Kent Swig

Kent Swig, the real estate developer whose Sheffield57 is considered one of the most troubled condo conversion efforts in New York City history, is rushing to form a real estate investment trust as a means of paying back the $50 million he owes lenders, according to Crain’s. The plan, which has reportedly been in the works for months, would involve grouping together a collection of Swig’s properties in the REIT, doling out shares to investors and then taking the REIT public. The only hitch, however, is that all of Swig’s creditors and lenders have to agree on the plan before it can be enacted — and the lenders are reportedly growing tired of the ongoing negotiations.
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From the February issue: When all else fails, there’s always the stock market. That seems to be
the mantra of many real estate companies that, faced with few options
for raising cash, are turning to the equity markets and issuing initial
public offerings.
Real estate investment trusts, or REITs, sold nearly $3 billion
worth of IPOs last year. Nine REITs went public, making REITs the
second most popular type of IPO after tech firms.
The list included some big names, such as Starwood Property Trust,
New York City-based Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Colony
Financial and, most recently, Pebblebrook Hotel Trust.
Sources say these REITs are coming to market with IPOs for several key reasons. [more]

U.S. stocks grew progressively higher today, according to a report from Fox Business News, with the real estate investment trust sector performing particularly strongly. Retail property owner and operator Diversified Realty was among the strong showings in the REIT market, rising about 10 percent, while the SPDR Dow Jones REIT ETF, an index that seeks to reflect the returns seen in the Dow Jones Select REIT Index, gained about 2 percent.

Marc Holliday, the CEO of real estate investment trust SL Green, which, with 23 million square feet under its belt, is one of the largest commercial office building landlords in Manhattan, sat down with the New York Times to discuss his predictions for the Manhattan office sector and his group’s bid for the aqueduct race track project. Holliday said that SL Green hasn’t seen its occupancy levels drop much from the company’s 2005-2006 peak, and that many of its tenants are beginning to rebound. “We’re starting to see signs of improvement in our tenants’ businesses: they’re beginning to hire again; they’re making more money; they seem to be more optimistic,” Holliday said. As for the long-awaited decision on the winning bidder for the Aqueduct race track project, Holliday isn’t holding his breath for an announcement any time soon. “The state has indicated that a selection will be made shortly, but I think the evidence is such that that’s been the case for many months now, so you really can’t point to [an announcement] date,” Holliday said.

From the November issue: The amount of free rent that landlords are offering to entice reluctant tenants to sign contracts has hit record levels in the current downturn, despite the fact that asking rents have started to stabilize in parts of the Manhattan leasing market. In the third quarter, two Midtown leases were signed with 17 and 18 months of free rent — double the average of eight and a half months, figures from the most recent report from commercial services firm CB Richard Ellis showed. Some industry professionals said even longer rent-free periods were being negotiated. “For some landlords it may be advantageous to give more free rent [but] with a higher rent [per square foot],” he said. The free rent was just one element of a soft Manhattan leasing market that saw a 1 percent decline in September asking rents. Those rents fell to $50.78 from $51.28 per square foot the month earlier, the CBRE data shows. Average asking rents are now down 29 percent from the peak of $71.92 per square foot in July 2008.