The Real Deal New York

Only longtime landowners able to make rental development work Rentals are back — if you’re a Durst” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Century 21 buys in city, Corcoran in Hamptons Slow market increases merger activity” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

The secrets are laid bare. A state law enacted last month made cooperative apartment sales prices public for the first time, freeing for wide consumption data that had once been the purview of well-connected brokers and of media speculation. The Real Deal, along with Web research site PropertyShark.com, compiled the top 25 priciest co-op deals over the last two years using new data from the city’s Department of Finance. New co-op data shows priciest” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

In the constant battle between New York City buyers and sellers over the exorbitant costs for apartments, buyers more than sellers have been getting battered and bruised. That may soon change. Ending the buyer vs. seller standoff” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

In the post-boom market, what it takes to jumpstart a career in New York real estate — and where no Where to hang your hat” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

The office condominium, a rarity in New York City, is finding a toehold in places as varied as West Chelsea, Lower Manhattan and Greenpoint in Brooklyn. For-sale office space is an alternative for companies who don’t want to shell out rent each month. Developers may be warming to the concept because of the hot office market, where commercial space is fetching a premium amid a cooling residential market. Office condos catching on” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Could chocolate eateries become like Starbucks in New York City? Some newer retailers hope so. Chocolate caf s raise the chocolate bar” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Condo-fueled gentrification spurs demand for different retail in Brooklyn enclave Bright retail prospects for Prospect Heights” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Despite sparse weekday foot traffic, rents hit $200 per sf Meatpacking retail ripens” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Set to go head-to-head with H & M and Zara; in hunt for 60,000 sf, $50 million Manhattan flagshi Topshop: Brit “fast fashion” retailer to storm New York” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

When 25-year-old law student Jared Kushner bought a stake in the New York Observer for $10 million last month, both his age and family history got cynical New Yorkers wagging their tongues. [more]

Just released Charles Kushner returns to work this month; firm changes mind on $2B sale Kushner Cos. prestige sank with prison, but portfolio didn’t” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Three deals in NYT tower move corporate “Mason-Dixon line” farther west Lawyers head west in Times Square” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Office vacancy rate drops further; as lease rates climb, Downtown pickup forecast Tenants needing space aren’t locked out — yet” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Family real estate empires pose a host of succession issues Figuring out who’s next in line” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Stuyvesant Town, Cooper Village could sell for $5B
MetLife has hired a marketer to shop around its Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village apartment complexes, the New York Post reported. CB Richard Ellis’ Darcy Stacom and William Shanahan will try to sell the 80-acre, 110-building package, which has 11,232 apartments and 111,000 square feet of retail. The target sale price is nearly $5 billion, according to the New York Times. This would be the priciest single property sale in U.S. history.

575 Lexington Avenue on the market
The nearly full 575 Lexington Avenue is on the sales market. Asking rents in the 600,000-square-foot tower at 51st Street are around $70 a foot. Darcy Stacom and William Shanahan of CB Richard Ellis are marketing the tower for owners the Koeppel family, the Post reported.

West 42nd Street development site for sale
Hotelier Richard Born, principal of BD Hotels, is marketing for sale his residential site at 508-512 West 42nd Street. The site could fetch close to $100 million, or about $330 a developable foot, according to the Sun.

Leasehold interest in UWS rental on the block
Boymelgreen Developers is marketing for sale the leasehold interest in the 16-story, 172-unit Hudson Park Riverside rental building at 323 West 96th Street, the Sun reported. Units rent for $42 to $55 a square foot, and the rents are stabilized with increases determined by the New York City Rent Guidelines Board. The stabilized rents expire in 2013. The leasehold is expected to fetch $90 million, or $523,000 per unit.

Fifth Avenue development site for sale
A mid-block development site at 309-311 Fifth Avenue is on the market, the Sun reported. The offering states that a developer can build a 141,000-square-foot residential tower. The 31st Street site is expected to fetch approximately $375 a developable foot.

Large Greenpoint development site asking $43M
The 97,934-square-foot mixed-use development site at 49 Dupont Street on the Greenpoint waterfront is asking $43 million. It can support 260,911 square feet of residential development or 169,867 square feet of commercial development. Robert Knakal and Mark Lively of Massey Knakal are the exclusive sales agents.

Lower Manhattan parcel on the block
The 9,800-square-foot parcel at 169 William Street, also known as 33 Beekman Street, is being marketed for sale, the Sun reported. The site, which presently serves as a parking garage owned by Jack Resnick & Sons, can accommodate a mixed-use residential tower or hotel of approximately 138,000 square feet. The property is expected to sell for close to $42 million, or $300 a developable square foot.

East 34th Street development site on the market
A 100,000-square-foot site on East 34th Street between Park and Madison avenues is being marketed for $35 million, or $350 a developable foot. The site is close to the Midtown campus of Stern and Touro Colleges and can be developed as student housing, according to the Sun.

Asking price set for Sundari lot
The site of the canceled Sundari project at 158 Madison Avenue, which went on the market earlier this summer, is asking $30.5 million. The T-shaped site, currently a vacant lot, has 81,249 total buildable square feet, which could hold approximately 72 units. Robert Knakal and John Ciraulo of Massey Knakal are the exclusive sales agents.

Long Island City hotel asking $23M
The newly constructed 80-room Comfort Inn at 42-24 Crescent Street is on the market with an asking price of $23 million. Clint Olsen and Alfonso Holloman of Massey Knakal are the exclusive sales agents.

Midwood mixed-use development sites for sale
Two development sites in the Midwood section of Brooklyn are on the market for a total of $20 million. The site at 1101 Avenue M has 43,000 buildable square feet; 1122 Chestnut Avenue has 63,920 buildable square feet. The sites can be bought together or separately. Eric Greenfield of Massey Knakal is the exclusive sales agent.

East Village apartment buildings on the block
The three buildings at 118 and 120-122 East 4th Street are on the market with an asking price of $13.9 million. The one four-story building and two five-story buildings total 69 residential units, of which 61 are rent-stabilized and eight are free-market. John Ciraulo, Matthew Parvin and Craig Waggner of Massey Knakal are the sales agents.

Tribeca conversion opportunity on the market
The five-story, 30,000-square-foot commercial building at 25 Park Place is on the market with an asking price of $10.5 million. The property is being marketed as a development or conversion opportunity. Rick deRuyter, Peter DeCheser and Paul Smadbeck of Massey Knakal are the exclusive sales agents.

