Related Companies Chairman Stephen Ross Related Companies Chairman Stephen Ross appeared on CNBC today to explain his support for Mitt Romney in the upcoming presidential election (see video after the jump), most recently exhibited by a fundraiser he threw for the candidate two weeks ago in Florida. [more]

Rendering of Walmart at Gateway II

If Walmart is going to make its long-awaited move to the city, it better act fast, Crain’s said.

The retail giant’s public relations campaign, led by a $4 million donation last July that saved the Summer Youth Employment Program, has helped score points with politicians, including Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and make the public far more amenable to the prospect of a Walmart in New York. [more]

From left: 511 West 25th Street, One Madison Park and 225 Rector Place

Related Companies has closed the distressed asset fund that purchased debt on Manhattan properties including One Madison Park and 225 Rector Place (also known as Rector Square), BusinessWeek reported.

The Related Real Estate Recovery Fund garnered $825 million of commitments, $75 million more than it targeted, to invest mostly in distressed debt with an eye on taking ownership of the properties. [more]

From left: Related President Jeff Blau, the exterior of the Chatham and the interior of Blau's apartment

Related Companies President Jeff Blau has finally found a buyer for his customized penthouse at the Chatham condominium on the Upper East Side, according to public records filed with the city today.

The two-bedroom, three-bathroom penthouse, which was initially listed with Leighton Candler of the Corcoran Group last April for $18.9 million and later dropped its price to $15.7 million with Cathy Franklin and Alexis Bodenheimer of Brown Harris Stevens, ultimately fetched an even $14 million, records show. Franklin and Bodenheimer were not immediately available for comment. [more]

Determined to cut costs at its $4 billion Hudson Yards project, the Related Companies has reached outside the typical pot of New York City contractors and inked a California company. Crain’s said the impact of the unusual selection could reverberate throughout the city’s local construction industry.

Related chose Tutor Perini Corp. for the project because, unlike its New York counterparts, the firm owns subcontractors that can complete all facets of the construction project. [more]

Snowmass Village, Colo.

Related Cos. is facing a $32 million fraud lawsuit from German lender Hypo Real Estate, stemming from the collapse of a multi-million dollar ski resort in Snowmass Village, Colo.

According to the suit, filed last Wednesday in New York state Supreme Court, Hypo led a syndicate of banks on a $520 million loan to finance the Base Village project at Snowmass Village. Part of the financing included $32.55 million in municipal bonds. [more]

From left: MiMA, One Jackson Square and Jasmine Mir, senior vice president of Corcoran Sunshine who is marketing the buildingAs new residential developments begin returning to the city’s skyline, the New York Times directed its attention to the names bestowed upon them.

According to Elizabeth Hawes, the author of a historical book about city apartments, the practice began at the turn of the century as a way of “validating the decision to live in an apartment.” She added: “it was pretentious but reassuring.”

Today, names are used to sell or rent apartments and marketing teams have several factors to consider when branding buildings. First and foremost, they must consider the developer’s vision for the building. [more]

Pembrook Capital CEO Stuart Boesky and 511 West 25th Street (building credit: PropertyShark)A Related Companies private equity fund has purchased a nine-story office building near the High Line for $93 million, or $450 per square foot, Crain’s reported.

The 195,000-square-foot property, at 511 West 25th Street, between 10th and 11th avenues, was controlled by Pembrook Capital. Pembrook took ownership in May 2010 after the then-owners failed to repay a loan. According to public records, the building was previously controlled by Halcyon Real Estate Partners, which picked it up for $48.75 million in 2008. [more]

From left: Related Companies President Jeff Blau and a 51st floor residence at MiMA

The Related Companies has switched its strategy at MiMA in Midtown West, the Wall Street Journal reported, and will now lease the nearly complete top-floor units it had long been planning to sell.

Since development began on the 63-story, 814-unit building at 450 West 42nd Street near 10th Avenue, Related had said it would reserve the 151 apartments on the top 13 floors for condominium sales. But now the developer has plans to market them as ultra high-end rentals, with three-bedroom units commanding as much as $20,000 per month. [more]

From left: The Kingsbridge Armory, a rendering of the mall at Bay Plaza and the Stella D’Oro factory

While three massive retail projects are pushing forward elsewhere in the Bronx, residents in the Kingsbridge neighborhood are dismayed by the lack of progress at a retail development site of their own. But according to Crain’s they need to look no further than “living wage” bill protests to explain the lack of development at the Kingsbridge Armory complex.

Two years ago the Related Companies had wanted to develop a shopping mall at the five-acre site with a large public subsidy, and promised 1,000 construction and 1,200 permanent jobs. But community opponents demanded that tenants of the taxpayer-funded mall pay their staff at least $10 per hour. Related balked. [more]