FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — Development and management firm Breslin Realty will undertake a 62,450-square-foot expansion project at a Walmart Supercenter store in the Long Island city of Farmingdale. The project will increase the total size of the store located at Republic Plaza to 219,450 square feet. The center also houses tenants such as Chili’s Grill & Bar, Panera Bread, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Halal Guys and Blaze Pizza. A construction timeline was not released.
LEVITTOWN, N.Y. AND MILFORD, CONN. — Wren Kitchens, a United Kingdom-based designer and manufacturer of kitchens, has signed leases in the Long Island city of Levittown and in the Connecticut city of Milford to open retail showrooms. The spaces will span 19,500 and 21,350 square feet, respectively. Adam Weinblatt and Marc Frankel of Newmark Knight Frank represented Wren Kitchens in the lease negotiations. Brian Schuster of Ripco Real Estate represented the landlords. Both showrooms are scheduled to open by late 2020 or early 2021.
NEW YORK CITY — New York City-based investment firm RFR has purchased 522 Fifth Avenue, a 23-story office tower in Midtown Manhattan. Morgan Stanley, which currently occupies the building, sold the property for $350 million. The office building neighbors Bryant Park and is situated near Grand Central Terminal and Rockefeller Center. RFR is hoping to find a single tenant to fully occupy the 575,000-square-foot property when Morgan Stanley moves out in 2024. Morgan Stanley’s CEO James Gorman told Bloomberg TV that the firm will need much less real estate going forward and that 90 percent of the company’s workforce is working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Aby Rosen, co-founder and CEO of RFR, and A.J. Camhi, executive vice president and head of RFR’s internal leasing team, are leading the leasing efforts for 522 Fifth Avenue. “We acquired 522 Fifth Avenue with the vision of working with a single user to create a custom, marquee headquarters in the premier midtown location,” says Rosen. “The vacancy is a remarkable blank canvas, well-positioned to respond to the requirements of a forward-thinking company looking for the prestige and exclusivity of a full building and New York City presence.” In 2014, Morgan Stanley sold …
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Developer WinnCos. has completed Liberty Lofts at Sibley Square, a $23.6 million workforce housing project in Rochester. The property, which is a redevelopment of a historic 1.1 million-square-foot building, adds 104 units to the local supply. Fifty-three units are available at rents of up to 60 percent of the area median income (AMI); three units are available at rents up to 100 percent of AMI; and 48 units are available at rents of up to 110 percent of AMI. The Architectural Team of Chelsea, Mass. designed the project, and DiMarco Constructors served as the general contractor.
ALBANY, N.Y. — Berkadia has arranged a $5.2 million bridge loan for Albany Apartments. The undisclosed borrower will use the proceeds to acquire and convert the building, which was originally constructed as a townhouse-style hotel, into a 112-unit multifamily community with studio, one- and two-bedroom floor plans. John Sigeti of Berkadia arranged the nonrecourse, interest-only loan, which was structured with a 24-month term and a 75 percent loan-to-value ratio.
NEW YORK CITY — A syndicate of investors led by Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust (BREIT) has acquired a $300 million stake in Tricon Residential, Toronto-based investment and development firm with a portfolio of approximately 30,000 single- and multifamily units in the United States and Canada. BREIT acquired the stake at an exchange price of $8.50 per share, which represents a 16 percent premium over Tricon’s 30-day weighted average trading price as of Aug. 26. Tricon will use the proceeds to pay off its corporate debt.
NEW YORK CITY — Los Angeles-based developer CIM Group and Brooklyn-based LIVWRK have topped out Front & York, a 21-story mixed-use tower located at 85 Jay St. in the Dumbo neighborhood of Brooklyn. The property is situated on 3.1 acres and will consist of 408 for-sale condominium units, 320 rental apartments and 150,000 square feet of retail space. Residential amenities will include a pool, outdoor lounge areas, coworking space and a chef’s kitchen with a private dining room.
YONKERS, N.Y. — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged an $80 million loan for the refinancing of a 435,000-square-foot industrial asset located at 555 Tuckahoe Road in Yonkers, located north of New York City. The property was built in 1963. J.P. Morgan Asset Management provided the fixed-rate loan to the borrower, Alfred Weissman Real Estate LLC. Gideon Gil, Zachary Kraft and Meredith Donovan of Cushman & Wakefield handled the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — FTI Consulting Inc., a publicly traded global advisory firm, has signed a 120,720-square-foot office lease at 1166 Avenue of the Americas in Manhattan. The company will occupy the 14th, 15th and 16th floors of the 1.6 million-square-foot building as its New York City headquarters. Paul Glickman, Jonathan Fanuzzi, Cynthia Wasserberger, Diana Biasotti and Jeffrey Sussman of JLL represented the landlord, Edward J. Minskoff Equities Inc., in the lease negotiations. Connor Faught, Brian Given, Sheena Gohil, Robert Gallucci and Jim Southard of Colliers International, along with in-house representatives Daniel Johnson and Chuck Cerria Jr., represented FTI Consulting. Trevor Adler and Ida Phair of law firm Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP advised the property owner in the transaction. Bruce Saber, Genta Stafaj and Samuel Grubner of DLA Piper LLP provided legal counsel to the tenant.
HARRISON, N.Y. — CBRE has negotiated a 12,900-square-foot office lease expansion at 440 Mamaroneck Ave. in Harrison, located near the New York-Connecticut border. The tenant, Stillman Management Realty, renewed its 8,000-square-foot lease and committed to an additional 4,900 square feet. Bud Wiesenberg and Bob Caruso of CBRE represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. RPW Group owns the building.