The Real Deal New York

Web sites and City Council increase scrutiny of rental bait-and-switch scams Cracking down on phony ads” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Prospective homebuyers trying to ride out the rising prices of the last housing boom thought they’d blunt the high cost of living here by renting, but many who did found higher rents as the Manhattan vacancy rate dropped below 1 percent. Many reluctant renters are now victims of what some analysts are dubbing a “bounceback” effect, which is pushing them back into the sales market. High apartment rents fuel “bounceback”” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Downtown real estate activity is building up an encouraging head of steam as companies lease office space and people buy into condo conversions, but a handful of buildings remain on the sidelines as their owners try to figure out which way the market will go. Staying office in Downtown” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

‘Playful’ project at 15 William to have glass-enclosed Jacuzzi atop lobby, marketing by cartoon beav Balazs targets young Wall Street buyers” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Manhattan’s tight commercial market and renewed focus on outer boroughs spawns office, retail projec The new building boom” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Empire State Building readies for makeover [more]

After years of isolation, retail on Columbia Street is back. But how far can it go? [more]

Brokers explain why leasing, rent hikes may slow Q & A: Have Midtown rents peaked?” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Manhattan office vacancy hits lowest level since 2001; Downtown grabbing big share of large leases Encouraging signs in office market: less room, everywhere” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Lower purchase prices, high rehab costs don’t discourage northern-looking buyers The Bronx is up, and investors notice” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

It may not be as popular as Joe, but brokers, merchants tout tea shops’ potential Retailers hope New Yorkers have time for tea” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Spurred by development, Eighth Avenue drawing better grade of retailers Eighth Avenue retail: More than porn meets the eye” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Analysts predict a mild slowdown in the New York City market over the next 24 months A very good year for hotels — but what’s next?” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

But debate remains over what, exactly, New York tenants want — and need — in their towers Offices pile on high-end amenities” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Brokers say ABCs of office space categorizing no longer make the grade in New York Rank discontent over building classification” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Macklowe Properties selling 340 Madison
Macklowe Properties and investment partner SITQ are selling the 22-story, 750,000-square-foot office tower at 340 Madison Avenue, which was recently redeveloped into a Class A property. It could fetch $600 million, or $800 a square foot, despite being only 46 percent occupied, according to the New York Post. Cushman & Wakefield is handling the sale.

Marsh & McLennan selling Midtown HQ
Marsh & McLennan is planning to sell its condominium office headquarters at 1166 Sixth Avenue, the New York Sun reported. Last year, Lehman Brothers originated a $475 million, 30-year loan on the office space. Marsh & McLennan owns 21 floors of the 44-story, 1.6-million-square-foot building.

Manhattan Mall hits the market
The 1-million-square-foot Manhattan Mall on West 33rd Street went on the sales market last month, the Sun reported. It has 11 levels above ground and two below. Argent Ventures acquired the mall and office building in 1998 by buying its debt for a reported $135 million, and its sales price would likely be far higher now.

26 Broadway on the sales market
The landmark Standard Oil Building at 26 Broadway is on the sales market for an undisclosed price, Crain’s reported. The owners, the Koeppel family, recently sold 575 Lexington Avenue to Larry Silverstein for $400 million. The 31-story, 750,000-square-foot 26 Broadway could fetch as much as $262.5 million, based on comparisons with other building sales in its vicinity. CB Richard Ellis is marketing the property.

East Harlem portfolio on the block
The East Harlem Portfolio, 48 mixed-use and residential buildings located between the FDR Drive and Park Avenue and stretching 22 blocks north of East 100th Street, is on the market and valued at $250 million, GlobeSt.com reported. The portfolio totals 1,145 units — of those, 204 are free-market. Peter Hauspurg and Marcia Rose Yawitz of Eastern Consolidated are marketing the portfolio for owner Steven Kessner of the Real Estate Group.

Salvation Army selling Gramercy Park building
The Salvation Army is selling a building it owns overlooking Gramercy Park in Manhattan. Valued at more than $100 million, the 83,000-square-foot Parkside Evangeline Residence for Young Women at 18 Gramercy Park South provides women with inexpensive temporary boarding. Many of the women have already moved out, and Parkside has stopped accepting new applications in preparation for the imminent sale. GVA Williams is reportedly the sales agent.

Herald Square development properties for sale
The two commercial buildings at 1205-1225 Broadway are on the market for sale with an asking price of $70 million. The site can support 250,000 square feet of retail, office and hotel development. Robert Knakal, John Ciraulo and Craig Waggner of Massey Knakal are the sales agents.

Staten Island site asking $40 million
An 18-acre slice of Staten Island waterfront is on the sales market for $40 million, the Staten Island Advance reported. The parcel, on the South Shore in the Annadale neighborhood, presents a “rare development opportunity,” according to Massey Knakal, the brokerage marketing the parcel.

Vacant Upper East Side building on the block
The 19-story, 247,617-square-foot building at 1760 Third Avenue is on the sales market. The property will be delivered vacant and can be converted into a rental or condominium. A site plan has been rendered for the construction of a 30-story, 326-foot residential tower. Shimon Shkury, Paul Massey and Michael Tortorici of Massey Knakal are the exclusive sales agents.

Harlem mixed-use building on the market
The 17-unit building at 2070 Frederick Douglass Boulevard, also known as 289-297 West 112th Street, is on the market for sale through Besen & Associates’ Platinum Team. The property, which also has two stores and will be delivered vacant, could be converted into a condo.

City selling Park Slope school site
The city is requesting proposals from developers for the site of P.S. 133 in Park Slope, between Butler and Baltic streets. Developers could buy the site for either residential or commercial development. The sale would be the first of its kind in the city outside of Manhattan, according to the Sun.

Stephen Siegel is chairman and chief executive at CB Richard Ellis.

What is your full name?

Stephen Barry Siegel

When is your birthday?

September 13, 1944

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in the Bronx through high school.

Where do you live?

I live in a townhouse on Park Avenue. [more]

With properties sitting on the market longer, buyers and their brokers are exploring how low they can go with offers, and a once unspoken word is getting much more common in real estate transactions.
[more]

Inventory steady as brokers say city buyers remain reticent Prices keep dropping in Manhattan” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Monthly fees instead of splits may draw brokers; Braddock + Purcell to partner in new office Rutenberg seeks to upend New York commission model” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

More buyers and investors from fast-growing economy putting money in city real estate A passage from India to Manhattan” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Cost concerns, growing sense of security prompt many to forego the man at the desk Doormen dwindle as renters look to save” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Industry vets tell new brokers to be patient, study the inventory and to not fear negotiations [more]

For home buyers, the Internet is a great resource that makes the days of painstakingly combing through listings in the newspaper a distant memory.
Brokers dissect their web traffic” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

New York City renters may be at the mercy of landlords, but landlords say they are helpless in the face of rising operating costs. Escalating rates for insurance, energy and construction prices top the list of major expenses, said Steve Hakimzadeh, a principal at HH Realty Group, who personally owns and manages two Manhattan buildings along with his brother. [more]

Townhouse deal sets city record Townhouse prices still up as sales dip” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Sales plunge in Staten Island; inventory rises in Brooklyn, Queens; Bronx sales sluggish [more]

This month, Riva Froymovich drops in on open houses in a well-heeled Brooklyn neighborhood and on the eastern edges of the Upper East Side.
Inside the Open Houses” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

…to sell the worst house on the best block

Tina Fredericks, owner of Tina Fredericks Real Estate in East Hampton, who is in the process of selling 88 South Emerson Avenue in Montauk.

