Real estate in brief

CBRE negotiates sale of vintage fire facilities

CB Richard Ellis has negotiated the $8 million sale of three vintage fire houses in Greenwich Village, Midtown and Cobble Hill. The properties, at 84 West 3rd Street and 240 West 30th Street in Manhattan, and 12 Dean Street in Brooklyn, total 23,700 square feet of space. Michael Higgins, one of the CBRE brokers who represented the seller in the transaction, said that the sale required some maneuvering. “The challenges was to meet the client’s immediate financial need without the offering being tagged as a distressed sale,” Higgins said. Neither the seller, nor the buyer’s identity was revealed in the release sent today.


Affordable housing residents largely unemployed, report says

Only a third of residents in New York City affordable housing are employed, according to a report by the Pratt Center for Community Development. The study, “Public Housing in New York City: Building Communities of Opportunity,” which examined both the New York City Housing Authority and the approximately 500,000 affordable housing residents, showed that a lack of education and public transportation access are to blame for the unemployment epidemic, according to a statement from the organization sent yesterday. While the report commends NYCHA for providing “essential, affordable housing options,” it also says that the affordable housing communities that are created in the program are often isolated, making it difficult for residents to gain access to schools and jobs.


Women and minority business owners endorse SL Green Aqueduct bidders

In the race to win the contract for the Aqueduct race track project, a group of more than 25 minority and women-owned business organizations have thrown their support behind the SL Green/Hard Rock development team, according to a release sent today. The organizations, including the Asian American Business Development Center, the National Minority Business Council and the New York City Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, say that the SL Green developers have made concrete commitments to work with women and minority business owners. “[The] team has a proven track record of working with the small business community and ensuring that their success is our success,” Roy Hastick, CEO of the Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce and Industry, one of the endorsing groups, said in a written statement. The SL Green team is one of six bidders, including Las Vegas casino magnate Steve Wynn, which have been vying for the Ozone Park project. Governor David Paterson’s office has repeatedly suggested that a winning contractor would be announced soon, but no clear contender has emerged yet. TRD