The Real Deal New York

367 Fifth Avenue

Developer Voltaic Solaire is attempting an unusual $1 million renovation that will convert an inefficient Park Slope prewar into a “net zero” building, one that is neutral to the city’s electric grid, the New York Times reported. The building, located at 367 Fifth Avenue, will be covered in solar skin and panels, use LED lighting and be completely insulated. Voltaic Solaire is so confident that it can make the 7,000-square-foot building self-sustaining it is bundling utilities with rents.

This isn’t the first super-green renovation to hit Brooklyn. As The Real Deal reported previously, developer Brendan Aguayo is building a so-called “passive house” in Prospect Heights, but the Park Slope project will be the first to try and create all the energy it consumes. [more]

Strivers Row in Harlem

Manhattan Community Board 10 has devised a plan to landmark more Harlem properties in nine study areas and make development around the neighborhood more uniform, NY1 reported. It has been approved by the community board and awaits an eventual vote from the Landmarks Preservation Commission and the Department of City Planning.

The proposal includes a range of landmark distinctions, such as “individual” landmarks based on building exteriors, interiors and scenic and historic districts, such as the extensions of Strivers Row and Mount Morris Park. [more]

The March collapse at 606 West 131st St. (credit: DNAinfo)

Following the collapse of a West 131st Street building in March, Breeze National, the Brooklyn-based, mob-connected demolition company that was running this project and others for Columbia University’s expansion, has been taken off the job, the Daily News reported.

As The Real Deal previously reported, one of the buildings the company was demolishing at 606 West 131st Street collapsed in March, killing one worker and injuring two others. The family of Juan Vicente Ruiz, Sr., the worker who died in the accident, is suing Columbia University, alleging that the construction site was unsafe. [more]

From left: 146 West 57th Street and 1777 Madison Avenue

The most expensive single-family home to hit the Manhattan market this week is a condominium unit inside the Metropolitan Tower that’s asking $19.8 million, according to Streeteasy.com. Carrie Chiang, Janet Wang and Richard Phan at the Corcoran Group have the listing. Yvonne Stafford at Stafford Realty Group has the listing for the least expensive home to come online this week: a one-bathroom co-op in East Harlem for $80,000. Click here to see these listings and more.

Renderings of the South Bronx greenway

A deal has finally been struck between the city and a reluctant developer, clearing the way for the city to build a $6 million bridge to link the South Bronx to a greenway network that stretches from Randall’s Island to Astoria, DNAinfo reported. The plan by the Economic Development Corporation was stalled earlier this year when a private company, Harlem River Yards Ventures, would not grant an easement for a site on 132nd Street in the Bronx, which it controls. [more]

Whitestone Multiplex Cinemas, at 2505 Bruckner Boulevard

In the fifth largest property sale in the Bronx since the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the Wall Street meltdown, a multiplex at 2505 Bruckner Boulevard has sold for $30 million, according to records filed with the city.

The Lightstone Group, a privately held real estate owner and manager, bought the property from an entity called Kbt Theatres LLC, which in turned leased back the theater, according to a memorandum of lease filed with the city at the same time. The terms of the lease were not given. [more]

Top tenant reps for office leasing by square feet

From the May issue: The newly-formed Newmark Knight Grubb Frank leased the most office space in March by far, according to The Real Deal’s Deal Sheet in its current issue. The brokerage, which officially took its new name in April, represented tenants in 307,282 square feet, beating out its closest competitor, brokerage Adams & Co. — which leased 61,608 square feet — by a hefty margin. Click here to see the full Deal Sheet summary.

From left: French President Francois Hollande, Amy Williamson, vice president of sales at the Trump Soho, and the Trump Soho

Move over Russians — there’s a new nationality set to make its mark on the city’s residential real estate market. According to the New York Times, the French are increasingly looking to invest in New York City real estate following the election of Socialist Francois Hollande as president earlier this month. During his campaign, Hollande promised to tax income over £1 million at a 75 percent clip and raise the tax rate on capital gains in an effort to lessen the country’s £1.3 trillion debt. [more]

Lehman Brothers Holdings has beaten out Sam Zell and acquired the last remaining 26.5 percent stake in Archstone for $1.58 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported, giving it complete ownership over the massive apartment portfolio. The failed bank is buying the stake from Bank of America and Barclays, which partnered with Lehman to acquire Archstone in 2007 for $22 billion. The deal values the portfolio at $17 billion. [more]

A Bridgehampton home

Vacation homeowners in the Hamptons and NYC-area getaway communities are facing an increasingly competitive marketplace when it comes to renting out their homes, according to the New York Times, as new listings websites bring more prospective landlords to the market. A National Association of Realtors survey recently found that 22 percent of all vacation homeowners in the U.S. plan to rent out their homes, and that huge figure is being reflected in the growing number of listings on sites like HomeAway.com. [more]