As told to Lauren Elkies

I think I just sold a house over the weekend which was a tiny little house in a great location on the ocean, but it wasn’t cheap. It was about $1.5 million-plus.

It was the worst house in the best location. It looks pretty much like a shack. It has not been kept up well at all. It’s a tiny little box which has two bedrooms and one bathroom and a living room, but it is smack on the ocean with a patio toward the ocean.

It’s adorable. We named it Montauk Beach Baby.

Houses on that block are going for between $1.5 and $2 million. They are more house and less land around them. They are two-story condos, a different kind of house, all lined up in a row, and they’re going for around $1.75 million. They’re sort of attached to each other.

Eighty-eight South Emerson Avenue is a real beach shack. The asking price was $1.895, but that was lowered to $1.695. The buyer is going to pay $1.550 million.

If it wasn’t on the ocean, it’d be worth very little, I would say under $500,000. If it was a small gorgeous house and maybe with two more bedrooms and a second floor, it would probably be worth $2.5 million or $3 million.

It happens to be unique. This doesn’t happen very often that such a little cottage would be available in such a good location. I think it has a big future ahead of it if somebody buys it that has some imagination.

It’s been on the market quite a while, I would say probably two or three years. Right now, the Montauk daisies are blooming in great profusion and making it look quite romantic because it’s surrounded by flowers.

Am I sad to see it sold? No. I’d be glad to have it go.

Rick Staula, agent with Aguayo & Huebener Realty Group, who is in the process of selling 53 Lincoln Place, between Fifth and Sixth avenues in Park Slope.

As told to Lauren Elkies

When I first saw the building I thought, what is this doing here? The other buildings on the block are beautiful brownstones. They’re all in really good shape with nice gardens and everything. And then there’s this white, wood house. It doesn’t look bad from the outside, but it looks weird against the other ones. But the thing about it is it’s a 25-foot lot so it’s nice and wide. It has a beautiful backyard and a beautiful front yard, though they are a little overgrown.

And then you walk inside and it’s just basically a farmhouse, a deteriorated farmhouse that hasn’t been fixed over. The floors aren’t shined. It’s very barren and stripped, and there’s nothing fancy at all about it. I can’t imagine these people even had a stereo.

Compared to the other lots, it’s bigger, but, to the other houses, it’s smaller because most of the other ones are brownstones. It has four bedrooms and two baths and it’s two floors.

I kind of liked it because I like quirky. If I had the money, I would’ve bought it. That’s a beautiful lot. I’m from New England and it reminds me of an old Colonial.

It went on the market July 12 and it was gone by July 17. The owner put it on the market for $1.3 million and within five days there were like five offers and the offers ranged from anywhere between $1.275 to $1.35. It’s selling for $1.35.

As a three-bedroom house, it’s probably not worth $1.35. As a developmental building site it’s definitely worth that because it’s a gorgeous block, it’s a nice area, and it’s a beautiful-sized lot.

I think that the average person looks at the house and they don’t want to do the work. If they were smart, they would’ve done the work because they would have ended up with a 25-foot house that would have been worth over $2 million when they were done with it.

It feels good [to sell it]. It makes you realize that people are paying attention to what you can do with a property and people have vision. It justifies the fact that people should really look at the worst house on a street.

Enclaves like Williamsburg and Bushwick only gather steam, while Bay Ridge, Dumbo and others peter o [more]

Battery Park City
70 Little West Street
The Albanese Organization and Starwood Capital Group Global are building a 33-story, 251-unit green residential condominium on the last residential site in Battery Park City. The $310 million project, designed by Rafael Pelli, will occupy the block bounded by Battery Place, Little West Street, Second Place and Third Place, and will have a curved façde to provide river views from all four corners. The Battery Park City Parks Conservancy will take 40,000 square feet in the 500,000-square-foot project for its new headquarters, and 4,200 square feet on the ground floor will be used for retail. Sales are projected to begin in early 2007. The Marketing Directors is the exclusive sales and marketing agent.

Downtown Brooklyn
BellTel Lofts
365 Bridge Street
The former New York Telephone Company building is being converted into condominiums, the New York Times reported. Sales of the 219 units in the 27-story building started last month, and the conversion will be completed by next spring. Prices range from $500,000 to $2 million. Prudential Douglas Elliman is the exclusive sales and marketing agent. Contact: www.belltellofts.com.

East Village
209 East 2nd Street
The seven-story loft building, built in 1909, is being converted into six luxury condominiums. Construction started last year on the new units, which will span 1,500 square feet and have private keyed entryways and brick fireplaces. They are expected to sell for $1,000 to $1,150 per square foot when the sales office opens in December, the New York Post reported.

East Village
Flowerbox Building
259 East 7th Street
Sales began early last month at developer Seth Tapper’s eight-unit loft condominium. Buyers will receive two years of free parking at a nearby indoor garage, as well as a free Sony 40-inch flat-screen plasma TV. Prices range from $1.49 million for a 1,539-square-foot two-bedroom to $11 million for the 7,000-square-foot five-bedroom penthouse, the Post reported. Warburg Marketing Group is handling sales. Contact: www.flowerboxbuilding.com.

East Williamsburg
Space 42
42 Scholes Street
Sales have begun for the condominium’s eight loft-style units. The units are one-bedrooms and include two duplexes; ceiling heights are approximately 14 feet. Sizes range from 650 to 1,200 square feet, with prices running from $475,000 to $549,000. PRW Development Group is the developer; the exclusive sales and marketing agent is aptsandlofts.com. Contact: www.space42condos.com.

Flatiron
Chelsea Landmark
55 West 25th Street
The rental office is scheduled to open in January for Rose Associates’ 33-story, 406-unit rental building, the Post reported. Studios, one- and two-bedrooms will be available, with rents starting at $2,795 for a 460-square-foot studio. Contact: www.rosenyc.com.

Gramercy
39 East 29th Street
A joint venture of two major Spanish development firms, Espais Promocions Immobiliaries and Landscape Promocions Immobiliaries, bought the site and was expected to break ground on a 140,595-square-foot condominium on Nov. 1, according to GlobeSt.com. The project will have 139 studio to two-bedroom units. Completion is slated for mid-2008. Perseus Realty Capital provided $100 million in acquisition and construction funding.

