The Real Deal

Q & A with clothing designer-turned-interior designer Zac Posen

February 09, 2010 11:30AM By Candace Taylor

Fashion designer Zac Posen, 29, answered a few questions from The Real Deal as he prepares to unveil his interior design handiwork at new boutique condo development 16 West 21st Street. Sales at the F&T Group-developed project, headed up by Prudential Douglas Elliman's Hagay Azoulay, will begin in early next month, Posen's camp said, but a red carpet event March 18 will mark the official opening. Posen remained mum about the furniture line he was reported to be launching this year, and a spokesperson said he's put the project on hold. More Tags: 16 west 21st street 20 pine 485 fifth avenue aesthete armani f&t group hagay azoulay peter som prudential douglas elliman zac posen

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Roxy nightclub plans abandoned

February 09, 2010 11:00AM By Chris Scott

Impresario David Casey and his partners have abandoned plans to reopen the former Roxy nightclub space at 515 West 18th Street, citing staunch neighborhood opposition. An attorney for the group, Eden Ballroom, which owns nightclubs including Taj Lounge, announced the decision to withdraw its controversial liquor license application at a committee meeting of the local Community Board 4 last night, sparking cheers from a cadre of would-be protesters in the audience. "The only way that we can be successful in applying for a liquor license, as well as maintaining a liquor license, is through a harmonious relationship with the neighbors," the group's lawyer said. "It doesn't appear as though there's going to be one. Toward that end, we're willing to walk away from this project." He added that the would-be leaseholders were "actively looking at other locations" where the community might be more welcoming, prompting one panel member to quip, "Where there's no residents?" More Tags: semantic realty 515 west 18th street community board 4 last night david casey eden ballroom katra leopard lounge roller disco roxy taj lounge

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Columbus Square arrives

Rental and retail project fills up, but faces stiff competition February 09, 2010 10:30AM By C. J. Hughes

From the February issue: It's away from the heart of the Upper West Side. Its rents are up to 30 percent higher than the competition's. And its shops more closely resemble strip-mall offerings than what's typically found on city blocks. But Columbus Square, a mega mixed-use complex that spans six blocks from West 97th to 100th streets between Amsterdam and Columbus avenues, is posting enviable rental and retail numbers in a down market, according to brokers familiar with the project and the neighborhood. Since May, the project has leased 290 of 454 apartments in two buildings at the site, where five buildings are planned, for a rental rate of 64 percent. One-bedrooms there list for about $3,400, which dwarfs the $2,300 average that postwar equivalents in the neighborhood usually command, brokers said. Once complete, Columbus Square will have 710 apartments. Of course, with the housing market still weak, tenants are receiving generous extras from the co-developers, Stellar Management and the Chetrit Group. Those incentives include up to three months of free rent, plus coverage of the broker's fee, for signing a 14-month lease, according to Kathy Rudney, the Prudential Douglas Elliman broker handling rentals. But the base rents, she noted, are firm.  [more]

Tags: 808 columbus avenue Donald Trump Larry Silverstein chetrit group citi habitats columbus square eric hamm kathy rudney maggie peyton park west village prudential douglas elliman riverside boulevard robert moses sessanta silver towers stellar management teresa bruce

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Lenders jump back into commercial real estate

February 09, 2010 10:00AM

Despite an anticipated $120 billion in commercial real estate losses between 2008 and 2011, lenders are ready to get back to business. In a Jones Lang LaSalle survey of 60 banks and other financial institutions at the annual Mortgage Bankers Association conference last week, 24 lenders each said they would make between $2 billion and $4 billion worth of commercial real estate loans in 2010. More than half of those surveyed said they were willing to lend $50 million or more toward a single property purchase, up from the $25 million most were willing to lend for a single asset last year. Some lenders were even open to the idea of $150 to $500 million loans, said David Hendrickson, managing director of Jones Lang LaSalle. While banks are still facing substantial losses, most have already set aside reserves or marked down their portfolios to reflect them, and market experts say the opportunity to pick up commercial real estate assets at discounts of 44 to 55 percent off of 2007's peak prices, as estimated by Moody's Investors Service, is luring lenders back into the game. [Dow Jones via WSJ] Tags: david hendrickson jll jones lang lasalle mba moody's investors service mortgage bankers association