Far Rockaway office building for sale
A five-story, 37,000-square-foot office building just west of the Nassau-Queens border is on the market through Besen & Associates’ Platinum Team. Adelaide Polsinelli, Laurence Ross and Ellen Volpe are handling the sale.

…to have a deal tangled in translation How it feels…” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Property isn’t quite as pricey, but it’s not moving quickly; brokers hope for brisker fall Lower prices, slower movement in Manhattan” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Price per square foot vs. school performance in Manhattan shows possibilities for bargain hunters The best schools for your real estate dollar” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

From Baum leveraging connections at Chemical Bank to Kleier working the schools, they share their se How high-end brokers got to the top” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Sales drop-offs boon to rentals, East End brokers say [more]

As the real estate industry changes, brokers’ job descriptions have been stretched. Instead of just being real estate scouts, most brokers now function as consultants — helping improve a home by staging or recommending a slew of appropriate resources for renovations. [more]

The recent enactment of legislation making individual cooperative sale prices public for the first time is generating little buzz in the real estate industry.
[more]

New data services launched based on now-public prices, but some wonder how useful information will be.
[more]

Home prices drop in counties closest to New York City; inventory and times on market rise Northern New Jersey market starts to drag” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

There’s a slowdown out of town. Houses in prosperous Westchester County are sitting on the market longer. The second quarter of 2006 saw sales volume drop and inventory rise in Westchester County, according to a report issued by the Westchester-Putnam Multiple Listing Service. [more]

Higher inventory reflects sluggish sales in Fairfield County [more]

“It’s not a horrible market, but there’s no sense of urgency.” [more]

Daniel Goldstein lives in the middle of what would be one of the biggest developments in New York hi The Real Deal Podcast: Daniel Goldstein” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

What is your name?

Barbara Anne Corcoran.

When is your birthday and what’s your sign?

March 10, 1949. Pisces.

Where did you grow up?

I was born in Teaneck, New Jersey, and grew up in Edgewater.

What is your greatest achievement professionally?

Building the Corcoran Group and all the people that came along for the ride. [Corcoran founded the firm in 1973 and officially left last year.]

What do you think of your old firm under the new management?

They’ve grown tremendously. I never saw it as anything other than a city firm. They’ve grown the Corcoran brand to different cities and states, and I could’ve never envisioned that.

How much money do you have in your wallet right now?

You are asking me on a bad day, but I have $37 in my wallet right now.

Do you feel rich? Successful?

I’ve always felt successful. I’ve never felt rich and still don’t. But, I guess relative to a lot of people, I am. My family tells me I am rich.

But you are a legitimate millionaire?

I didn’t worry about money when I didn’t have any, and I don’t worry about money when I lose it, because it’s not so important. The only thing important is love, and money makes everything more lovable. Helps out. It takes away the edges.

Since you became rich, what is the most nouveau riche thing you’ve acquired?

I got all new slipcovers for both my house in the city and in the Hamptons.

What has been your biggest contribution to society?

I don’t think I’ve made any contributions to society as a whole. I give a million little donations to a million little people but nothing that you could build a hospital with.

Are there any public buildings, parks or structures bearing your name?

Not a chance. Not a chance.

If you were mayor of New York, what is the first thing you would change?

I would definitely put mature trees on every block and have bike lanes on every avenue.

What’s your idea of the perfect Sunday afternoon?

Sitting on the beach with my 2-month-old daughter Kate in her bucket.

What’s been your greatest disappointment and how did you cope?

The first thing that comes to mind is not being able to have a baby. The seven years of in vitro trying to have my son was very disappointing. I coped with the help of my husband and was fueled by the determination that I wanted to have a baby.

What’s your favorite street in New York?

My favorite street for me is where I am living, because I love my home. And I’ve moved like 20 times. But I guess Fifth Avenue along the park — but, then again, because I live around there.

Who is your consigliere?

My husband of 16 years, Bill.

What’s your biggest pet peeve?

My husband, Bill. He can drive me crazy. He is exactly my opposite.

Will you ever recreate the sort of success you had with the Corcoran Group?

I will because I need to. I just need to be involved in a big creative project. And I need a lot of attention. I probably need a shrink, but instead I’ll build a business.

But you are already on TV, radio and in print.

Yes, but Barbara Corcoran Inc. [television production company started last year] is not as powerful of a brand in that medium as the Corcoran Group brand was in real estate. I have to match that.

Going back to the time when you sold the Corcoran Group, would you still sell?

I would still sell it, because I had accomplished my goal to become the number one firm. After that was done, I was like, “OK, now what do I do?” It was time for a change. I had worked that beat for 30 years, which is long enough. It was almost like raising a family where the kids were mature enough to be on their own.

What time do you get in on Mondays and what time do you leave on Fridays now?

I don’t work in the summers, I just come in for the TV appearances. But, normally, I come in at 9:30 a.m., which is very hard for me. I used to always be at work at 8 a.m.

What do you read every day?

The truth is, nothing. Ever. I never read the papers. I love being unplugged and always have. It makes space for creative thinking and being different from the next guy. Ignorance is bliss.

What gadget can you not live without, besides a cell phone and e-mail?

I can definitely live without my e-mail and cell phone. I don’t even read or answer my own e-mail. The gadget I can’t live without is my DustBuster. I love to be tidy.

How do you size up people when you first meet them?

I have two categories and two sub-categories for everyone. First, if they are good or bad; then, if they are an expander or a container. Expanders want to push out and create bigger things. Containers want to control, and they are both good. One is not less important than the other.

How do you deal with antagonists? Confront or ignore them?

I avoid them. I run from them and hope they go away. I am terrible at confrontation.

Do you prefer to be feared or loved?

Who wants to be feared? I want to be surrounded by people who want to give me kisses.

What was your biggest obstacle on the path to succeeding?

My belief that I had the right to be there.

Briarwood
Briarwood Terrace Condominium
141-43 84th Drive
The new eight-story, 35-unit condominium offers 14 one-bedrooms, 20 two-bedrooms and one studio. The one-bedrooms range in size from 600 to 730 square feet and start at $345,900; the two-bedrooms range from 950 to 1,010 square feet and start at $523,500, the Queens Courier reported. Every unit above the second floor has a balcony. Prudential Douglas Elliman is handling sales. Contact: www.briarwoodny.com.