Greenwood Heights
Fusion
284 20th Street
The five-story, 14-unit condominium will offer buyers views of Manhattan from most units. The sales office was scheduled to open on Nov. 1, with prices starting in the high $400,000s for an 800-square-foot two-bedroom, the Post reported.

Harlem
Loft 124
138 West 124th Street
The building, constructed in 1906, used to be a warehouse for the Koch Department Store. Developer Matt Blesso is converting it into 21 one- and two-bedroom loft condominiums, maintaining the barrel-vaulted ceilings from the original structure as well as the old elevator shaft, which extends 40 feet from the lobby and ends in a reflecting pool. Prices range from $400,000 to $1.9 million, the Post reported. The Corcoran Group is the sales agent. Contact: www.loft124.com.

Long Island City
One Hunters Point
5-43 Borden Avenue
New Rochelle-based Simone Development Companies is building a 12-story residential building with 131 one- to three-bedroom units on the former industrial site. The project will include on-site parking and an enclosed park. Simone also plans another project nearby, the 12-story, 73-unit Hunters View at 11-15/19 49th Avenue.

Lower Manhattan
55 Warren Street
Simone Development will begin demolition of a commercial printing plant this fall to make room for a six-unit residential building. The full-floor units will span approximately 4,000 square feet and have 12-foot ceilings. Completion is expected by summer 2007.

Park Slope
410 Fourth Avenue
The 12-story, 59-unit condominium will separately front Fourth Avenue and 7th Street. Meltzer/Mandl Architects designed the building, which comprises 30 one-bedrooms, 24 two-bedrooms and five three-bedrooms ranging in size from 680 to 1,300 square feet. The project also includes 26 on-site parking spaces, and developer Wheaton Associates has committed to planting new trees on the street in front of the building. Groundbreaking was scheduled for last month, with completion expected in early 2008. The Corcoran Group is the exclusive sales and marketing agent.

Tribeca
Tribeca Five
283 West Broadway
Brad Zackson’s Dynamic Group is converting the six-story brick building, formerly home to a plumbing supply company, into five condominiums, the Post reported. Sales were scheduled to begin last month, with the 2,100-square-foot units asking between $2.7 and $3.4 million. City Sites Marketing is the exclusive sales agent. Contact: www.tribecafive.com.

Williamsburg
Northside Piers
4 North 5th Street
Toll Brothers plans a five-acre development along the East River that will include three high-rise towers, 30 townhouses, retail space and an esplanade with a 700-foot pier, the Post reported. Stage one of the project will be a 29-story building with 180 condominium units, including studios to three-bedrooms, ranging from 600 to 3,280 square feet and starting at $350,000. Four townhouses are also included in the plan. An off-site sales office was scheduled to open last month, and occupancy is expected to start in late 2007. Halstead Property is the exclusive marketing and sales agent. Contact: www.northsidepiers.com.

Construction Update

Harlem
Malcolm Shabazz Court
15 West 116th Street
The nine-story, 38-unit moderate-income rental is slated to open in early 2007. Meltzer/Mandl Architects designed the project, which includes one studio, seven one-bedrooms, 30 two-bedrooms and 1,600 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Contact: www.shabazzcourt.com.

Park Slope
255 1st Street
Construction has begun for the 12-story condominium. Steven Kratchman Architect designed the project, which will offer 32 one- to three-bedroom units.

Upper East Side
980 Madison Avenue
Developer Aby Rosen plans to build a 30-story residential tower in the landmarked Upper East Side Historic District, the Times reported. British architect Norman Foster designed the building. A public hearing on the project was scheduled for Oct. 24.

Financing

Chelsea
100 11th Avenue
Eastern Consolidated arranged a $22 million mezzanine loan on behalf of New York City-based Cape Advisors for the development of a 146,000-square-foot luxury condominium tower. The building, designed by Jean Nouvel, will rise across the street from the Frank Gehry-designed headquarters of Interactive Media.

Fort Greene
405 Adelphi Street
Meridian Capital Group arranged $1.6 million in financing for the construction of a four-unit condominium at the site.

Sales Update

Battery Park City
Riverhouse
One Rockefeller Park
Sales began in September for the 31-story, 264-unit condominium, which is slated to open in late 2007. The building will have a number of green features, including photovoltaic cells, a geothermal well, and ground water to heat and cool the lobby. Studio to three-bedroom units range in size from 840 to 2,600 square feet, with prices running from $800,000 to more than $5 million, according to the Post. On-site will be a parking lot with special spaces for low-emission cars. The Sunshine Group is the exclusive sales and marketing agent. Contact: www.oneriverterrace.com.

Chelsea
Onyx Chelsea
261 West 28th Street
Sales have begun at the 11-story, 52-unit condominium designed by FXFowle. Prices range from $700,000 to $2.5 million. Bronfman Haymes Real Estate Partners is the developer. Core Group Marketing is the exclusive marketing and sales agent. Contact: www.onyxchelsea.com.

Dumbo
70 Washington Street
The condominium conversion had sold 210 of its 259 units — 81 percent — by the start of last month, after one year on the market, according to the Post. Contact: www.70washington.com.

Dumbo
J Condo
100 Jay Street
The 33-story, 267-unit condominium was 87 percent sold as of early last month, after a year of sales. Prices have ranged from the low $300,000s for studios to $3.15 million for one of the penthouses, the Post reported. Contact: www.jcondo.com.

Gramercy
Sky House
11 East 29th Street
The sales office is open for the Clarett Group’s 55-story, 139-unit condominium. Completion is scheduled for early 2008. Contact: www.skyhousecondo.com.

Gramercy
240 Park Avenue South
Sales are under way at the 17-story, 52-unit condominium designed by Gwathmey Siegel Architects. One- to three-bedroom units range in size from 805 to 2,700 square feet, with prices for available units running from $1.13 to $4.391 million. A 2,950-square-foot four-bedroom is listed at $9 million. Amenities include daily continental breakfast in the building’s entertainment library suite. Prudential Douglas Elliman is the exclusive sales and marketing agent. Contact: www.240pas.com.

Harlem
One Strivers Row
2605 Frederick Douglass Blvd
Warburg Marketing Group was named exclusive sales agent for the 14-unit condominium. One- to three-bedroom units range in size from 775 to 1,950 square feet, with prices running from $465,000 to $1.3 million. Occupancy is slated for fall 2006. Contact: www.onestriversrow.com.

Lower Manhattan
20 Pine The Collection
20 Pine Street
The Armani/Casa-designed condominium’s 409 units were nearly 70 percent sold as of mid-September. Sales had begun in February. Prices range from $680,000 for a studio to $2.3 million for a three-bedroom. The penthouses start at $2.9 million. Shvo Marketing is the exclusive marketing and sales agent. Contact: www.20pine.com.

Upper East Side
The Omni
206 East 95th Street
Sales were scheduled to begin last month at the 43-unit condominium, with studios starting at $485,000 and one-bedrooms starting at $575,000, the Post reported. Shvo Marketing is the sales agent.

