A prime Midtown East development site at 249-53 East 50th Street has hit the market, with approximately 44,000 buildable square feet and 55 feet of frontage between Second and Third avenues, Ariel Property Advisors, the exclusive listing agent for the property announced today. The site came online this morning with no noted asking price, a spokesperson for the company told The Real Deal, a tactic which some industry experts say brokers are increasingly employing to gauge the market’s interest as the economy continues to fluctuate.

“When they put a price tag on [a site,] they may be undershooting,” said one commercial broker active within the industry, particularly in this economy. [more]

Clockwise from top left: Ariel Property Advsiors’ Jonathan Berman, 5721 6th Avenue and Victor Sozio of Ariel

A Sunset Park building set to house a forthcoming bilingual private school for special needs children hit the market last week with an asking price of $4 million. The four-story, 15,000-square-foot building at 5721 Sixth Avenue on the corner of 58th Street is listed by Jonathan Berman and Victor Sozio of Ariel Property Advisors.

The school, whose name Berman wouldn’t disclose, will rent out the building from whoever purchases it for $290,000 per year, yielding a cap rate of 6.4 percent, based on the terms of the deal and the current asking price, Berman said. He added that the school is looking to sell its stake in the building to free up cash.

The current ownership purchased the building for $2.6 million last July, public records show, and invested more than $1 million in renovating the interior, Berman said. – Adam Fusfeld [more]

From left: Shimon Shkury, Victor Sozio, Mike Tortorici and Ivan Petrovic

Massey Knakal Realty Services partner Shimon Shkury left the firm today with his entire team of junior brokers and support staff to start a new sales company named Ariel Property Advisors, Shkury told The Real Deal. The new 12-person firm, based in Midtown, has five brokers, including Shkury and former Massey Knakal agents Victor Sozio, Michael Tortorici, Christopher Lefferts and Ivan Petrovic. There are seven people on the support staff. “We left this morning and we started it today,” Shkury said. With investment sales growing this year, Shkury, 39, said it was a good time to launch a new venture. “It is a time of opportunity,” he said. [more]