Chelsea
245 Tenth Avenue
Ground will soon be broken for the 19-unit condominium abutting the future High Line park. Units will range in size from 1,500 to more than 3,000 square feet; 6,300 square feet of retail space will be available for an art gallery. Grosvenor Investment Management US Inc. provided $8.6 million in mezzanine financing for the project on behalf of a pension fund client. Brooklyn-based Della Valle + Bernheimer Design is the architect; Philadelphia-based Grasso Holdings is the developer. Completion is slated for 2007.

Clinton Hill
Vanderbilt Apartments
174 Vanderbilt Avenue and 181 Clermont Avenue
Two warehouses are going to be turned into two six-story condo buildings on adjacent lots. The new 73-unit project, designed by Meltzer/Mandl Architects, will feature exteriors of clear and colored spandrel glass. The buildings will share a 60-foot landscaped courtyard and 38 on-site parking spaces. Prices start at $250,000 for a studio and go up to $1.1 million for a three-bedroom, according to the New York Post. Construction is expected to be finished on both buildings in late 2007. The developer is Vanderbilt Mansion LLC; the Developers Group is handling sales and marketing.

Coney Island
Ocean Dreams
Brad Zackson and David Weisz plan to break ground in spring 2007 on the 250-unit luxury development. It will comprise three six-story glass buildings; amenities will include a doorman, concierge, health club, swimming pool, parking and van service to the subway. Units will be approximately $700 per square foot, the Post reported.

Downtown Brooklyn
85 Flatbush Avenue Extension
Ismael Leyva Architects used the Flatiron building as the inspiration for the design of the 21-story, 108-unit condominium, which will rise on a sharply angled lot at the intersection of Tillary and Duffield streets. The triangular glass tower will be complemented by a triangular plaza, also designed by Ismael Leyva, which will have shallow waterfalls and glass pyramid skylights above the underground swimming pool. Most of the studio to three-bedroom units will have views of the Manhattan and Brooklyn skylines and bridges. North Development Group is the developer.

East New York
The Spring Creek Estates
Luxury housing is going up next to the Louis H. Pink Houses, one of the city’s most dangerous housing projects. The $20 million, 4-acre new development will run along parts of Stanley, Wortman and Euclid avenues and Crescent and Pine streets. Scheduled to be completed by 2008, it will feature 40 two-family homes, with prices starting at $479,000. Contracts have been signed for as much as $625,000, the Post reported. Frank Paladino is the developer.

Flatiron
35 West 21st Street
SLCE Architects designed the new luxury rental development. The project comprises two towers: One will be 15 stories tall and will house studios to two-bedrooms; the other will be eight stories tall and will house two-bedroom floor-throughs. The 110-unit development will go up on a city parking lot. Citi Habitats is marketing the development, and leasing is expected to start in summer 2007, the Post reported.

Greenpoint
110 Green Street and 133-137 Huron Street
Work will begin in September on two six-story condominiums with a total of 130 units: 71 one-bedrooms, 55 two-bedrooms, and four three-bedrooms. Meltzer/Mandl Architects designed the project, which will be built on the combined sites of two former warehouses. A 65-space covered glass parking area and two-level pedestrian passageway will connect the two buildings. The developer is 110 Green Development LLC. Completion is slated for March 2008. The Developers Group is the exclusive sales and marketing agent.

Long Island City
Badge Building
10-55 47th Avenue
Sales have begun at the 44-unit condominium conversion of a building that once served as a factory for the production of police badges for New York City officers. The four-story, prewar loft building is being renovated and integrated with a modern eight-story addition. One- and two-bedrooms range in size from 713 to 1,320 square feet, with prices starting in the mid-$400,000s. Occupancy is expected in spring 2007. Prudential Douglas Elliman is handling marketing and sales. Contact: 718-433-1055, www.badgebuilding.com.

Long Island City
The Echelon Condominium
13-11 Jackson Avenue
Sales were set to officially begin in early September for Long Island City’s first new ground-up residential condominium building since the area’s mid-2001 rezoning. The 12-story building will offer 54 units ranging in size from 503-square-foot studios to 1,176-square-foot two-bedroom penthouses. Prices start at approximately $300,000. Ron Hershco is the developer; Newman Design Group is the architect. Occupancy is slated for late 2006. The Developers Group is the exclusive sales and marketing agent. Contact: 800-810-9459, www.echelonlic.com.

Midtown West
The Hit Factory
421 West 54th Street
The recording studio — used by artists including John Lennon, Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, the Rolling Stones, Madonna, U2, Lenny Kravitz, Mariah Carey, Notorious B.I.G. and Jay-Z — is being converted into a residential condominium. The seven-story building will offer 27 one- to three-bedroom loft-style units, including six penthouse duplexes with private terraces. The units will range in size from 1,100 to 3,400 square feet, with prices running from $1.1 million to more than $4 million. Arpad Baksa is the architect; Joanna Frank designed the interior. Occupancy is slated for early 2007. Stribling Marketing Associates is the exclusive sales and marketing agent. Contact: 646-613-2622, www.thehitfactorycondo.com.

Williamsburg
Bridgeview
26 Broadway
Sales will begin soon for the new 31-unit condominium near the East River. Kutnicki Bernstein Architects designed the building, whose façde has an aluminum panel and a seven-story glass curtain wall. One-bedrooms will have 700 square feet; two-bedrooms will have 1,250 square feet; and the four penthouses will have 1,300 and 1,500 square feet. Prices start in the mid-$400,000s and go up to $1.35 million for the penthouses. The developers are Louis Silverman and Thom Virzi of Blue Rock Developers; the marketing and sales agent is aptsandlofts.com. Contact: www.26bwaycondos.com.

Construction Update

Fashion District
The Epic
125 West 31st Street
The 58-story, mixed-use project is scheduled to open in early 2007, according to the New York Sun. The 80/20 development will have 458 rental units beginning at the 14th floor.

Tribeca
88 Leonard Street
The 23-story, 334-unit rental is scheduled for occupancy in January 2007, according to the Post. Studio to three-bedroom units will range from 425 to 1,825 square feet. Amenities include a fitness center and a 20-person hot tub.