Windsor Terrace
The Simone
35 McDonald Avenue
As of mid-September, 19 of the condo building’s 35 units were in contract at prices ranging from $275,000 to $999,000, according to the New York Daily News. Some of the building’s units offer views of nearby Green-Wood Cemetery. The Corcoran Group is handling sales. Contact: www.corcoran.com.

Development in Brief

Manhattan (north to south)

381 Lenox Avenue
Rose Tree Development Corporation is marketing for sale the Lenox Grand, an eight-story, 19-unit condominium, the New York Sun reported.

50 West 127th Street
An eight-story, 23-unit condominium is being constructed at the site, according to the Sun.

11 Spring Street
Work on a condominium conversion of the building, once owned by Lachlan Murdoch, is set to start this fall, Curbed.com reported.

209 Hester Street
The six-story building, a former police stable later used as a warehouse, will have a floor added to it and will be converted into 14 higher-end condominiums, the New York Times reported.

123 Baxter Street
The seven-story, 23-unit condominium was scheduled to have its grand opening last month, according to the Times. Prudential Douglas Elliman is the exclusive sales agent.

136 East Broadway
A 13-story condominium is planned for the site, the Times reported.

New Developments from Previous Month

Material and labor costs abate in the city, but bigger projects could again increase expenses Construction price buildup levels off” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

As buyers sit on sidelines, a group of high-profile new projects goes to Plan B Cancelled projects: Condo, what condo?” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

But senior housing developments face challenges in an aging New York City [more]

High hotel rates, condo prices and apartment rents could boost time shares’ city prospects Time shares: Owning New York property by the week” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Edward Minskoff explains how rental development in New York City can work for developers — and when The Real Deal Podcast: Edward Minskoff” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Big new development projects around New York City Condos in the Country” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Dallas apartment rents hit all-time high
Landlords are getting higher returns as demand for apartments rise in Dallas. Construction on new apartment complexes hasn’t kept up with the demand, the Dallas Morning News reported. The average apartment rent in the Dallas-Fort Worth area reached an all-time high of $711 a month during the third quarter, with rents up as much as 7 to 8 percent in some areas in the past year.

–
Austin

Commercial
The Austin office market has reached its highest occupancy and rent levels since 2001. The market recently reached an occupancy level of 86.6 percent, the Austin Business Journal reported. According to a report by Colliers Oxford Commercial, office rents increased $1.35 a square foot in the past year to $21.62 a square foot in the third quarter. Brokers say the demand is coming from the southwest submarket, where prices increased almost $2 in the past quarter to $35.17 a square foot.

Boston

Commercial
The iconic Hancock Tower recently hit the market, the Boston Herald reported. Brokers say the tower will most likely sell for $1.5 billion as part of a larger package of properties being sold by owner Beacon Capital Partners.

Residential
An early October auction for 31 unsold units in the 96-unit FolioBoston condo project in the city’s Financial District tested the softness of the Boston housing market. Ten condos sold for as low as 21 percent below the asking prices of $1.16 million to $1.76 million, the Boston Globe reported. In the second quarter of 2006, the median price for downtown Boston condos declined 4 percent year over year to $454,500.

Chicago

Commercial
Four straight quarters of positive absorption and decreasing vacancy rates have turned the downtown Chicago office market around, Commercial Property News reported. The city’s office market had wallowed in negative absorption and higher vacancy rates since the recession at the start of the decade. The market’s vacancy rate is down to 17.1 percent from 19.3 percent in the third quarter of 2005.

Commercial
Industrial leasing in Chicago is at an all-time high. More than 12.2 million square feet was leased during the second quarter in the city, Crain’s Chicago Business reported. The majority of the largest leases were signed in speculative buildings. The industrial vacancy rate declined to 8.85 percent during the second quarter, compared to 9.32 percent during the first quarter and 9.27 percent in the second quarter of 2005.

Dallas

Commercial
The Dallas office market is expected to reflect its strongest performance in six years in 2006. Relocating and expanding tenants are responsible for the absorption of 572,000 square feet in the third quarter, the Dallas Morning News reported. According to analysts, net leasing is down, but there was still enough demand to lease 3.7 million square feet since the beginning of 2006. Total office vacancy in Dallas was reported at 20 percent — the best the area has seen in years.

Las Vegas

Commercial
With low Las Vegas office vacancy rates, it’s becoming tough for candidates to find space for their campaign offices. Brokers and landlords aren’t always too eager to rent space to somebody who could vacate by the time the primary is over, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. But some campaigns are benefiting from individual contributions. State Sen. Dina Titus’s campaign for governor was given a 100-square-foot room to work out of as an in-kind donation from an individual supporter.

Residential
Housing in Las Vegas is overpriced, according to recent reports. The average home price in Las Vegas is $296,500 — 28 percent above the $231,000 average it should be based on the area’s economics. The estimation takes into account household population, interest rates on mortgages, and income. Back in 2004, Las Vegas had a median home price of $188,600 and homes were only 6.1 percent overvalued, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

Los Angeles

Commercial
Residential conversions and lack of office construction has strengthened the downtown office market, the Los Angeles Downtown News reported. According to commercial brokerage Marcus & Millichap, the vacancy rate in L.A.’s central business district is predicted to fall to 10.6 percent this year. Brokers say vacancy will keep falling, possibly reaching a level not seen in almost a decade. Rents averaged $25.79 during the first half of 2006, up 5.7 percent from the same time in 2005.

Residential
Orange County home prices are down for the first time in a decade, the Orange County Business Journal reported. The median price in Orange County fell to $698,080 in August, a 2.5 percent drop from a year before, according to data released last month. Analysts predict median sales prices for existing homes in Orange County may decline by 10 percent in the next 12 months.

New Orleans

Residential/Commercial
New Orleans-area property owners seeking government compensation for damage from Hurricane Katrina are choosing to restore their homes rather than relocate. An analysis of government data by the Los Angeles Times shows of more than 150,000 home and business owners approved for reconstruction loans, only 2 percent are transferring the money to a property other than the one they own. The majority of those who want to move are going only as far as other New Orleans suburbs, according to Realtor.org.

San Francisco

Commercial
The hotel market in San Francisco is rebounding, with room rates on the rise. PKF Consulting estimated San Francisco’s average daily rate at $167 a night this year. That’s only $2 short of the city’s record-high 2000 average rate. Analysts predict that average daily hotel room rates will surpass $200, and occupancy rates will be about 80 percent by 2010.

Commercial
A San Francisco shopping center will be the largest of its kind west of the Mississippi River. With 110 retailers, the expansion of the Westfield shopping center will triple the size of the complex. The retail hot spot is part of the revitalization of the Market Street corridor, between Fourth and Ninth streets, reported the San Jose Mercury News. At 1.5 million square feet, the center will be one of the nation’s largest urban malls.

Washington, D.C.

