WeWork acquires local rival, Taylor Swift name-drops Village townhouse in new album: Daily Digest

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WeWork has acquired New York-based co-working rival Spacious. The firm, co-founded in 2016 by SL Green Realty and Fortress alum Preston Pesek, turns empty restaurants and retail spaces into co-working spaces during the day. The startup had raised $9 million prior to the acquisition. [WeWork, TechCrunch]

Taylor Swift (Credit: Getty Images)

One of Taylor Swift’s new songs is named after a Greenwich Village townhouse. “I rent a place on Cornelia Street,” Swift sings in a song titled “Cornelia Street” on her new album, which dropped Friday. The singer rented 23 Cornelia Street for around $39,500 per month in 2016 while her Tribeca penthouse was being renovated. [Curbed]

Home-price growth has been slowing for the longest stretch since 2008. Average home prices nationwide grew 3.1 percent for the year ending in June, down from 3.3 percent a month prior. Mortgage rates, which have fallen by about one percentage point since November, have so far not helped the housing market pick up speed. [WSJ]

Chris Hughes (Credit: Wikipedia)

A Facebook co-founder has listed a Greenwich Village townhouse for $26M. Chris Hughes and husband Sean Elrdige are leaving their four-bedroom, 6,000-square-foot home at 157 West 12th Street for a larger space for their growing family. Hughes made headlines in the spring when he publicly called for the social media giant to be broken up. [WSJ]

Mayor Bill de Blasio seen speaking during a Green New Deal rally last spring (Credit: Getty Images)

Developers are finding a new source of financing in PACE loans. The program, originally designed to fund energy-efficient upgrades to existing buildings, is increasingly being used for new construction and gut renovations. With interest rates around 6 to 8 percent, PACE is a more cost-effective way to comply with “Green New Deal”-style laws than traditional financing. [NYT]

Another summer, another flip-flop on title insurance regulations. The Department of Financial Services is once again appealing a ruling from New York Supreme Court Judge Eileen Rakower that overturned its strict new regulations for the industry. Last year’s appeal led to most of the rules being reinstated, until Rakower overturned the entire law again earlier this summer. [TRD]

Steven Langman

One of WeWork’s key backers is also a landlord to the company. Rhone Group co-founder Steven Langman was an early investor and oversees executive pay and succession at the co-working firm. Langman also runs a funds that leases properties to the company, raising conflict-of-interest concerns similar to those that founder Adam Neumann has faced in the past. [WSJ]

The hotel branding boom could get messy in a downturn. Market demands have pushed hotel management companies to launch more and more brands over the past several years, but given the complexities of the hotel industry, discontinuing a brand in a recession can easily result in a legal and logistical mess, analysts say. [NYT]

477 Madison Avenue and Aby Rosen

Aby Rosen has big plans for 477 Madison. Rosen’s RFR Holding is planning a $258 million makeover for the half-empty 24-story office tower, which RFR acquired in July from the Slifka family amidst a family feud. Most notably, the white brick facade will be coated in battleship-gray KEIM Mineral Stain Coating to give it a “hipper” appearance. Office asking rents will range from $90 to $100 a foot. [NYP]

Real Capital Analytics data showed that New York’s multifamily market had a very slow July. (Credit: iStock)

July was an extremely slow month for New York multifamily deals. Brokers and analysts attribute the decline largely to the state’s new rent law, which greatly limits the upside for investors in stabilized properties. The city saw about $357 million worth of apartment building deals across 31 properties — less than half the dollar volume of the previous July. [TRD]

Chinese real estate portal Juwai has struck partnerships with several top North American firms. The partners include Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, Surterre Properties, and Engel & Völkers Americas. The website (whose name means “live overseas”) claims 2.8 million listings from 91 countries and more than 3.3 million monthly Chinese-speaking users. [Inman]

From left: Jeff Sutton, Brookfield’s Ric Clark, and Apollo’s Leon Black with the Crown Building

Apollo Global Management is lending $800M for the Crown Building. Jeff Sutton’s Wharton Properties and Brookfield Asset Management, who own the building’s commercial portion, closed on the loan on Monday. French lender Natixis had signed a term sheet last month, but walked soon after TRD reported on the deal. [TRD]

FROM THE CITY’S RECORDS:

Financing:

Morgan Stanley provided a refinanced $271 million loan to Blackstone for a portfolio of 11 Manhattan apartment buildings. [ACRIS]