Tribeca
415 Washington Street
Some Tribeca residents want to stop the construction of a 105-foot-high building on a parking lot at the site. The developers, who include actor James Gandolfini, had originally proposed a commercial building — and residents supported that idea. Now, though, the developers want to build a nine-story, 26-unit residential project, sparking the current controversy. (See update, Gandolfini’s Tribeca plan sleeps with the fishes.)

Upper East Side
402 East 67th Street
The Costas Kondylis-designed luxury tower will rise 30 stories, according to the Post. Izak Senbahar and Simon Elias are the developers.

Upper West Side
Fifteen Central Park West
The 20-story wing of the project, known as the House, was topped out in late July. Contact: www.15cpw.com.

Financing

Rockaway Park
Metroplex on the Atlantic
Apex Commercial Real Estate Solutions secured a $14 million acquisition and construction loan for the 123-unit project. Presales are expected to begin in fall 2006, with completion slated for January 2008.

Upper East Side
250 East 60th Street
Commerce Bank placed a $17 million letter of credit enhancement for an HFA bond and $3 million mortgage to 250 East 60th Street Associates LP for the residential development of 41,522 square feet at the site. The 10-story development will consist of 42 units and ground floor retail.

Washington Heights
2360 Amsterdam Avenue
Meridian Capital Group arranged an $11.9 million acquisition and development loan for the construction of an 8-story, 29-unit condominium at the site. The property will also contain 14 underground parking spaces and 3,100 square feet of ground floor commercial space.

Sales Update

East Village
Astor Place
445 Lafayette Street
The 21-story, 39-unit condominium has more than 70 percent of its units sold, according to marketing and sales agent Related Residential Sales. Contact: www.astorplacenyc.com.

Harlem
307 West 126th Street
Sales began last month at the five-story, 10-unit condominium conversion, GlobeSt.com reported. The building, built in 1910, houses six one-bedrooms and four two-bedrooms. Asking prices for one-bedrooms start at $467,600; the two-bedrooms start at $489,500. All residences are available for immediate occupancy. Warburg Realty Harlem is the sales agent.

Midtown
The Plaza Hotel
Central Park and Fifth Avenue
Elad Properties in late July launched the sale of 152 hotel-condominium units at the Plaza Hotel. Owners will be able to use the hotel-condominium units for up to 120 days a year. The units, known as the Hotel Residences, will range in size from 500 to 2,100 square feet, with prices running from $1.6 to $9 million. The adjoining 182 private residences were 60 percent sold as of late July.

Midtown East
The Veneto
250 East 53rd Street
The Related Companies’ new 34-story condominium tower had sold half of its 137 units by mid-August, within the first three months of sales. Prices start at $950,000 and run to more than $5 million. Both penthouses in the Veneto are under contract, according to Related.

Midtown West
The Link
310 West 52nd Street
The 215-unit building was 60 percent sold as of late July, the Post reported. Sales began last summer. Prices range from $955,000 to $2.3 million. Contact: www.thelinknyc.com.

Park Slope
Select Condos
102 St. Marks Place
Prices dropped in late July at the four-unit condominium conversion, the Post reported. The 1,050-square-foot to 1,700-square-foot two-bedrooms are now priced from $645,000 to $1.025 million, down from $700,000 to $1.1 million. Brooklyn Properties is handling sales. Contact: www.brooklynproperties.com.

Times Square
1600 Broadway
All 137 units in the 27-story luxury tower had been sold by mid-August, according to the New York Observer.

Upper West Side
The Hudson
225 West 60th Street
The on-site sales center and two model apartments were unveiled early last month for the 80-unit condominium. Occupancy is slated for early 2007, with one- to three-bedrooms starting at $675,000. The Developers Group and Halstead Property Development Marketing are the exclusive marketing and sales agents. Contact: 212-445-1001, www.thehudsoncondo.com.

Upper West Side
455 Central Park West
Sales have been slow at the 97-unit condominium, according to the Post. Eight of the units remained unsold in late July after nearly three years on the market. Columbia University bought 53 of the 97 units in the development, and the 44 remaining ones went on sale in late 2003. The developer and the condo board recently settled a dispute over liens.

Williamsburg
The Aurora
30 Bayard Street
The 12-story condominium’s 51 units were 60 percent sold as of mid-August, within six months of sales. One to three-bedrooms range in size from 624 to 2,021 square feet and start at $545,000. The Developers Group is the marketing agent. Contact: 718-222-1545, www.thedevelopersgroup.com.

Development in Brief

Manhattan (from north to south)

214-216 East 52nd Street
Italian hotel company Papmos Imobilre Sri purchased the five-story, 14,965-square-foot office building. The company plans to convert the building, built in 1900, into high-end apartments, according to the New York Sun.

West 21st Street
The Lalezarian Brothers have opened the rental office in Casa, a 17-story, 155-unit building in Chelsea, according to the Sun.

240 Church Street
Developers Izak Senbahar and Simon Elias of the Alexico Group bought the New York Law School’s development site and plan a 306,155-square-foot luxury residential tower there, the New York Post reported.

10 Barclay Street
Glenwood Management will open its 57-story, 396-unit rental apartment building in 2007, according to the Sun.

Brooklyn

59-65 Hope Street
The six-story, 113,000-square foot industrial building in Williamsburg was recently sold and will be converted into residential condominiums.

886 Dahill Road
A Brooklyn real estate developer wants the city to make a zoning change so he can build a 12-story residential building in Borough Park, a neighborhood of smaller homes. Mendel Brach, who has been accused by the city of flouting zoning rules on another Brooklyn project, wants to put 174 apartments and a 259-car parking garage in the building, according to the New York Times.

New Developments from Previous Month

Condo owners renting out units in tight market; some conversion projects returning to rentals From rental to condo and back again” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Fresh frontier for rental properties, often without building incentive programs Harlem rental developers start their Uptown strut” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Arizona-based Miraval plans urban oasis and condo project Spa condo to debut on Upper East Side” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

60-story luxury condo project latest new residential development in rapidly changing area Madison Square to get towering addition” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Hit Factory banks on building’s rock roots; using area’s edgy vibe to sell More condos cooking in Hell’s Kitchen” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Some brokers have devised surefire ways to pinpoint development before it happens Tracking new projects, from the ground up” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Market for contractors, skilled laborers tightening in a New York City full of newer projects Building boom faces construction labor crunch” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Tenacious holdouts can be a developer’s headache Making office tenants leave” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

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

Continent’s tallest tower moves forward in Chicago

What would be the tallest building in North America is moving forward in Chicago. An Irish developer, Garrett Kelleher of Shelbourne Development, acquired for $64 million the 2.2-acre site for the 124-story luxury hotel and condominium skyscraper in mid-July from the LR Development Company, according to published reports. Chicago’s planning commission already signed off on the proposal in the spring, and construction is set to begin next spring and be finished by 2010. The tower will include a five-star hotel and 300 luxury condos starting at $600,000. The cost of the tower is now at $1.2 billion.

