the obvious choice for the retail at the East Village building, which is slated to be completed by 2013. [more]

From left: Trump Organization Chairman and President Donald Trump, Naftali Group CEO Miki Naftali and Jones Lang LaSalle President of New York operations Peter Riguardi

September marks The Real Deal’s 100th magazine issue (to be posted online tomorrow). In it, we will be bringing you some of the stories that made the biggest impact on us and on the market. In the meantime, here is what some industry execs have to say about The Real Deal’s magazine milestone as well as about what The Real Deal has meant to them in the publication’s eight-year existence. For example, Donald Trump, chairman and president of the Trump Organization, said: “The Real Deal has become more comprehensive in its coverage of the real estate industry in New York City and it has also become a valuable source of information. The Real Deal has done a terrific job.” Compiled by Lauren Elkies

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Peter Riguardi

From the September issue: Peter Riguardi is the president of New York operations for Jones Lang LaSalle. He is the son of Edward Riguardi, who worked for 29 years at Williams Real Estate (now Colliers International). Riguardi talked to The Real Deal about rubbing shoulders with Bruce Springsteen, meeting his wife in high school and the two industry leaders he’s always competing with. Click here for more.

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Avon, the beauty giant which had reportedly been angling for nearly 250,000 square feet at the William Kaufman Organization’s 777 Third Avenue, made the deal official last night after less than three months of negotiations, the Post reported. The 15-year lease on floors two through 11 outsizes all leases signed in 2009, with the exception of the Gap’s move to 40 Worth Street. Sources told the Post that Avon will receive one year of free rent, after which the company will initially pay in the low $40s per square foot. Rent will gradually increase from there to the low $50s per square foot. Avon, which is currently located at 1251 Avenue of the Americas, plans to move to 777 Third Avenue in early 2011. It is keeping its smaller offices at 1345 Sixth Avenue for the time being. Avon’s new digs were previously occupied by Grey Group, an advertising firm that relocated to 200 Fifth Avenue. Peter Riguardi and Frank Doyle of Jones Lang LaSalle and Michael Lenchner of Sage Realty represented the Kaufman Organization in the deal. CB Richard Ellis’ Jon Zuckerman and Leonard DiMicelli with Cushman & Wakefield’s Dale Schlather represented Avon. [Post]

From left: Peter Riguardi, Don Capoccia, Frederick Peters, Roger Erickson and Daun Paris

Although many end-of-the-year residential and commercial real estate sales reports have yet to arrive, a new year grants the license to look back and evaluate how predictions and prognostications made last year panned out over the past 12 months. Many of the experts The Real Deal talked to last year had a bleak outlook for 2009 — and rightly so. But others missed the mark, either with too-optimistic predictions for recovery or overreaching pessimism that — if it’s possible — actually overstated how devastating the market would ultimately prove to be in 2009. Here, The Real Deal looks back at some of the top claims and predictions made in the beginning of last year to see who hit the nail on the head and who missed the mark.  More

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