The Real Deal is Hudson Yards bound

Publication buys commercial co-op at 450 West 31st Street

450 West 31st Street in Hudson Yards and Amir Korangy
450 West 31st Street in Hudson Yards and Amir Korangy

The Real Deal was born in Amir Korangy’s Prospect Heights walk-up in 2003, and then moved to a renovated townhouse in Crown Heights (long before the neighborhood’s yuppie transformation). The publication’s first real office was a former psychic’s Digs On 23rd Street just off of Madison Square Park. We quickly outgrew that space and moved to Our Current West 29th Street location. And now, 13 years after it all began, it’s time for another big change.

New York City’s first and most popular real estate news magazine is moving to Hudson Yards, the New York Post reported Wednesday.

TRD paid $8.5 million, or $739 per square foot, for an 11,500-square-foot commercial co-op at 450 West 31st Street. Korangy will shell out another $1 million on renovations being overseen by MESH Architectures.

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“Nothing says you believe in New York City real estate more than buying New York City real estate,” Korangy told the Post. “Being the worst building on the best block is usually a good real estate play,” he added. The property is a former chocolate factory that sits between a new hotel and 360 Tenth Avenue, a $3 billion mixed-use project being developed by former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt.

EVO Real Estate Group’s Todd Korren and Christopher Hagerup represented TRD, while the landlord was represented by Redwood Realty’s Jeff Berman.

Korangy said he plans to hire another 11 employees by the time the company moves to its new spot in the spring. TRD has been active in Miami since 2008, and its Los Angeles operation is scheduled to go live on Jan. 18. [NYP] — Hiten Samtani