–
Atlanta

Commercial
The highest price ever paid for an Atlanta office property closed recently when Bentley Forbes bought the Bank of America Plaza, the landmark 55-story office tower, for $436 million, Commercial Property News reported. The 1.25-million-square-foot building also set the Atlanta record for highest sales price per square foot, at $348.

Residential
Home owners in Atlanta are the most likely in the United States to sell their own homes without the aid of brokers. Of all the homes listed on ForSaleByOwner.com in 2005, 3.8 percent came from Atlanta, according to Inman News. The Atlanta housing market, in fact, saw a 71 percent increase last year in home owners selling their own homes.

Austin

Commercial
A local developer will build three hotels near the Austin Convention Center for $185 million, adding 1,000 rooms to downtown by the summer of 2009. Construction will begin next summer on a 650-room, full-service Marriott hotel; a 200-room boutique Renaissance Hotel; and a 150-room Springhill Suites. The hotels are expected to generate over $2 million a year in property taxes and over $4 million annually in bed taxes for Austin.

Boston

Residential
Boston home prices are dropping at a fast clip. Median sale prices in Boston dropped to $454,000 in the second quarter of 2006, down 4.3 percent from a year earlier, the Boston Herald reported. That’s the biggest year-over-year drop since the third quarter of 2001. The biggest second-quarter drop came in the city’s Leather District, where median prices fell 23.5 percent year-over-year to $449,000. Prices in tony Beacon Hill fell 8.5 percent to $480,550, the Herald reported.

Commercial
Smaller-scale tenants are helping drive a quiet resurgence in the Boston office market. The city’s overall commercial vacancy rate dropped to 10.4 percent in the second quarter of 2006 from 13.3 percent a year earlier, Reuters reported based on an analysis by Cushman & Wakefield. This vacancy drop, analysts said, was due more to smaller- and mid-sized tenants hunting for lower-priced office space than to larger companies.

Houston

Commercial
Demand for space in the Houston office market reached an eight-year high in the second quarter of 2006, according to a report from Grubb & Ellis. The overall commercial vacancy rate in the nation’s fourth-largest city fell 0.8 percent during the quarter to 16.5 percent, its lowest level in nearly four years. The rate in Houston’s central business district, in particular, fell 1.6 percent in the second quarter to 19.6 percent.

Las Vegas

Commercial
The last hurdle has been cleared for the development of the Great Mall of Las Vegas, with the City Council in late July giving the go-ahead for the project, Commercial Property News reported. The mall, which will include 800 condos in two towers and 100,000 square feet of office space, has an estimated $750 million price tag and will unfold on nearly 50 acres at the intersection of Deer Springs Way and Grand Montecito Parkway. Construction will start in early 2008, with the mall scheduled to open in by 2010.

Residential
Fueled by a population growth rate of 7,000 new residents a month, the apartment market in the Las Vegas area posted a 96 percent occupancy rate in the second quarter of 2006, the Las Vegas Business Press reported. Average asking rents for apartments increased 5.3 percent year-over-year in the second quarter to $848 a month.

Los Angeles

Commercial
The Los Angeles County office market continues to tighten, particularly in the Westside market, as it moves through 2006. Average asking rents rose 7 percent from the second quarter of 2005 through the second quarter of this year to $2.21 a square foot, the Los Angeles Times reported based on Cushman & Wakefield data, while the vacancy rate overall dropped from 13.4 percent during the same time period to 11 percent. On the Westside, the vacancy rate in the second quarter fell below 8 percent, down from more than 11 percent at the same time last year.

Residential
The first high-rise condo development in San Pedro, just south of Los Angeles, is in the works. A Beverly Hills-based developer has imploded the 12-story former Pacific Trade Center building to make way for the $175-million, 16-story, 318-unit project called the Vue, GlobeSt.com reported. The Vue is slated to break ground this fall, with units available for occupancy in early 2008. The Vue is taking shape at a site just a short drive across the Vincent Thomas Bridge from Long Beach, at Fifth and Palos Verdes streets.

Philadelphia

Commercial
At least seven new hotels are planned for Philadelphia’s Center City and airport areas in the next two to four years, a building surge fueled by an increasingly stronger hotel industry in the city. The new hotels will be small to medium-size and huddle around the soon-to-be-expanded Convention Center, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Among the newer hotels will be a W, which will open in the lower floors of a 30-story condo tower at the southwest corner of 12th and Arch streets.

Phoenix

Residential
The home building surge in the once booming Phoenix Valley has peaked and begun to recede, according to analysts. Home building in the Valley during the first half of 2006 was down 19 percent from the same time period in 2005, the Arizona Republic reported. Meanwhile, resales of Valley homes dropped 25 percent between the two time periods.

San Francisco

Residential
Plunging home sales this summer have signaled the end of the San Francisco housing boom, once one of the hottest in the nation. Sales of single-family homes in the city dropped 21 percent in June, USA Today reported, and the number of homes listed for sale has nearly doubled since the start of 2006. The median sales price of a San Francisco home, however, has continued to rise, though more slowly than for California overall. The median price in the city was up 3.6 percent in June from June 2005 to $760,930, while for the state overall, the price rose 6.2 percent to $575,800.

Commercial
The San Francisco office market is so strong that some analysts are saying that the city may soon see its first speculative development project since the dot-com boom. The commercial vacancy rate in San Francisco dropped from 14.8 percent in the first quarter of this year to 13.9 percent by the end of the second — down also from 17.3 percent in the second quarter of 2005. Meanwhile, the direct average asking rent for the city’s top office space rose to $39.36 a square foot in the second quarter from $32.28 a foot during the same period last year.

Washington, D.C.