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City offers water and sewage debt relief to struggling homeowners

February 09, 2010 09:20AM

New York City homeowners facing foreclosure will be temporarily relieved of their overdue water and sewer bills under a new city initiative announced yesterday. Roughly 2,000 homeowners will be eligible for the program, which will allow those who have owed $1,000 or more for at least one year to freeze penalties and unpaid interest on their water debt, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. Once the property is sold, transferred or refinanced, owners will be required to repay the water debt as well as all future water bills. "We're offering a financial lifeline to many homeowners that need help now more than ever," Bloomberg said. "We're taking the immediate pressure off one front in their struggle and in many cases that will then help them get back on their feet and stay in their homes." TRD Tags: Bloomberg mayor bloomberg michael bloomberg mike bloomberg water debt assistance program

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Home improvement retailers see positive signs

February 09, 2010 08:40AM

Following the news that Morgan Stanley upgraded Home Depot stocks, CNBC sat down with two hardline retail experts to discuss what potential gains in home improvement stocks say about the housing market recovery. According to Stephen Chick, managing director of hardline retail at FBR Capital Markets, lumber prices are beginning to rebound -- having seen price increases over the last two to four months not matched since 2004, and that could be a positive, though often-underestimated indicator for housing. Michael Lasser, vice president and senior research analyst of hardline retail at Barclays Capital, pointed to an increased demand for appliances. Lasser said it's too soon to tell whether indicators from stores like Lowe's and Home Depot mean a full-fledged recovery, but retailers are certainly benefiting from higher transactional volume, stemming from more people moving to new homes and doing improvements and repairs. Tags: stephen chick michael lasser fbr capital markets barclays capital Morgan Stanley lowe's home depot

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Fashionistas flocking to revitalized MePa as Bryant Park alternative, special servicer CW Capital likely to bid to keep Riverton Houses ... and more

February 09, 2010 08:00AM

1. Fashionistas flocking to a revitalized MePa as Bryant Park alternative this week [Crain's]
2. Wall Streeters return to the luxury market with confidence, not cash [NYT]
3. Special servicer CW Capital likely to bid to keep Gluck's Riverton Houses until the market improves [Crain's]
4. Future uncertain for nearly-complete "White Castle" apartments in the Bronx after permits lapse [Post]
5. Jon Corzine: Out of office and back into his Hoboken apartment overlooking the Hudson [The Jersey Journal]
6. Q & A with recent RHYS Commercial founder Cory Gubner [NYT]
7. Star-studded cast of 1 WTC bidders includes Durst, Vornado, Brookfield, Hines and Boston [NYO]
8. Fannie Mae to incentivize use of mortgages for energy efficient home upgrades [NYT]
9. How did Katie Lee, the ex-Mrs. Billy Joel,  double her investment at 23 Perry Street in just three years? [Rented Spaces]
10. Rumor: New school construction beginning at site of Bay Bridge's former Green Church [Bay Ridge Journal]
11. A chicken coop lands in a Brooklyn apartment [Rented Spaces]
12. Geithner says risk of double-dip in recession is unlikely but recovery will be slow [Reuters via CNBC]
13. Retail loan volume rises in fourth-quarter 2009 [Retail Traffic Mag]

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Top Web stories

February 09, 2010 07:30AM

The top Web stories from yesterday's The Real Deal blog:
1. Hochfelder hit with second indictment
2. Barnett and partner spar at 470 Broome Street
3. Good news dashed at One Madison Park

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Chupi's last unit gets a buyer