Residential/Commercial
Despite a national real estate downturn, a number of massive projects are in the pipeline in Washington, according to local reports. A big-box store for retailer Target, a new baseball stadium and waterfront development will be constructed in the Union Square area, one of the most notable sets of projects in the development queue. Other projects include the redevelopment of 40 acres in Fort Lincoln and the redevelopment of the old Robert F. Kennedy Stadium site.

Residential/Commercial
Washington Mayor Anthony Williams is concentrating on the downtown transit system as the center of future residential development. Using zoning restrictions and public projects, the City Council hopes to grow business centers and residential areas in Washington’s inner city through a 20-year plan. The plan calls for a mix of residential and commercial. It also encourages the district to develop on more than 400 acres of vacant lots in the inner city.

District’s galleries, artist studios and museums attracting condo, retail developers [more]

Home prices shrink South Florida school populations

Real estate developers are baffled by stagnant or shrinking student populations in South Florida’s public school systems. Palm Beach County saw a 1.9 percent decline in enrollments last school year from the year before. Broward County also reported a population drop of 3.1 percent during the 2005-2006 school year. School officials say the still-hot housing market is to blame, as it prices younger families out of South Florida, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Median existing-home prices have increased by 90 percent since 2001 to $248,400, and the stock of affordable family homes is shrinking. The slowdown is temporary, Florida officials say. They say the 34 percent decline in the past year in existing single-family home sales will bring relief to families previously priced out.

Hurricane memories stymie hotels

Hotels in South Florida saw few guests in September as the hurricane season opened. Many investors say hotel guests remembered hurricanes from last year and were staying away this season.

Several hotels showed decreased bookings and lower occupancy than last year, the Sun-Sentinel reported. Poor weather put September hotel occupancy in Broward County last year at 62.7 percent compared to the annual average of 74.1 percent in 2005. In Palm Beach County, September occupancy was 62.9 percent compared to the annual average in 2005, 76 percent.

But memories, especially tourists’ memories, can be short, so hoteliers say the absence of hurricanes this September could boost occupancy next year.

Largest industrial deal spawns commercial project

In the year’s largest single industrial deal by size in South Florida, 27 acres of prime undeveloped land in Miami were acquired several weeks ago by commercial developer Higgins Development Partners and private equity investors Walton Street Capital.

In addition to the undeveloped land located in Miami’s Airport North submarket, the deal included a 1-million-square-foot distribution warehouse adjacent to the property. The joint partnership has announced the property will be branded as Centergate at Gratigny. It plans to build two warehouse and office buildings of approximately 600,000 square feet total.

Brokers involved in the transaction said Centergate will attract interest for industrial space in the region.

Hurricane-proof your home and save, new rules say

South Florida homeowners and brokers are breathing a sigh of relief now that windstorm insurance premiums offer deep discounts for hurricane protection.

The Miami Herald reported that state insurance regulators are offering bigger discounts to insurers who strengthen their homes against hurricanes. Lawmakers have been working to solve the homeowner insurance crisis, which is hurting the region’s real estate market.

Officials have major insurers State Farm Florida and Allstate Floridian in agreement for the discount standardization. Homeowners were concerned about the broad range of discounts insurers would offer — sometimes up to 46 percent, for instance, for storm protection shutters.

St. Joseph statue sales spell trouble for South Florida

There’s a heavenly way to gauge the South Florida housing market, and it’s scaring the devil out of brokers.

Burying a statue of St. Joseph, the patron saint of real estate, on a property is a growing tradition among brokers selling in the cooling market. The practice requires the statue to be buried near the sale sign on the property, then dug up after the property sells.

Phil Cates, owner of stjoseph.com, said Florida is his biggest market for the statues. Brokers say the demand for St. Joseph statues is related to the lull in the housing market. In South Florida, home sales fell 34 percent and condo sales fell 41 percent in August in comparison to the previous year, reported the Florida Association of Realtors.

Mixed-use projects aim to alter shopping habits

Property owners in South Florida are increasingly transforming 30- and 40-acre shopping centers into mixed-use projects, a trend that analysts say could change the way residents shop, work and live.

Instead of sprawling shopping centers with massive parking lots, developers are now integrating apartments and offices into those spaces as well. They are also building more vertical retail.

The trend, according to the Miami Herald, is a result of high land prices and limited land supply. Mixed-use makeovers under way include Young Circle in Hollywood, Biscayne Plaza in Miami, Glades Plaza in Boca Raton, the Fountains Shoppes of Distinction in Plantation, and a strip center at the intersection of Interstate 595 and University Drive in Plantation.

Miami Briefs from Previous Month

Salvation Army selling one of the last developable sites overlooking the exclusive park [more]

City mulls landmark status for northern slice of the Brooklyn neighborhood, while condos keep sprout [more]

New tower developers could profit from rezoning, but some don’t want height restrictions [more]

Perched on the far northern tip of Manhattan, Inwood has a reputation as a place where bald eagles and young couples alike come to nest — the eagles in Inwood Hill Park, the couples in the neighborhood’s abundant stock of spacious one- and two-bedroom co-op apartments.

This ecosystem may soon be altered, however, by a proposed rezoning that would allow mixed-use, mid- and high-rise residential development along the neighborhood’s long-neglected Harlem River waterfront. Sherman Creek, as the area is known, is a sparsely populated area of one-story warehouses, parking lots and Con Edison substations. It is among Manhattan’s largest remaining tracts of land with little housing or commerce.

The city’s plans involve more than the land east of 10th Avenue, which is still zoned mostly for manufacturing despite the lack of such activity. The rezoning also includes the area encompassed by Dyckman Street, Broadway and West 207th Street, the so-called “Commercial U.” This area is already zoned for residential and commercial activity, but the changes proposed by the Department of City Planning would double the allowed density along these corridors.

Along the waterfront, development rights attached to city-owned property — much of it partially underwater — would be transferred to developers, who would then be permitted to build towers up to 21 stories high. In return, they would fund the construction of a public waterfront park that could connect with Swindler’s Cove and High Bridge Park to the south.

Kelly Cole, a Corcoran Group vice president who specializes in Upper Manhattan, says that such a substantial influx of new residential development could transform Inwood.

“You throw all this waterfront development on the table,” she said, “and buyers say, ‘Wow — I better get into the market now because if I don’t, I’m going to be priced out of even Inwood.’

Public review of the rezoning proposal under the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) won’t begin until next year, however. City Planning hopes to see the new regulations enacted by the end of 2007, according to press secretary Rachaele Raynoff. In the meantime, the Parks Department is about to begin construction of five street-end waterfront parks in Sherman Creek.

The parks, which will include a boat launch and fishing perches, are intended to encourage active use of the waterfront. The street ends are now blocked off with sheets of corrugated tin, preventing access to the river. The project recently won an award for design excellence from the New York City Art Commission.

Raynoff describes the parks as a way to seed revitalization of Sherman Creek before the legal framework for redevelopment is in place. “These are early action items,” she says. “It’s something that can be done now.”

