From left: the exterior of 41 Bond Street, a model apartment and Fred Gehring, CEO of Tommy Hilfiger

By Lauren Elkies and Adam Fusfeld
Fred Gehring, CEO at Tommy Hilfiger, has closed on the purchase of a 2,592-square-foot condominium unit at 41 Bond Street.
Gehring bought unit 7 from the developer, DDG Partners, for $7.07 million, in a deal that closed Dec. 13, according to public records filed with the city yesterday.
The floor-through three-bedroom, 3.5-bath home with private outdoor space and custom-designed fireplace is one of seven in the nine-story Noho building. [more]

Uncertainty in the financial market has begun slowing down a two-year rebound in the commercial real estate industry, the Wall Street Journal reported, with companies that had been looking for large chunks of office space now delaying their plans. As the article notes, fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger’s plans to convert the Metropolitan Life clock tower, a 1909 office building near Manhattan’s Madison Square Park, into a hotel and luxury condo collapsed this month after Hilfiger and his investment partner weren’t able to secure enough financing.

But some other investors say that the recent turbulence is not more than a bump in the road before commercial real estate values resume their upward march toward near-peak levels in areas such as New York and Washington. [more]

From left: Fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger, Lev Leviev Africa Israel chairman and 5 Madison

Tommy Hilfiger’s plan to buy the Clock Tower building for $170 million
has fallen apart because he has been unable to secure financing, Crain’s
reported. Together with real estate investment company JSR, he had
intended to purchase the property at 5 Madison Avenue between 23rd and 24th streets from Africa
Israel, and convert it in to a luxury hotel and condominium. JSR Capital said there were other reasons apart from financing
problems for why the deal fell apart. “Virtually everyone in the real
estate business has looked at Clock Tower as a hotel, residential,
and/or office,” said Ari Schwebel, vice president of operations at JSR
Capital. “Some of those were even all-cash buyers. There are reasons
not one of them has closed on the building, and it isn’t about
financing.” [more]

From left: Mark Gordon of Tribeca Associates, Ron Burkle a stakeholder in Morgans Hotel Group, Gary Barnett of Extell Development and Tommy Hilfiger, who purchased the MetLife clocktower

From the August issue: For the last few years, investing in New York hotels was like scoring the Presidential Suite at the Plaza — an experience reserved only for a select few, primary real estate investment trusts. Indeed, as the stock market roared back, these publicly traded REITs were able to raise capital almost as easily as dialing up room service.
Recently, though, other types of investors — most notably management companies, private equity firms, government investment arms and hedge funds — have edged into the New York market, convinced, it seems, that hotel values in the city still have a ways to climb. That is despite the fact that hotels have already rapidly risen in value after taking a severe recessionary beating in 2009.
“It took a while for those outside the lodging industry to realize what was happening to New York lodging,” said Bjorn Hanson, a hotel specialist at New York University’s Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism, and Sports Management. “It has all created appeal for the nontraditional investor.” [more]

Scott Rechler, CEO of RXR Realty, and the Starrett-Lehigh Building

Scott Rechler’s RXR Realty this past Friday completed the purchase of the 2.3 million-square-foot office property in Chelsea, the Starrett-Lehigh Building at 601 West 26th Street, for $920 million, the company said in a news release this morning.

The 19-story building, built in 1932, was reported to be in contract in April after being brought to market by Eastdil Secured’s Doug Harmon and Adam Spies. It sold for about $400 per square foot. Tenants in the building include Martha Stuart-Omnimedia and clothing retailer Tommy Hilfiger. — Adam Pincus [more]

From left:Hilfiger, Lev Leviev (Africal Israel’s chairman) and 5 Mad.

Clothing designer Tommy Hilfiger is to buy the Clock Tower building at 5 Madison Avenue for $170 million, according to the Wall Street Journal, though current owners Africa Israel USA, the stateside branch of Africa Israel Investments, an international holdings and investments group, did not disclose the buyer in securities documents filed Thursday in Israel.

Africa Israel had previously intended to turn the building into condos, said the Journal. [more]

Newmark Knight Frank’s Brandl Frey has been poached by the Durst Organization, where she’ll be the company’s newest leasing manager. Frey, who was most recently a director at Newmark on James Kuhn and Brian Waterman’s team, and previously worked as a broker at Cushman & Wakefield, will be helping to market more than 10 million square feet of commercial property for Durst, president Jonathan Durst announced today. In the past, Frey was a leasing agent for 1333 Broadway, 855 Sixth Avenue and 250 West 57th Street, among others, and has represented tenants like Morgan Stanley, CBS and Tommy Hilfiger. TRD

Tommy Hilfiger and Virgin Megastore in Union Square

Clothing retailer Tommy Hilfiger is rumored to be shopping for retail
space in Union Square and may be considering a “concept store” in the
area. He is said to have looked at the former Circuit City space and at
the Virgin Megastore’s soon-to-be-vacant space on Union Square South.
Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Nordstrom have also reportedly looked at the
storefronts, which are controlled by the Related Companies and are
being marketed by Winick Realty Group. Filene’s Basement’s bankruptcy
filing could leave another vacant store in the area. [more]