Commercial
Despite a slowly rising vacancy rate during the first half of the year, the D.C. commercial market, analysts say, should finish 2006 strongly. The vacancy rate rose from around 7 percent in the first quarter of the year to 7.7 percent by the end of the second quarter, Cushman & Wakefield reported. Still, that’s below equilibrium (10 percent), and demand for commercial space remains strong. The average asking rent for commercial space in Washington was, in fact, at a near-record of $42.81 a square foot in the second quarter. It hit a record of $42.98 in the first quarter.

Vacancy in Miami office market continues to drop

For the fifth straight quarter, the vacancy rate in the Miami office market dropped as absorption stayed positive. Steady tenant demand and a dearth of new office construction have been the main reasons for both.

The Miami vacancy rate for the second quarter was 8.72 percent, according to CB Richard Ellis, down from around 10 percent in the first quarter — and at its lowest level since at least the beginning of 2001. In the second quarter, also, 241,588 square feet of space was positively absorbed in the Miami office market.

Average asking rents in Miami-Dade County increased 1.3 percentage points from the first quarter for an average rate of $25.88 per square foot.

Analysts expect the market to get tighter during the rest of 2006. Right now, only 130,000 square feet of new office space is under construction in Miami-Dade County, CBRE reported, and demand for space in general remains high.

In Broward County, the vacancy rate was also tight at 8.33 percent during the second quarter, down 4.4 percentage points from a year ago. Average asking rates rose 10.7 percentage points from $13.75 per square foot a year ago to $15.06 per square foot this year.

In Palm Beach County, the office vacancy rate dipped to 8.4 percent during the second quarter, down from 9.4 percent a year ago. As a result, average asking rents have risen 9.4 percent over the year to $18.31 per square foot, according to CBRE.

Miami rental market strong, despite condo slowdown

While the condominium market is cooling down, the Miami rental market is still being buoyed by a number of factors, including positive employment trends.

Employers in Miami-Dade County are projected to add 16,000 jobs in 2006, a 1.6 percent increase over last year. Nearly one-half of those jobs will hail from the construction as well as professional and business service sectors.

Rental rates are forecast to increase 3.2 percent over the next quarter to an average of $1,058 per month, according to Marcus & Millichap. Net effective rents are projected to rise 3.6 percent over the next quarter to an average of $1,014 per month.

Massive mixed-use project on the block in Miami

Some are calling it a $375 million exhibit in a pile of mounting evidence that the Miami housing market has cooled.

Midtown Miami, the mixed-use residential development planned for just north of downtown that’s suppose to include 3,000 condos, went on sale in July, the Miami Herald reported. Developer Joe Cayre is asking the $375 million for 80 percent of the project. Cayre said he’s selling for tax purposes and that he’s always planned to sell part of Midtown Miami after construction started.

Some, though, aren’t buying that explanation.

“This is another sign of where this market might be headed,” Jay Massirman, a vice chairman with CB Richard Ellis, told the Herald. “It says to me that they’re worried about the market. The challenge will be finding someone to take over their risk position and bet on the market.”

At least 11 towers are planned on 56 acres in the Midtown Miami development. Along with the condos, more than 645,000 square feet of office and retail space is slated for the project.

Housing costs driving out South Florida middle class
The high cost of homes in South Florida is helping fuel a middle-class exodus.

With the median price of a home in Broward County at $377,000, for instance, many South Florida residents are taking stock of other quality of life issues like long commutes and the threat of hurricanes and opting out of the region altogether, according to the Miami Herald.

A recent study by the Brookings Institution found that Miami-Dade County had the nation’s fifth-lowest proportion of middle-income neighborhoods, barely ahead of pricier places like New York City and Los Angles. Broward County had the 82nd-lowest proportion and Palm Beach County the 80th.

Although the pace of home sales in South Florida continues to cool, prices remain prohibitively high for many in the middle class. The median South Florida home cost $158,000 in 2001, the Florida Association of Realtors estimated. Today, the median home price in the region is $378,000 — or about 73 percent above the U.S. average. That means a home buyer would have to plunk down $37,800 as a down payment, more than the median annual income of a Miami-Dade household: $33,035 in 2003, the last year data was available from the Census Bureau.

Miami Briefs from Previous Month

Hotel rises, even as building costs thwart other projects Miami hotel north of river first in decades” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Condo projects spotlight new appeal of Queens area near Manhattan Astoria, a renters’ haven, readies for buying wave” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Townhouse renovators choose Mott Haven over Harlem; a look at the deals Small investors trek to South Bronx, set records” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Nearly two-thirds of projected ‘inclusionary’ units already in pipeline City reaching affordable unit goal for Williamsburg waterfront” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Luxury condos, changing retail altering vibe and demographics of Upper West Side enclave Gentrification peaking in Manhattan Valley” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Several projects could rise following 21-story Windsor, though costs and rezone push breed caution Forest Hills arrives late to development game” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Condo projects on city’s western side expanding where expat New Yorkers can buy; rental demand climb Development blurring the borders of Hoboken” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Leaders decry latest moves by “Greedy Gregg” in East Village battle between City Hall, developer Gregg Singer and the city: P.S. 64 cooperation a crumbling facade” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Lawsuits and white papers target methods shutting out discount brokerages Regulators and think tanks weigh in on realty practices” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

City approves inclusionary zoning in Queens
The City Council last month approved the first inclusionary zoning for Queens, rezoning 110 blocks in the neighborhoods of Woodside and Maspeth. The rezoning allows property owners along these Queens Boulevard blocks to build 33 percent more housing in exchange for creating or preserving 20 percent of the floor area they develop as permanently affordable housing.

State agency approves plans for Moynihan Station
The Empire State Development Corporation last month approved the $900 million plan to remake the landmarked Farley Post Office into the Moynihan transit hub. The approval paved the way for a final vote by the state’s Public Authorities Control Board at the end of August. The new Moynihan Station could serve as a nexus for development in the West 30s.

City industrial agency approves Hudson Yards tax breaks
The board of the city’s Industrial Development Agency last month approved $650 million in tax breaks for the development of the Hudson Yards on the far West Side, Crain’s reported. The city envisions that area as becoming a commercial extension of Midtown.

Brooklyn site slated for mixed-use
The city announced a formal request for proposals for development of the former Brig site in Wallabout, Brooklyn. A mixed-use development, including affordable housing, can go up on the 103,000-square-foot, city-owned site, the New York Observer reported.