One potential point of contention is affordable housing. As was the case with the recent Greenpoint-Williamsburg rezoning, a proposed inclusionary zoning provision would offer developers a 33 percent floor-area bonus if at least 20 percent of units meet the city’s standards for affordability. Alternatively, developers could build affordable units off-site within a half-mile of their development as long as the units remain within Community District 12, which also includes Washington Heights.

As such details have emerged, some residents have voiced concerns that 20 percent is far short of meeting the neighborhood’s need for affordable housing. (Representatives of Community Board 12 did not return calls for comment.) Inwood’s median household income, at just over $21,000, lags far behind the citywide median of $38,293, and chronic overcrowding is a problem.

Raynoff notes that the size of the affordable component has yet to be finalized. “But the idea,” she says, “is that you don’t want this aid to have a chilling effect on housing production altogether.”

Meanwhile, Inwood’s sizeable Dominican community, concentrated east of Broadway, has awakened to a window of opportunity that may be closing as word of waterfront development spreads, says broker Lisbeth Ramirez of Fenwick Keats Goodstein.

“People are getting scared — they know that at some point those rent-stabilized apartments aren’t going to be there anymore,” says Ramirez. “Citibank is a big influence in the community, and they run seminars on buying a home. Trucks pull up on weekends and give out information on home loans. Everybody knows that it’s coming.”

Gus Perry, whose firm Stein-Perry Real Estate has roots in the area, believes that the new development won’t please everyone. “Once it’s approved and the cat is out of the bag, you’ll have a lot of interest and a lot of protests, too,” he says.

But Perry’s concern is that the area could find itself with too much inventory in a cooling market. “In Brooklyn and parts of Manhattan, there were a lot of condos built in the last three to five years,” he says. “A slight correction like we’ve had this year is no big deal; you can weather that. But if you have a huge glut of condos, it becomes a bigger problem.”

Still, Perry agrees, it’s hard to see how any Manhattan waterfront development, combined with a wealth of parks, improving local schools, and expanded retail options, could possibly fail.

“With condos, plus a more upscale element peppered in among the shops that have been here for a while, you just broaden the range of possible buyers,” says Cole of Corcoran. “I don’t think there’s a downside. You’re never going to turn this into Tribeca.”

Vanishing Gold Coast parcels pushing developers into northwestern New Jersey enclave Morristown redevelopment changing face of town center” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

New rules would regulate developers of one-, two- and three-family homes in New York Builder licensing bill heads for approval” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

City would tie 421-a to affordable housing
The city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development announced last month it wanted to expand the areas where developers could not use the popular 421-a tax abatement program for new residential development, unless they build affordable housing.

New areas that would be off-limits to the 421-a include Dumbo, Brooklyn Heights and all of Lower Manhattan, as well as Morningside Heights and Manhattan Valley above the Upper West Side.

The proposal would also require developers in 421-a exclusion zones to pay full taxes unless they build affordable housing on site. The abatement was created in 1971 to spur new residential development by lessening property taxes. But critics have said it now benefits developers of luxury condos. The City Council is expected to vote on the plans this fall.

Vote derails Moynihan Station plan
The state’s $900 million Moynihan Station transit hub plan was nixed last month by state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. Silver’s representative on the state Public Authorities Control Board, which held final sway over the plan, voted against it. The plan needed the board’s unanimous support, the Daily News reported.

City buys large Long Island City site for housing
More than 5,000 units of middle-income housing will be built on a Queens site recently purchased by the city from the Port Authority. The city has agreed to buy 24 acres of undeveloped land on the Queens West waterfront site for $146 million. The location was previously going to house an Olympic Village if the 2012 games had come to New York, the New York Sun reported.

Rail yards may make city $25 billion
The rail yards straddling 11th Avenue on Manhattan’s West Side will generate more than $25 billion in revenue for the city, according to Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff. Doctoroff told a City Council hearing last month that the transformation of the yards into mixed-use developments would pay off for the city over the next 25 to 30 years, the Daily News reported.

Long Island Rail Road to be extended to East Side
The Long Island Rail Road is likely to be extended to the East Side by 2013 thanks to new federal funding. The Bush administration last month approved $2.65 billion for the extension of the railroad to Grand Central Terminal, the Daily News reported.

Developers to get city-owned plots
Ten city-owned sites in the Bronx will be turned over to developers soon to create more affordable housing, the Daily News reported. The 10 sites are in Morrisania, East Tremont and Melrose.

No. 7 line extension to start this year
Demolition work on the extension of the No. 7 subway line farther into the West Side of Manhattan is scheduled to start in the next couple of months, the Daily News reported. Under a deal hammered out between the city and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the extension will run from Times Square to the Javits Convention Center. In other subway news, digging for the Second Avenue subway line will start in 2008, according to the MTA.

Pier 40 plans moving forward
Plans are moving ahead to redevelop Pier 40 at West Houston Street in Lower Manhattan, the Downtown Express reported. The Hudson River Park Trust has issued a new request for proposals to develop the sprawling 14-acre pier. The request deadline is Nov. 17.

Bills allow homeowner exemptions
Under two bills passed by the City Council recently, hundreds of city homeowners will get property tax exemptions starting next July, the Daily News reported. The exemptions apply to disabled and elderly homeowners.

Javits Center expansion gets under way
Gov. Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg were among those who led the official groundbreaking last month for the expansion of the Javits Convention Center. The $1.7 billion project will expand exhibition space there by 45 percent, the Daily News reported.

Forget gloom and doom. Evidence points to a market correction. [more]

New guidelines seek to dissuade those who can’t afford payment-option, interest-only loans [more]

Europe’s tallest tower going up in Moscow
Europe’s tallest office tower is going up in Moscow. The 93-story, 4.5-million-square-foot Federation Tower is being constructed on a 250-acre stretch along the Moscow River, BusinessWeek reported.

The tower is one of many large real estate projects in the country. More than $1.5 billion in foreign investment is expected to be poured into Russian real estate projects this year, nearly double last year’s level.

Also under construction in Moscow is the European Trade Center, a retail shopping complex with 160 stores, a movie theater and a swimming pool. Luxury residential building Triumph Palace, also in Moscow, is already marketing units in the 54-story tower.

Developers making far-flung locales luxury hotspots
Cape Verde, off the coast of West Africa, is becoming a hotspot for luxury home development. The archipelago’s volcanic islands may be isolated and prone to drought, but a group of Irish investors is building more than 12,000 higher-end apartments and villas on two Cape Verde islands.

Cape Verde Development, based in Cork, Ireland, is spending $38 million on its project there. The company is banking on the fact that investors are searching for uncovered territory as price appreciation slows in more popular hotspots.

Other big developments in remote locations are being built in Borneo, Montenegro and Mauritius, the International Herald Tribune reported.

High-rise living grows in London
Londoners have traditionally been averse to high-floor Manhattan-style living, but that may be changing. In the mostly low-rise city, a string of apartment towers is under construction around Canary Wharf, including the 50-story Pan Peninsula building that will be one of Britain’s tallest residential towers when it is completed in 2009, the International Herald Tribune reported.

Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the same architects that created the Sears Tower in Chicago, the two-building project will have 700 luxury apartments, with prices for 380-square-foot studios starting at $460,000.

Several other tall developments in the area include the 29-story Ontario Tower, a 206-unit building with concierge service and spa, due to be completed in 2007, as well as the Discovery Dock and Number One West India Quay projects.

Prices in the Canary Wharf area have been experiencing the strongest growth in London in the last decade. Canary Wharf is also home to Britain’s tallest office tower, the 50-story One Canada Square.

Despite terrorism, northern Israel in commercial demand
Despite missiles and warfare in northern Israel, investment activity in the commercial market continues. Recently, real estate investment trust Israel Group bought a 120,000-square-foot shopping center in Nahariya near Lebanon.

The REIT paid $20 million, or around $166 a square foot, for the property, which sits near the site of recent attacks by Hezbollah, the International Herald Tribune reported. The mall was closed during the fighting, but investors say the commercial and office space is a good deal. Industry experts say warfare in Israel has kept foreign investors at bay, but the market still remains hot. Political tensions and warfare are considered part of the expected landscape for investors, say analysts.

Compared to Western countries, real estate prices in Israel are low. Commercial asking rents are around $14 per square meter (around $1.40 per square foot) in the Tel Aviv area, which has a 5 percent vacancy rate.

RE/MAX, Weichert Realtors open in outer boroughs, East End Residential franchises grow in New York” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Don Preate is making his career by staying ahead of the curve.

Cushman & Wakefield named the 40-year-old Preate last month as one of its youngest executive directors ever. A 12-year veteran of the firm, he had been a senior director.

Preate has been in commercial real estate for 15 years and says he’s staked his reputation on forming longer-term relationships with clients. “When companies ask us to help them, we see it as an initiation,” Preate said. “We step back and approach it with the longer term in mind so that they’ll ask us to help them with subsequent business.”

Preate represents Digitas, AGA Creative, Banca Di Roma, Nautica Enterprises, Newport News, Steinway & Sons and VF Sportswear.

Once a broker, always a broker. [more]

New Weichert franchises in Bushwick, Riverdale
Broker Steve Boudourakis has opened Weichert Realtors, Property Works in Brooklyn at 855 Knickerbocker Avenue in the Bushwick neighborhood. The office will be home to four agents and an office manager. And partners Joe Greene and Cevin Soling have launched Weichert Realtors, House & Home, located at 609 Kappock Street in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx.

Jones Lang LaSalle expands into Middle East
Jones Lang LaSalle announced that it is acquiring RSP Group, a Dubai-based real estate investment and advisory firm. RSP Group senior management, Blair Hagkull and Thierry Lou , will jointly head the new venture, called Jones Lang LaSalle MENA (Middle East & North Africa).

PropertyShark partners with TitleVest
PropertyShark.com has formed a strategic alliance with title insurance provider TitleVest to offer its services to PropertyShark users. The first product to be launched under this agreement is the “Detailed Foreclosure Research” service.

PBS Realty Advisors becomes Realogy affiliate
PBS Realty Advisors, the New York partner of Oncor International, is now affiliated with Realogy Corporation. The change follows the announcement last month that Oncor will operate as part of the Realogy Franchise Group.

Newmark moves New Jersey headquarters
Newmark Knight Frank announced it is moving its New Jersey headquarters to Rutherford from Woodbridge, nearly doubling the size of its Northern New Jersey operations. The executive managing directors in the new office are Tim Greiner, Kevin Murphy and Peter Rossi.

Studley enters European venture
Studley announced in September the acquisition of a substantial interest in AOS, a Paris-based commercial brokerage that focuses on tenant representation. Studley and AOS have become joint partners in a newly formed company that will operate in the United Kingdom and Continental Europe under the name AOS/Studley.

Cushman & Wakefield buys Mexico affiliate
Cushman & Wakefield has acquired Cushman & Wakefield Mexico, GlobeSt.com reported. Cushman & Wakefield purchased the 50 percent of the firm it did not already own.

Residential

Citi Habitats
Andrea Clark was promoted to sales manager of the Upper West Side office.

Fox Residential Group
Mary Lou Currier, Stephanie Fagenson, Andrea Girard, Bahar Tavakolian, Bonnie Hut Yaseen and Jolanta Zonca joined the firm.

Halstead Property
Sue Marcus joined as executive vice president. She was an executive vice president at William B. May Real Estate. Fern Hammond joined as senior vice president. She was an executive vice president at MLBKaye.

The Marketing Directors Inc.
Daniel Guerra was promoted to senior market analyst from research analyst.

Tungsten Properties
Creighton Redenbo joined as vice president of sales.

Weichert Realtors, Peters Associates
Brian Blakey was promoted to sales manager. Michelle Kim was named vice president.

Commercial

CB Richard Ellis
Silvio Petriello was promoted to senior vice president from first vice president.

Cushman & Wakefield
Kenneth McCarthy joined as managing director of New York metropolitan area research.

Grubb & Ellis
Frank Mancini joined as executive managing director for New York investor services. Peter Auerbach joined as director of financial analysis.

Hudson Realty Capital
Andrew Bloom joined as director and general counsel.

Jones Lang LaSalle
Jere Lucey joined as executive vice president in the capital markets group. Michael Chionchio was promoted to vice president from senior project manager.

Massey Knakal
James Kinsey joined as a sales director in the Manhattan office. Melissa DiBella joined as an associate in the Brooklyn office. Joyce Sung was promoted to associate from intern in the Brooklyn office. Usman Mustafa joined as a sales director in the Queens office.

Newmark Knight Frank
Senior executive vice president Neal Golden relocated to the New York corporate headquarters from Atlanta.

Real Estate Capital Partners
Marc Schulder joined the residential investment team. Terri Gumula joined the commercial investment group.

Studley
Peter Capuciati was promoted to national director of the corporate services group from executive managing director. Jeffrey Peck rejoined as corporate managing director. He was a managing director at Newmark Knight Frank. David Goldstein was elected to the board of directors.

Swig Equities
Eugene Flotteron joined as vice president of project development. He was project manager at Cetra/Ruddy Incorporated.

The Trump Organization announced last month it will offer sales brokering in the more than 178 New York residential buildings of the Charles H. Greenthal Management Corporation. The new Trump-Greenthal Sales and Leasing will broker in higher-end buildings like 1025 Fifth Avenue, 785 Fifth Avenue and 760 Park Avenue.

“Greenthal very much wanted to extend their services to include brokerage representation or professional consultation by reputable people respected by the community,” said Rana Hunter Williams, senior vice president of Trump-Greenthal Sales and Leasing. “They manage a wonderful portfolio with full management services.”

Greenthal’s portfolio includes 23,000 units. “We intend to bring service and exposure to Greenthal and continually achieve the top prices for the properties,” Williams said. Owners in Greenthal buildings will not have to go with the new Trump offshoot, she added, but it’s now a higher-end option.

