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 streetKent Swigbob knakalchris soukasmassey knakalsoukas furs
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:Williamsburgaffordable housingdominodomino sugarnew domino
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 kungmayor bloombergmayor michael bloombergmike bloomberg
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 mirandabrian hickschristine josephdeborah samueldogbarmercadito
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 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
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 goldfarbcharis warshofhome propertieslong island
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:Citigrouparthur tildesleygary crittendengoldman sachssec
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 broadwayBruno Ricciottibond new yorkcushman & wakefield
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 streetCorcorancorcoran sunshine marketing group
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&mretail
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 drivebridgehamptonprudential douglas ellimanspec building
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:homeownershomeownershippaul kanjorski
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 blasiobill o'mearadeloitteeconomic development corporation
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 avenueGoldmandanny meyerembassy suitesgoldman sachs
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 Dealreported 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 CityTrump Plazadesign stardonald trump jrtrump plaza residences
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 Linecenter for an urban futureeconomic development corporation
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 browndaniel senordominick ligrestielad propertiesgilad azaria
Economists have determined that this recession, nationally, was the longest and deepest since the Great Depression. So it was only logical to expect that Manhattan, the epicenter of this financial crisis, would ultimately bear its worst brunt. So far, that hasn't happened. In fact, The Real Deal's analysis suggests that the "Great Recession" likely ranks as only the fourth-worst over the past century in its overall impact on Manhattan. [more]
In February, hours after Cushman & Wakefield announced it had tapped him to replace Bruce Mosler as CEO, Glenn Rufrano took a call from a reporter about speculation that four of the firm's top New York investment sales brokers might be leaving. That question may have blindsided him, but it was just the first of many challenges Rufrano has confronted since accepting the top job at Cushman. [more]
The last few years have obviously been tough for New York City developers, but that hasn't stopped a number of them from seeing their boom-time projects through. This month, The Real Deal looked at the top 10 developers who've started sales or leasing of new Manhattan residential projects, or announced plans to build new developments during the downturn. [more]
When Paul Purcell, the erstwhile COO of Douglas Elliman, decided in 2000 to hire Kathy Braddock as general sales manager, it caused an uproar at the venerable, century-old firm. But the unconventional hire turned out to be only the precursor for a much greater change the two would bring to the industry. [more]
The short-sale trend sweeping the rest of the country has stormed into New York City, with some areas in Queens, the Bronx and Brooklyn far outpacing the national average. Research conducted by online foreclosure marketplace RealtyTrac for The Real Deal shows that pre-foreclosure sales -- of which roughly 75 percent are shorts -- are spiking dramatically in a few zip codes here. Short sales are also on the rise in New York City overall. [more]
New Jersey's Gold Coast is getting back some of its real estate mojo as the market picks up. In this month's Q & A, brokers, developers and analysts told The Real Deal that the market in the area -- which encompasses a string of towns along the Hudson River, including Hoboken, Weehawken, Jersey City and West New York -- has seen a drastic improvement in the last couple of months. [more]
Ever since "subprime loan" became a household phrase, mortgages have been a hot-button topic in a country rocked by the credit crisis and real estate downturn. As The Real Deal was going to press, sweeping financial legislation appeared to be in the final stages of becoming law in Washington, D.C. While some reforms are being hailed by mortgage professionals, others worry that the new regulations will create added costs for consumers. [more]
Kent Swig and 140 William Street (building photo source: PropertyShark)
Glenn Rufrano
Elghanayan