Committee rejects Trump hotel-condo
Soho residents angry over Donald Trump’s plans to build a 45-story hotel-condo on Spring Street scored a victory in late July when the local community board’s zoning committee rejected the plans on legal grounds. The board questioned the legality of building a hotel that’s partly residential in an area zoned for manufacturing, the Downtown Express reported.

City Council OKs Silvercup West plans
As expected, the City Council last month approved the proposed Silvercup West development on the Long Island City waterfront. The 2.7-million-square-foot mixed-use project will go up on six acres just south of the Queensboro Bridge. It will include 1,000 residential units, 650,000 square feet of office space, 70,000 square feet of retail space, a 40,000-square-foot catering hall and 100,000 square feet of what developers Alan Suna and Stuart Match Suna are calling cultural space.

City plans to expand Pier 94 center
The Bloomberg administration is planning to double the size of the city’s second-largest exhibition and trade show space on Pier 94 on the far West Side, the New York Times reported. The expansion would help the city capture more additional midsize trade shows, the sort that might opt out of going to the larger Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.

Politicians eye second Javits expansion
Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Sen. Chuck Schumer last month proposed that a second phase of the Jacob K. Javits Center’s expansion get under way by the end of 2006, at the same time the first phase of the center’s expansion is expected to start. The second phase would cost $600 million, according to the Observer.

Construction starts on World Trade Center memorial
Construction on the World Trade Center memorial started on August 15, despite the need for more than $170 million in additional funds to complete the project, the New York Post reported. The memorial is expected to be completed by September 2009.

MTA settles with displaced businesses
The announcement was made last month that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has settled in court with 88 of the small businesses soon to be displaced by the new Fulton Street transit center. The $800 million center will displace businesses primarily on the east side of Broadway between Fulton and John streets, according to the Tribeca Tribune.

Trump’s Riverside South claims tossed from court In the Courts” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Many inked cheap mortgages in the housing boom; now, payments set to spike [more]

House approves bill expanding FHA loans; opens market to mortgage brokers [more]

Looming changes in ARMs fuel boom in cash-out refinancings [more]

A story in the August issue, “Think penthouses are more expensive to build?,” misstated the name of an executive at Gramercy Property Group. It is Jon Goldberg.

A story in the July issue, “Brokers see the devil, condos discussed,” about a private screening of the movie “The Devil Wears Prada” hosted by Starwood Resorts Worldwide misstated the cost of the party. The cost was $20,000.

Foreign buyers pounce on freshly independent Montenegro
The southeastern European nation of Montenegro, independent since June, has been drawing foreign buyers and investors eager to capitalize on the Connecticut-sized republic’s cheaper real estate.

These fresh buyers in Europe’s youngest country are mostly coming from the United Kingdom, Russia and nearby Italy, and are keenest on buying property along Montenegro’s 175-mile Adriatic Sea coastline, according to a story in the Wall Street Journal. Prices there have increased nearly threefold in the past 12 months, and the young country’s government is moving to enforce laws regulating development to prevent what the Montenegrin foreign minister calls “the transforming of the whole coast into a giant piece of concrete.”

While this demand continues to fuel property price increases, Montenegro’s coastal prices remain cheaper than other areas along the Adriatic. In the small town of Kotor, for instance, home prices average $3,839 a square meter (or $356 a square foot), according to the Journal. In Cannes, France, that average is $6,712 ($623 a square foot), and, in Thessaloniki, on the Greek coast, the average is $11,515 a meter ($1,069 a square foot).

Big retail chains eye India
The world’s biggest retail chains, including Wal-Mart, are maneuvering to enter what’s being called the final frontier of international retail — India. These maneuvers come despite a government ban on foreign direct investment in the Indian retail market, the International Herald-Tribune reported.

But the subcontinent may be too juicy a retail target for the chains to pass up. More than half of India’s 1.1 billion citizens are under the age of 25, the Herald-Tribune reported, and their disposable incomes are increasing in a country where the economy averages an 8 percent growth rate annually.

Wal-Mart recently started negotiations with DLF Universal, India’s largest real estate developer. And Europe’s largest retailer, Carrefour, is talking with the Landmark Group, a Dubai-based developer, about building in India. To get around the government’s restrictions on foreign direct investment in retail, the international chains are trying to partner with Indian companies.

The restrictions stem from what’s probably a debate familiar to Westerners: With most retail in India almost all family-run operations, Indian politicians often argue that foreign chains will put these smaller mom-and-pop stores out of business.

Gap, Banana Republic stores to flood Malaysia, Singapore
Facing competition and pricier retail rents elsewhere, the Gap Inc. plans to make major inroads into Asia during the end of 2006. The clothing giant will open its first stores in Asia outside of Japan beginning in October.

The first three of these Gaps will open in Singapore and another four will open in Malaysia by December. These include a 9,000-square-foot flagship store at Wisma Atria mall on Singapore’s Orchard Road. The other 3,000 Gap stores are located in North America, France, Great Britain and Japan.

Following these Gap openings, Gap Inc. also plans to open Banana Republic stores in Singapore and Malaysia starting in 2007. As many as 30 Gap and Banana Republic stores could open, in fact, in the two countries by the end of this decade, according to a story in the Wall Street Journal.

Financial services drive London office leasing
Financial services firms are driving London’s already tight and expensive office market in 2006 to historically low availability rates. Banks and financial services firms accounted for 39 percent of all office leasing in the British capital during the first six months of 2006, according to brokerage Cushman & Wakefield. That’s up from 26 percent during the same period in 2005, and from 22 percent during 2004′s first half.

In the first six months of 2006, businesses leased 4.7 million square feet of London office space, up 40 percent during the same period in 2005.

This brisk leasing has contributed to some of the lowest availability rates in London’s office submarkets in years. In the West End — the world’s most expensive office market, according to Cushman & Wakefield — the availability rate at the beginning of July stood at 5.7 percent, the lowest since 2001. In the City and Docklands, the availability rate was 8.3 percent, the lowest in four years.

The recent acquisition by SL Green of Reckson Associates Realty will benefit SL Green’s investors, analysts say, by improving the portfolio of New York’s largest office landlord. SL Green announced the $6 billion acquisition in early August.
[more]

Brokerage DJ Knight Residential has a new director of sales and leasing. Phyllis Pezenik, a former sales manager at Citi Habitats, said she’s spending her time at DJK helping her staff of more than 50 brokers adjust to the hot rental market and slower sales market. Pezenik said she’ll focus on rental exclusives in a market with a vacancy rate below 1 percent in Manhattan.

