From the May issue: While the capital markets in the
U.S. are still largely frozen
when it comes to construction lending, some New York developers and
investors are finding fertile ground
to build overseas.
Big names like Trump, Related Companies and Gale International are just
a few of the firms heading abroad to
countries with burgeoning middle-class
populations.
Click here to see a sampling of where some
of the biggest players are investing their
money.

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Earlier this week, a federal bankruptcy court ruled in Donald Trump’s favor when it rejected a takeover plan of Trump Entertainment Resorts in Atlantic City by billionaire investor Carl Icahn. The three casinos in question are emerging from their third bankruptcy, and Icahn made an ostensibly better offer: $486 million and the elimination of all of the company’s debt, versus the $225 million and $1.4 billion reduction in debt proposed by Trump. But Trump had something Icahn didn’t — the name. And he was threatening to pull it from the casinos if Icahn took the helm. As The Real Deal publisher Amir Korangy put it, bearing the Trump brand is “like having the name Awesome… he’s taken it to real estate, fashion, publishing, production, spirits/liquors, resorts, casinos and TV.” Now that the ubiquitous Trump brand has succeeded in winning him back his casinos, will it pay off? [Philadelphia Inquirer]

A bitter, 14-month legal battle over control of three Atlantic City casinos bearing the Trump brand ended in the Donald’s favor yesterday when a U.S. bankruptcy court rejected a takeover plan by billionaire investor Carl Icahn. Donald Trump’s plan, backed by a group of bondholders who are owed $1.2 billion and Marc Lasry of Avenue Capital Group, gives Trump a 10 percent stake in Trump Entertainment Resorts, reduces the company’s debt by $1.4 billion and allows the casinos to keep using the Trump name. During the court battle, Trump had said he would pull his name from the casinos if Icahn’s plan won. Avenue Capital will also contribute an additional $225 million to the casinos’ operations. Trump heralded the ruling, calling it a “great victory for Trump” and “a great loss for Carl Icahn.” He added: “I was surprised he attempted what he attempted but that’s OK. It’s fine.” [Bloomberg]

Renderings from the Trump Soho hotel

The controversial Trump Soho has scheduled its first round of unit closings by mid-April, not long after it officially opens April 9, The Real Deal has learned. The high-rise condo-hotel has been delayed due to years of legal wrangling with community opponents that have challenged the property’s zoning, a fatal 2008 crane collapse at the site and a weak credit environment that slowed financing. “Trump Soho, the first downtown property for the Trump Hotel Collection, is opening April 9, 2010,” according to an e-mailed statement from the developer. “The closings will begin after the hotel opens.” The 46-story property at 246 Spring Street, at the corner of Varick Street, broke ground in 2007 and was previously scheduled to open in the fall of 2009, then on Feb. 1, 2010. [more]

At left: 610 Park Avenue; Top center: Nautica founder David Chu; Bottom center: Listing broker Carrie Chiang, of the Corcoran Group; At right: Penthouse 16E

The duplex penthouse at the former Mayfair Hotel, which belongs to Nautica founder David Chu, officially hit the market yesterday at $32.8 million — roughly $4,260 per square foot. The price tag makes it one of the top 10 most expensive condo listings in the city, according to data from Streeteasy.com.

The penthouse is one of two in the 15-story, prewar limestone and brick building, now known as 610 Park Avenue. Investment firm Colony Capital purchased the property for $15 million in a 1996 foreclosure sale and teamed up with Donald Trump in the condo conversion project, which was designed by architect Costas Kondylis.

