From the October issue: New York City is at a peculiar crossroads. For months, investors have
marshaled unprecedented amounts of capital, salivating at the prospect
of snapping up distressed properties. “We’re fortunate this cycle to
have the most dry powder in our
history,” Blackstone Group president Tony James said last month at the
Barclays Capital Global Financial Services Conference, which was held
in Manhattan. The firm has about $28 billion in unspent capital, he
said. About $12 billion of that is earmarked for real estate. “We’re
just beginning what will be the best period in decades for private
investing,” he said. Dan Fasulo, a managing director at Real Capital
Analytics, estimated
that $50 billion has been raised and is ready to be deployed into
distressed real estate. Paradoxically, investors have found very little
worth buying so far, in large part because banks continue to hold
troubled loans on their books, hoping conditions will improve. [more]

Condominiums in Brooklyn, including BellTel Lofts, One Hanson Place and Oro, still have empty retail spaces. Two of the buildings have lost out on national retailers — BellTel was in discussions with Starbucks, and One Hanson Place lost Borders as a tenant — and now retail brokers are focusing on attracting local tenants. According to Lawrence Lee, vice president with Prudential Douglas Elliman’s Bracha Group, which represents BellTel, said they are looking for a locally owned lounge, restaurant or small grocer. Paul Rich of TerraCRG, who is marketing Oro’s space, said people have approached the company to open a diner or restaurant in the space. And at One Hanson Place, the 15,000-square-foot ground-floor space is being rented for weddings and special events. According to Caroline Pardo, director of leasing at Two Trees Management, “There are definitely more mom-and-pops looking right now than big national tenants.” [Post] and [Post]