“There is product if you know how to go out and get it,” she said. “We have lots of relationships with landlords and constantly know what’s available to make sure we know what is out there.”

Steady job growth in the city keeps her team of brokers busy with relocations, too, Pezenik said. DJK services international relocation agency SIRVA Relocation for Manhattan, Queens, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Before her management role at Citi Habitats, Pezenik was a co-founder of architectural engineering firm Richard I. Pezenik.

Residential

Brown Harris Stevens
Charles Fritschler and John Schwartz joined the West Side office as vice presidents. Both were formerly at the Corcoran Group.

Halstead
Robyn Kenyon Kammerer joined as director of communications.

Swig Equities
Ramona Mahtani joined as vice president and director of residential sales and marketing. She was director of sales and marketing for the Developers Group.

Commercial

Andrew A. Pittel & Co.
Amy Cole joined as managing director.

Apollo Real Estate Advisors
Julie Bierman joined as vice president.

Atlantic Development Group
Charles Brass joined as executive vice president.

Cushman & Wakefield
Matthew Astrachan was promoted to executive vice president.

The Durst Organization
Jordan Barowitz was appointed director of external affairs.

Grubb & Ellis
John McGinley joined as vice president and director of management services in New York.

Hypo Real Estate Capital
Michael Krull joined as managing director and head of the commercial mortgage-backed securities group.

Jones Lang LaSalle
Spencer Jurman was promoted to national director. Thomas McAdam was promoted to international director. Nick Hayden was promoted to senior vice president and group manager of the New York operations group. Randy Apfelbaum was promoted to associate director. Ruby Chan was promoted to vice president.

Leewood Real Estate Group
Kenneth Simons joined as COO of the firm’s New York division.

Massey Knakal
Michael Desjadon was promoted to sales director, covering Manhattan’s Alphabet City. Jordan Zotts was promoted to sales director. Matthew Giordano joined as a sales director in the Staten Island division. Dia Onizawa was promoted to associate. Natasha Attal joined the Brooklyn office as an associate.

RAL Companies & Affiliates
Stuart Taft was promoted to managing director of acquisitions.

Tishman Speyer
Elaine Philis joined as senior director in the equity capital markets group.

Trammell Crow
Patrick Heeg joined as a senior vice president. Jim Coffey joined as vice president of project management.

SL Green acquires Reckson in $6B deal
SL Green Realty, one of the leading commercial landlords in New York, acquired fellow real estate investment trust Reckson Associates Realty in a $6 billion deal that’s expected to close in January 2007. The deal has been approved by both REITs’ boards of directors, and includes the assumption by SL Green of Reckson’s approximately $2 billion in outstanding debt (see SL Green set to profit from Reckson buildings).

Warburg moves Village office
Warburg Realty Partnership announced the relocation of its Greenwich Village office from 795 Broadway to new storefront space at 65 West 13th Street. The new retail-level location will be home to nearly 30 brokers. The office continues to be led by senior managing director Stephen Klym.

Insurance company offers rezoning protection
Boston-based Lexington Insurance Company has launched an insurance policy to protect commercial and residential developers and lenders from losses due to changing zoning laws, Globest.com reported. The new policy is called Zoning Restriction Protector Insurance.

Oncor taps PBS Realty as New York partner
The board of directors of commercial real estate organization Oncor International has selected PBS Realty Advisors as its New York partner. PBS Realty’s commercial real estate advisory services and senior level professionals will be available to Oncor’s client base, which includes Fortune 500 companies such as American Express, IBM and Prudential.

NAI Global acquires New York affiliate
Commercial brokerage firm NAI Global has acquired the assets of its New York City affiliate, NAI DG Hart. Jeffrey Finn, president and chief operating officer of NAI Global, was appointed chairman and chief executive of NAI New York. As part of this transaction, NAI Global will relocate its corporate global solutions group to Manhattan.

Two Trees launches wireless park hotspot
Two Trees Management, the Dumbo Improvement District and NYCwireless have launched Brooklyn’s first wireless park hotspot. The system provides full coverage to the city park at 1 Main Street.

Coldwell Banker Hunt Kennedy joins Westchester Real Estate Inc.
Coldwell Banker Hunt Kennedy announced last month that it is now a member of Westchester Real Estate Inc., an organization of real estate companies that promotes relationships through broker-to-broker referrals.

Hornig turns attention to condo projects, possible office-condo deals [more]

rokers might hope so, as they try to snag clients and deals through promotional photographs. Broker photos: every picture tells a story, don’t it?” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Rental firm uses pranks, Web site to stay on youngsters’ radars [more]

Shvo keeps low profile on new projects

Michael Shvo’s photograph on the cover of the August issue of The Real Deal and Shvo’s inclusion in the cover story (Top marketing brokerages, August 2006), has brought our company significant attention, as numerous colleagues have contacted us with both congratulations and some inquiries. Of those emails and calls, some have questioned Shvo’s ranking. We believe that some kind of edification for our colleagues, many of whom are your dedicated readers, would be helpful.

It is now and has always been Shvo’s policy not to divulge or discuss projects until we are absolutely ready to make an announcement that both properly frames the promise of the building and respects our relationships with our developer, designer and brand partners. Since the opening of 20 Pine, the expectation of a Shvo property is at such a level that as a company we tend to prefer a lower profile — perhaps in contrast to our CEO’s image, we realize — until we feel it is precisely the right moment to promote the brand and building in the marketplace.

As a result of this policy, we omitted future projects from our submission to The Real Deal that were in our estimation premature to disclose.

Shvo’s actual figures are as follows: 6,335 units marketed in New York alone through 2007. And while we are not ready to discuss specifics within those numbers, we can also say that we are pursuing work in almost every significant U.S. market.

Arthur Gallego
Vice President of Communications, the Shvo Group
Manhattan

Halstead Property disputes marketing numbers

In the most recent issue of The Real Deal, Halstead Property was included in an extensive article on top marketing brokerages (Top marketing brokerages, August 2006). We are greatly disappointed that the chart numbers for Halstead Property were incorrect. Halstead has marketed 2,290 units and 44 projects during the period covered by the survey.

Robyn Kammerer
Director of Communications, Halstead Property
Manhattan