Chu, the Taiwanese-American apparel mogul, and his wife, Gina, a philanthropist and trustee at the non-profit Asia Society, purchased penthouse 16E at 610 Park Avenue in 1999, city property records show. It had been combined with the unit below, and while sale prices for apartments before 2003 are not publicly available, the pair took out a $5 million mortgage at the time to pay for at least some of the home, according to the records. [more]

Trump Soho at 246 Spring Street and Ivanka Trump, who has been heavily involved in the design and marketing of the development

Although Trump Soho has not released an official launch date yet, signs show that its opening at 246 Spring Street may be delayed yet again, after repeated setbacks. Trump Soho’s online booking system now shows April 9 as the earliest date that customers can make reservations, according to Hotelchatter.com. A trip to the Trump Soho Web site by The Real Deal yielded the same result. But the allegedly delayed launch might be worth the wait — the introductory rate per night is now listed as $299 on the site, a full $300 below the previously listed starting rate. [more]

From the February issue: As New York City construction firms get slammed by the downturn, they are turning to more modest projects, in some cases taking on multimillion-dollar renovations rather than the multibillion-dollar skyscrapers. While it’s clear that the collapse of the New York development market has taken a toll on builders and brokers, there may be nobody in the industry hit as hard as construction firms. As banks have largely cut off financing for new projects and cranes have been mothballed, thousands of contractors have lost their jobs. “It’s having a devastating impact on the construction market,” said Lou Coletti, president of the Building Trades Employers’ Association, which represents 1,700 construction management and contractor firms. “There are very few, if any, new projects moving forward.” To combat that lack of work, major New York construction firms are bidding for much smaller projects and diversifying into public-sector work, while other firms have been forced into bankruptcy protection.[more] [more]

The Riverside Center and Gary Barnett, president of Extell Development

Developer Extell wants to build an additional 3.1 million square feet on the remaining land at Riverside Center, the project between 59th and 61st streets and West End Avenue and Riverside Boulevard that was originally owned by Donald Trump. Unfortunately for Extell, the property is currently bound by a declaration that limits the company to adding 2.4 million square feet. Some new residents who already bought apartments in the half-built project say it’s too late in the game for Extell to alter plans for the nature-filled, parkside condos agreed upon by Trump and the Riverside South Planning Commission. The variance Extell is seeking permission for now calls for five skyscrapers with room for 2,000 more condos, a 1,200-room hotel and convention center and a car dealership.  [Huffington Post]

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When ailing banks were lining up for infusions of federal money last year, as part of the government’s $700 billion bailout package, the New York Community Bancorp politely said “no thanks.” The company, whose holdings include savings banks and larger commercial operations, was cleared to receive $596 million in preferred equity stock from the Treasury Department. But its earnings capacity was so solid, according to Joseph Ficalora, its chairman, president and chief executive, the funds weren’t needed. And this may be even more striking considering that a steep 80 percent of its business is real estate loans; among them, 71 percent are apartment building mortgages with another 21 percent to similar residences with stores in their ground floors. And all told, about a quarter of its loans underwrite Manhattan properties. But Ficalora,
who began working for the company in 1965, as a teller at a bank branch
in Corona, Queens, just a few blocks from his house, doesn’t invest in
splashy, high-risk mega-projects. On the contrary. Most of his buildings are comparatively small, old and rent regulated.
Though they may not generate huge multiples, they are dependable bets
over time, which is particularly beneficial when the market tanks, like
recently. And with an average size of $4 million, 60 percent loan-to-value ratio
and four-year payback rate, those loans offer minimal exposure,
Ficalora explained. As a result, the company, which is based in
Westbury, NY, posted a third-quarter profit, in its fifth consecutive
quarter of growth. It may also explain why New York Community Bancorp, with assets of $33
billion, is the country’s 24th largest bank-holding company and the
city’s largest thrift. Click here to see The Real Deal’s Q & A with Ficalora. [more]

Lambasted for allowing Libyan leader Moammar Khadafy to stay on his Bedford property this week, Donald Trump fired back today, alleging that he was unaware that the controversial Khadafy was on his estate. According to a statement from the Bedford Town Supervisor Lee Roberts, Trump said he was under the impression that he had made a deal with partners in the United Arab Emirates, not Khadafy, who came to town this week for the United Nations General Assembly. Khadafy was ordered off the Trump estate two days ago, when town officials announced that the tent he had set up in the back yard was a code violation.