Artists weigh in on Brooklyn’s changing real estate [more]

Driving Staten Island sales home

For some New Yorkers, a home in the suburbs can mean a daunting commute.

But housing developer Casandra Properties is lessening the pain — and hoping to spur sales — by offering a free car with the purchase of a home in a recently built community in Staten Island. With each purchase of a double-family residence on Dartmouth Loop in New Dorp Beach, home owners have the choice of either a 2007 Saturn Ion or a $15,000 credit in closing costs or furniture.

Home prices start at $464,900.

“The car has generated interest,” says Casandra Properties broker James Prendamano. “All the homes have garages and it’s as convenient as it’s going to get.”

Incentives offered by developers typically include a percentage of closing costs or a discount, but a free car is a new way to market to families that need the extra vroom. “We wanted to upgrade the package with this type of home and in this market,” Prendamano said.

If the market continues to slow down, maybe they’ll need to throw in a Manhattan parking space for commuters as well.

Glass kills in unfriendly skies

The Morgan Mail Processing and Distribution Center at 28th Street and Ninth Avenue has blood on its windows. Bird blood, that is. The highly reflective glass façde is one of hundreds of city buildings that prove deadly for hundreds of migratory birds flying south for the winter.

A slew of fatal collisions is expected this time of year as a host of bird species, including warblers, beat thrushes and rare sparrows, leave Canada for warmer climates, the New York City Audubon Society said.

The society’s Project Safe Flight, a volunteer-run project, patrols streets to collect dead birds along high-traffic corridors in an effort to measure the problem.

The two factors responsible for most of the collisions are low levels of vegetation and reflective windows, the nonprofit conservation group said.

“We’ve tallied close to 500 dead birds, which is only a representative sample,” said Yigal Gelb, program director of the Audubon Society, of the flocks that stop in city parks to rest during their trek to the Caribbean and parts of South America.

The Morgan Mail Processing Center has been targeted as a high-collision area.

“The building has a large reflective exterior by a park,” making it a tempting target for fast-moving, low-flying feathered friends, Gelb explains.

With high-rise developments sprouting up all over Manhattan, birds stand the chance to lose more than a few feathers. Gelb says the group isn’t against new high-rise buildings, but developers can do something to save the birds. Gelb advises the use of less reflective glass on new developments, and retro-fitted netting.

Want to meet someone special? Perhaps in this condo.

When meeting women at the bars isn’t working anymore, try buying a condo in downtown Brooklyn.

Approximately 40 percent of the condo units at 110 Livingston Street in downtown Brooklyn have been bought by single women, says David Walentas, head of Two Trees, the developer behind the development. The 300-unit building is located near Atlantic Avenue.

Sales at 110 Livingston started in July 2006 at around $700 a square foot.

Wonder walls to hit NYC

Brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher of rock ‘n’ roll band Oasis are developing a chain of hotels in the U.S., with one in Manhattan.

The project — still on the planning table — reportedly uses the band’s song titles to provide room themes for hotels in Miami, Hollywood and New York. The first of the hotels could open by the end of 2007.

For their song “Cigarettes and Alcohol,” the Gallagher brothers were reported to have wanted to install alcohol and cigarettes in every room of their New York hotel.

The brothers, infamously known for their disputes, were rumored to be working with Donald Trump to develop their business model. But Trump reps said the rumors are false.

Whether hotel rooms will come pre-trashed has yet to be confirmed.

Pinnacle brushes off tenants’ concerns

This is in response to the article that appeared in the October issue, “One big city landlord and many little headaches.”

Buyers and Renters United To Save Harlem (BRUSH) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to preserve affordable and quality housing for all Northern Manhattan and Harlem residents. The organization’s objective is to advocate on behalf of tenants and to educate tenants about their rights, as well as to promote home ownership.

BRUSH was started as a result of the aggressive management practices of the Pinnacle Group. Pinnacle’s statement that tenants are not paying rent is tantamount to blaming the victim for the company’s own negligent behavior. After repeated efforts to get repairs done in their apartments, many tenants withhold the rent to force the company to make repairs; other tenants believe they are being overcharged in rent. Long-term residents are being hauled into court despite the company’s prior knowledge of the tenant’s current occupancy status.

In addition, Pinnacle’s condominium plan offers no community-development side that would encourage new business investment — and attract shoppers to retail areas, and, therefore, create a positive effect on the adjoining residential areas. The average “as is” price is $850,000, compared to new construction being sold in the community for substantially the same price with far more amenities.

Standing alone, many of these buildings are pre-war structures, and still have their original electrical and plumbing systems. Tenants are frequently confronted with electrical and plumbing problems. Like any other person seeking to invest, tenants want their investment to be practical and profitable. Aggressive management practices, minimal repairs and service, coupled with the condition of these buildings, are not enticing for most tenants.

Kim L. Powell
President of BRUSH
Manhattan

West 8th Street changing, not tanking

I am responding to the article “Lift sought for Greenwich Village shoe district” in the October issue as the executive director of the Village Alliance, a business improvement district that includes West 8th Street, to correct several factual errors and misrepresentations.

The article stated that “24 of 54 shoe stores have closed.” There were never 54 shoe retailers on 8th Street. In 1998, there were 27 shoe stores on West 8th Street; in January of 2006, 23, and, currently, 17, including one footwear retailer who left and recently returned to 8th Street. The decline in shoe stores is not “devastating,” as the article suggests, but a reflection of changing consumer demands, a changing demographic environment and the opening of shoe stores in every New York City neighborhood.

There are no “Going Out of Business” signs on the street, while in the past six months nine new businesses have opened or are in the process of opening, and two existing tenants expanded into additional available space.

Two minor corrections address street locations. First, Broadway Panhandler is located at 65 East 8th Street, while the 14 shoe stores mentioned on 14th Street are located between Sixth Avenue and University Place.

Undoubtedly, West 8th Street is in the throes of change brought about by a decline in the range of tenant types. With a new tenant mix unfolding and the demographics of the primary trade area showing significant increases in both household income, and prospective purchasing power, the business potential for new area shops and services is positive. One can assume that footwear will always be a part of the 8th Street retail scene.

But after a successful run for over 20 years, the addition of new business establishments on the block will create a more diverse shopping experience for our existing population as well as for those from surrounding neighborhoods.

Honi Klein
Executive director of the Village Alliance
Manhattan

A deal at 747 Third Avenue listed in the Deal Sheet in the October issue incorrectly referred to a lease by Japanese newspaper the Yomiuri Shimbun. The lease is not for their first U.S. office; they are moving from their existing bureau at 50 Rockefeller Plaza.

A story in the October issue, “Studley principal jumps to GVA Williams,” misspelled the name of the CEO at GVA Williams. He is Bob Freedman.

A story in the September issue incorrectly referred to the name of a residential firm in a headline on the “Comings & Goings” page. The firm is DJK Residential.