Swig unloads 140 William at 53 percent loss

July 29, 2010 07:12PM
Kent Swig and 140 William Street (building photo source: PropertyShark)

Real estate developer Kent Swig has sold the empty, 36,000-square-foot office property at 140 William Street for $11.35 million, or roughly $315 per square foot, according to public records filed today with the city. The price is less than half of what he paid for it at the height of the real estate boom. The seven-story Financial District property on the corner of Fulton Street, which has been rumored for months to be nearing a deal, was asking $14.2 million, or $394 per square foot. Swig Equities, of which Swig is president, paid $23.9 million, or $664 per square foot, to acquire it in 2007. [more] Tags: 140 william street Kent Swig bob knakal chris soukas massey knakal soukas furs

City Council approves Domino plan

July 29, 2010 06:30PM
Domino Sugar refinery

The City Council today approved the much-debated $1.5 billion plan to turn the crumbling Domino Sugar refinery into a residential development on the Williamsburg waterfront, the New York Times reported. The towers are substantially smaller than originally proposed, but the developer of the New Domino, as it is known, will still set aside 660 apartments out of 2,200 for low- and moderate-income tenants and retain the historic 40-foot tall Domino sugar sign atop the central refinery building. [more]
Tags: Williamsburg affordable housing domino domino sugar new domino

$850M Flushing development approved

July 29, 2010 06:00PM
Rendering of Flushing Commons

A proposed $850 million mixed-use development was approved for Flushing, Queens today, after fierce debate between small business advocates and the pro-development set. The project -- known as Flushing Commons -- is spearheaded by developers the Rockefeller Group and TDC Development and Construction Corporation and will bring 600 units of luxury housing, a hotel and 420,000 square feet of retail space to Downtown Flushing. [more] Tags: daniel kung mayor bloomberg mayor michael bloomberg mike bloomberg

TRD Video: Inside Miami's Midtown

July 29, 2010 05:30PM

From the South Florida website:

One of Miami's newest developments, New York-based Midtown Equities' Midtown Miami, is thriving, with a wave of rental and retail activity in the area just south of the Design District. The three residential buildings, Midtown 2, Midtown 4 and MidBlock, are at nearly 100 percent occupancy, and a host of new eateries have arrived, like Mercadito, which also has two locations in New York, and Shimon Bokovza's Sugarcane Raw Bar & Grill. The retail space is almost fully leased, and Midtown's office activity has picked up as well. "Florida has so many great buildings, but it's missing that community feel," said Deborah Samuel, lead broker at Midtown Miami. "I think that's what was originally envisioned -to have a place where you can go outside, meet friends, have a drink, walk city blocks -- that was the vision. We went out of our way not to make it look like a development." Accordingly, she says, each building at Midtown was designed by a different architect. Learn more in the video by The Real Deal above. Tags: alex miranda brian hicks christine joseph deborah samuel dogbar mercadito

Judge dismisses lawsuit filed by Aqueduct racino bidder, why banks defraud their investors ... and more

July 29, 2010 05:00PM

1. Starlite lounge, Brooklyn's oldest black-owned gay bar, to close [Gothamist] 
2. Clothing designer Betsey Johnson discusses the opening of the Eloise suite at the Plaza [NYT] 
3. Charges detailed in looming ethics trial for Congressman Rangel, accused of accepting rent-stabilized apartments [NYT] 
4. Former Mas owner opens surfing-themed Reunion restaurant in Hell's Kitchen tonight [Eater] 
5. Judge dismisses lawsuit filed by Aqueduct racino bidder [Crain's] 
6. Apthorp gets second wind, as units begin closing and others are in contract [Post]
7. MTA chief Jay Walder buys $1.6 million UWS condo, near five subway lines [NYO] 
8. Goldman Sachs, Citigroup try to sell fourth offering of commercial mortgage-backed securities [Bloomberg]
9. A theory on why banks defraud their investors [Zero Hedge via Patrick.net] 
10. Retail leasing improves, but investment activity struggles to recover [CoStar] 
11. L'Oubli bar to open next Wednesday at 188 Suffolk Street on LES [Insatiable Critic]
12. Developer moves forward with plan to build warehouse at Queens St. Saviour's Church, despite opposition [Forest Hills Ledger]
13. Park Slope's 500 Fourth Avenue is 40 percent sold [Brownstoner] 
14. Intercontinental Hotel opens today in Times Square [NYT]
15. National Association of Realtors seeks federal ban on private transfer fees [Inman]

