NEW YORK CITY — Ariel Property Advisors has arranged the $3.4 million sale of a development site located at 1408 Cromwell Ave. in the Bronx. The vacant lot is situated in the Jerome Avenue District, which was recently rezoned to residential under New York City’s affordable housing plan. The rezoning covers 92 blocks and is expected to generate approximately 4,600 new units of housing. Jason Gold, Michael Tortorici and Daniel Mahfar of Ariel Property Advisors represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. The buyer was also undisclosed.
NEW YORK CITY — Progress Capital has secured a $4.1 million construction-to-permanent loan for the development of three attached, four-story mixed-use buildings in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx. Located at 139-141 Alexander Ave., each building will consist of seven residential units and a ground-level retail space. Brad Domenico of Progress Capital represented the borrower, Maddd Equities, in securing the financing through an undisclosed lender. The loan includes an initial 18-month interest-only period followed by a seven-year permanent mortgage.
NEW YORK CITY — Creative workspace provider Spaces has signed a 15-year, 110,989-square-foot lease at the Chrysler Building in New York City. Jim Wenk and Kirill Azovtsev of JLL represented Spaces in the transaction. Building owner Tishman Speyer was represented in-house by Gregory Conen and Robert Weller. Spaces will occupy the seventh through the ninth floors at the 1.2 million-square-foot Chrysler Building, which is located at 405 Lexington Ave. in Midtown Manhattan. The company currently operates three workspaces in New York with three more set to open by the end of this year.
NEWBURGH, N.Y. — Cronheim Mortgage has arranged a $27 million refinancing for a 504,875-square-foot industrial facility in Newburgh. The property is currently fully leased to wholesale grocery supply company C&S Corp. Features at the facility include ceiling heights of 40 feet, one drive-in dock and 89 tailgate loading docks. The building was constructed in 1990. The loan was placed with American General Life Insurance Co. and The United States Life Insurance Co. The borrower is an affiliate of Purchase, N.Y.-based National Realty & Development Corp.
NEW YORK CITY — Cushman & Wakefield and Rudder Property Group have negotiated the $9.5 million sale of an 11,750-square-foot office cooperative in Manhattan’s Hudson Yards neighborhood. Located at 450 West 31st St., the property includes the entire 12th floor of the building as well as the penthouse. The cooperative also includes a 4,750-square-foot private terrace and a basement storage area. Carri Lyon of Cushman & Wakefield, along with Michael Rudder and Michael Heller of Rudder Property Group, represented the seller, Studio 450. Todd Korren of Avison Young represented the buyer, Melkonian Capital Management.
NEW YORK — Columbia Property Trust Inc. (NYSE: CXP) and Normandy Real Estate Partners LLC plan to form a joint venture to develop 799 Broadway, a 12-story boutique office building in Manhattan’s Midtown South neighborhood. The $300 million, ground-up project will be located at the corner of 11th Street and Broadway, at the convergence of Union Square and Greenwich Village. The loft-style building will total 182,000 square feet and will feature floor plates ranging from 3,600 to 22,000 square feet. Other features will include 15-foot ceilings, floor-to-ceiling glass and private terraces. “We look forward to working with Columbia to jointly develop a Class A, loft-style creative building in this ideal location,” said Jeffrey Gronning, founder and partner of Normandy Real Estate Partners. “With its high-end amenities and features, this unique building will be ideally suited for tenants seeking a creative and collaborative environment and should benefit from the limited supply of newly developed properties in this neighborhood.” Chicago-based architecture firm Perkins+Will is designing the building, which is slated for completion in the second half of 2020. Once completed, 799 Broadway will join Columbia’s existing Manhattan portfolio, which includes 218 W. 18th St., 249 W. 17th St., 114 5th Ave., 229 …
GLENVILLE, N.Y. — Axiom Capital Corp. has arranged a $21 million refinancing for a 360-unit multifamily community in Glenville. The property is approximately 31 miles northwest of Albany. Axiom Capital represented the borrower, a private investor, in securing financing through a bank. The community is located in close proximity to Union College and Schenectady Community College.
NEW YORK CITY — Bellwether Enterprise Real Estate Capital has arranged an $11.7 million construction loan for Bronxview at Serviam. The building will include 114 units with a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units. Equity for the approximately $61.3 million project was provided through the purchase of 9 percent low-income housing tax credits awarded by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD). The property will feature 12 units for residents earning up to 30 percent of the area median income (AMI), 12 units at 50 percent AMI, 33 units at 60 percent AMI, 34 units at 80 percent the AMI and 22 units at 90 percent AMI. Jim Gillespie of Bellwether arranged the Freddie Mac loan for the Fordham Bedford Housing Corp. The financing features a 36-month forward period followed by a 30-year permanent mortgage and a fixed rate locked at the time of the construction loan closing.
NEW YORK CITY — Alchemy Properties has acquired the former Collegiate School on the Upper West Side of Manhattan for $158 million. The property, which is located at 378 West End Ave. and 260-262 West 78th St., will be redeveloped into two ground-up residential condominium buildings rising 19 and 12 stories, respectively. When completed, the project will bring anywhere from 58 to 62 condominium units to the Upper West Side as well as 20,000 square feet of amenities, including an outdoor pool, squash court and fitness center. Alchemy has partnered with South Korean investment bank Daishin Securities to develop the project. Architectural firm COOKFOX Architects has been commissioned to design both the exterior and interior of 378 West End Ave. Bank OZK provided pre-construction and construction financing for the project. Construction on 378 West End Ave. is scheduled to start in the third quarter of 2018. Alchemy Properties recently completed Two Fifty West 81st St., a 31-unit condominium project on the Upper West Side. The project is currently 85 percent sold, according to Alchemy. — David Cohen
2018 is a compelling time to be in retail real estate, especially in New York. Sure, rents are probably still too high, but the vacancy rate keeps pressure on landlords and developers. There is no doubt Amazon will continue to disrupt and dominate, but reports of retail’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. The lower rents and vacancies are creating opportunity for retailers who can adapt to the factors driving consumers’ shopping habits. Perhaps more importantly, many of the city’s most desirable retail corridors such as Fifth Avenue and SoHo were historically difficult to come by, regardless of a tenant’s ability to pay. Now, opportunity beckons. The latest census data indicates New York City is growing and that the trend will continue as people seek urban environments to live, work and play. Futurists predict urban population growth to continue throughout the century. But it isn’t just residents and workers flocking to the Big Apple. More than 60 million tourists visited the city in 2017 and even more are projected to visit in 2018. Recent technological advancements have changed many aspects of human behavior, from the way we interact with one another to how we get around and how we purchase products. …