February 08, 2010 06:45PM

The final unit left available at Palazzo Chupi, the condominium developed by artist Julian Schnabel, has sold, according to Curbed. The eighth- and ninth-floor, 4,000-square-foot duplex sold for $12 million in December, down $20 million from the original asking price of $32 million, to a buyer known as "Magellan 360 LLC." The development, where Richard Gere owns a unit, has endured repeated price cuts, as it's struggled to attract buyers for its few remaining units. The second to last unit to sell closed in September 2009, prior to which Schnabel sold off a late period Picasso to pay off Chupi-related debt. [Curbed] Tags: 360 west 11th street julian schnabel palazzo chupi richard gere

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Top 10 priciest sales show Hamptons slump

February 08, 2010 06:15PM By Amy Tennery

Pricey homes in the Hamptons "took a hiatus from the market this year," according to Town & Country Real Estate's 2009 list of the top 10 most expensive sales (see full report after jump). The top sale, a Southampton Village home at 120 Meadow Lane, which went for $25.99 million, would have ranked fifth on the 2008 list and would have just barely cracked the top 10 of the priciest 2007 sales, according to the Town & Country rankings, which takes its findings from all closings on the East End. Judi Desidiero, CEO and President of Town & Country, said that the sales figures came as little surprise, particularly with the first half of the year showing an anemic level of activity on the East End. "[The top 10 ranking] always reaffirms what you see in the pit," Desidiero said. "It was an eye-opener. The high end was really taking a break." More Tags: East Hampton judi desidiero sagaponack town & country town & country real estate

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Rental firm Blackstone wins market share, and critics, in Lower Manhattan

Brokerage steamrolls market, but competitors question tactics February 08, 2010 05:30PM By Gabby Warshawer

From the February issue: At the ripe old age of 24, Kevin Ellerton is managing to become one of the most powerful players in the Lower Manhattan rental game. To hear his competitors talk, he's also one of the most loathed. Ellerton is the CEO of Blackstone Properties, a company he started less than two years ago with a high school friend, David Yomtobian. (Ellerton's company has no relation to the powerful private equity firm the Blackstone Group.) By Ellerton's calculations, about half of all brokered rental deals in the Financial District and Battery Park City are inked by Blackstone agents. While executives at other Lower Manhattan firms say that number might be closer to 40 percent, they grudgingly concede that Blackstone has grabbed a formidable share of the rental market in a very short period of time. [more]

Tags: kevin ellerton blackstone properties Financial District dwell95 Joseph Moinian iosif kushnir rockrose eastcoast long island city david yomtobian craigslist karin barsegyan urban sanctuary REBNY real estate board of new york tf cornerstone will strozier 95 wall street greg brancato 200 water street

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Paterson reportedly "paranoid" after Aqueduct decision, pilot program to launch in effort to stop strategic defaults ... and more

February 08, 2010 05:00PM

1. What it takes to make a successful startup condo neighborhood [Harlem Bespoke]
2. Stuy Town neighbors rally around imperiled HSBC bank branch [EV Grieve] 
3. Paterson reportedly going "paranoid" in wake of Aqueduct decision criticism [Post] 
4. Community board denies approval for Magnolia sidewalk café permit renewal [Westside Independent] 
5. Women assaulted by serial rapist paid $1M restitution by condo that allegedly turned blind eye to crime spree [NYDN]
6. Apollo Management CEO drops $14M on Sagaponack home [Newsday] 
7. Residents at a LeFrak rent-stabilized building may be charged $65 more per month for elevator installation [NYDN] 
8. Downtown Brooklyn post office and courthouse renovation expected to extend through 2013 [McBrooklyn]
9. Construction worker falls to death from scaffolding at West 129th Street [CBS]
10. The Nolitan Hotel expected to open in May [Hotel Chatter]
11. Horizon Media signs 15-year lease for 115,000 square feet at One Hudson Square [Crain's]
12. Large-scale White Plains Hospital emergency room expansion nears completion [CBS] 
13. MBA's mortgage woes over 10-story Washington, D.C. headquarters solved, but group stays quiet on solution [WSJ] 
14. Buying a foreclosure can have hidden extra costs, experts say [CNNMoney]
15. Pay-for-payments pilot program pitched to help stem flow of strategic defaults [WSJ]

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