Vornado announces quarterly dividend

July 29, 2010 04:30PM

Vornado Realty Trust, Steven Roth's New York City-based REIT, announced today a regular quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share to common shareholders. Vornado is working on getting approval for its massive plan to purchase 1 million square feet of air rights at Penn Plaza tower. The company also announced quarterly dividends for preferred shareholders, as follows: Series A convertible are at $0.81 per share, Series E convertible are at $0.44 per share, Series F and H Cumulative Redeemable are at $0.42 per share and Series G and I Cumulative Redeemable are at $0.41 per share. TRD

Developers face tough market on Long Island

July 29, 2010 04:00PM


Alexander Goldfarb and Long Island
Long Island may possibly be the toughest market in the country for apartment development, though there is a lot of opportunity for building there, residential real estate experts told the Wall Street Journal. The housing stock is largely single-family homes, with apartment buildings representing just 17 percent of the inventory, compared with 35 percent in Bergen County, and 38 percent in Westchester County. [more]
Tags: alexander goldfarb charis warshof home properties long island

Citigroup to pay $75M in mortgage settlement

July 29, 2010 03:30PM

Citigroup has agreed to pay $75 million to settle federal claims that it failed to disclose vast holdings of subprime mortgage investments that crippled the bank during the financial crisis, two sources briefed on the deal told the New York Times. The Securities and Exchange Commission has also singled out two Citigroup executives -- Gary Crittenden, the former CFO, and Arthur Tildesley, the former head of investor relations -- for omitting material information in disclosures to shareholders, according to the sources. Crittenden has agreed to pay a $100,000 fine and Tildesley will pay $80,000. [more]
Tags: Citigroup arthur tildesley gary crittenden goldman sachs sec

Bond New York grows in Midtown

July 29, 2010 02:57PM


Bond's Bruno Ricciotti and 1776 Broadway (building photo source: PropertyShark)
Bond Real Estate New York has signed an eight-year renewal and expansion at its Columbus Circle location at 1776 Broadway and West 57th Street, bringing the company's total square footage to 10,800 square feet, Crain's reported. Bond principal Bruno Ricciotti told The Real Deal  in its May issue that the new space was 5,500 square feet. The 10-year-old firm, which currently occupies the entire 19th floor, will also take over the second floor of the 25-story, 110,000-square-foot building come September. [more]
Tags: 1776 broadway Bruno Ricciotti bond new york cushman & wakefield

Miraval Living pledges donation to Yankees slugger, resident

July 29, 2010 02:30PM

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The Miraval at 515 East 72nd Street and Yankees player Curtis Granderson

The Upper East Side's Miraval Living condominium has launched a charity program tied to one of its most famous residents, Yankees player Curtis Granderson, according to a spokesperson for the 39-story condo conversion at 515 East 72nd Street near York Avenue. For every homerun the slugger hits, starting August 1, the building has pledged to donate $1,000 to the Curtis Granderson Grand Kid Foundation, the ballplayer's charitable group that promotes education and athletics for inner city kids. [more] Tags: 515 east 72nd street Corcoran corcoran sunshine marketing group

Harlem's H&M to reopen

July 29, 2010 02:00PM
Harlem's H&M

Harlem's H&M will celebrate its reopening tomorrow morning, after five months of interior and exterior renovations, according to Racked. The grand reopening will be freebie-heavy, with complementary T-shirts for the first 200 shoppers and gift cards with values ranging from $10 to $300. The store, which sits on the corner of 125th Street and Lenox Avenue, now has an entirely new facade, which should defray some of the architectural criticism lodged at the retailer in the past. [Curbed] Tags: h&m retail

Bridgehampton spec house enters contract

July 29, 2010 01:30PM

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228 Surfside Drive

A 13,000-square-foot house at 228 Surfside Drive in Bridgehampton -- one of the few spec houses built on the East End of Long Island in 2009 -- has gone into contract, according to Curbed. The almost-oceanfront home was originally listed for $15 million when it hit the market in June 2009, before climbing to $16 million by August 2009, and then dropping to its latest listing price of $13 million in April of this year. Although its not immediately clear how much the house went into contract for, the listing, which was marketed by Prudential Douglas Elliman, had been built on land purchased for $4.7 million in 2008. [more] Tags: 228 surfside drive bridgehampton prudential douglas elliman spec building

Is homeownership still the dream?

July 29, 2010 01:00PM


The mortgage crisis and subsequent housing market turmoil has led some to ask whether homeownership should be synonymous with the "American Dream." In this CNBC video, Congressman Paul Kanjorski weighs in on whether owning a home should be the ideal for many families. "It doesn't fit all people, not all people are capable of homeownership at this time," Kanjorski said. "But in reality, we've always found over history [that] homeownership is probably the best equity builder that our system has had... we want to make sure we don't throw the baby out with the bath water." Tags: homeowners homeownership paul kanjorski

Reuters wants to extend subsidy package

July 29, 2010 12:30PM

In addition to getting a request from Deloitte for a $20 million subsidy package today, the city's Industrial Development Agency is slated to present a reworked subsidy package for Reuters, which was given up to $26 million in incentives from the Giuliani administration, the Observer reported. Reuters received the $26 million incentive package -- intended to promote job growth -- in 1998, but according to the city about $20 million remains unused. In 2008, Reuters merged with Thomson and now, with a larger workforce and more office buildings, Thomson Reuters wants to extend the subsidy to all its buildings, at least in part to help get a break on renovation costs, according to the Observer. [more]
Tags: bill de blasio bill o'meara deloitte economic development corporation

BPC's Embassy suites slated for retail, restaurant upgrade

July 29, 2010 12:00PM
Embassy Suites and restaurateur Danny Meyer

After weeks of retail and restaurant shuttering in Battery Park City's Embassy Suites Hotel at 102 North End Avenue, owner Goldman Sachs has announced its plan to "upgrade" the hotel, bringing in a luxury hotel operator, and to revitalize its presence in the neighborhood, according to the Broadsheet Daily. The hotel, which will shutter temporarily and reopen in the fourth quarter of 2011 as a Conrad New York, is also looking to attract some higher-end retail tenants to match its new brand name. [more] Tags: 102 north end avenue Goldman danny meyer embassy suites goldman sachs

Check out Trump and Trump Plaza on HGTV's "Design Star"

July 29, 2010 11:30AM


The July 25 episode of HGTV's "Design Star" series challenged two teams of contestants to each design a two-bedroom model apartments at the new Trump Plaza Residences in Jersey City, and incorporate and repurpose some New York City souvenirs into the finished product. Donald Trump Jr. was on hand as a guest judge, as The Real Deal reported last week. In an exclusive interview with The Real Deal, Trump described the building as being consistent with the Trump ideal of "luxury." The 55-story, 443-unit building, at 88 Morgan Street between Washington and Green streets, is the tallest residential tower in Jersey City. Trump said he was impressed with elegant and soft look of one team's design, incorporating souvenirs from Times Square and Broadway. The other team disappointed Trump, who said their design resembled a college dorm and that the implementation of the souvenirs was ineffective. At the end of the episode, two contestants were eliminated. Tags: Jersey City Trump Plaza design star donald trump jr trump plaza residences

Report calls for "A High Line for Harlem"

July 29, 2010 11:00AM

A Manhattan-based think tank has pitched a plan for the development of a mile of empty space under the Metro North tracks in Harlem from 111th to 133rd streets along Park Avenue, in an effort to grow the retail market in the neighborhood. The Center for an Urban Future has entitled the plan, which is targeting the development of small businesses and food retailers in particular, "A High Line for Harlem." [more] Tags: High Line center for an urban future economic development corporation

Former CNN anchor Campbell Brown buys 71 Murray Street condo

July 29, 2010 10:30AM


From left, Gilad Azaria, Daniel Senor, Campbell Brown and the Tribeca condo at 71 Murray Street

Former CNN anchor Campbell Brown has apparently gone apartment-hunting in her newfound free time. Brown and her husband, Daniel Senor, are in contract to buy a three-bedroom apartment at 71 Murray Street in Tribeca, sources told The Real Deal. The 4,000-square-foot condo is listed for $4.495 million with Prudential Douglas Elliman's Gilad Azaria, head of the Gilad Azaria Group. It went into contract this week, according to Streeteasy.com. Azaria declined to comment. Brown and Senor, the founder of Rosemont Capital and a Bush administration foreign policy adviser, have two young sons. Until last week, Brown anchored the eponymous nightly news show on CNN, which faced off against Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor" and "Countdown" on MSNBC. Brown announced in May that she would step down due to disappointing ratings. [more]
Tags: campbell brown daniel senor dominick ligresti elad properties gilad azaria

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