Although it would appear that retail landlords in New York City are reaping the benefit of high rents — and many are, if they bought at the right time — demand has declined and leasing velocity has slowed, mostly due to inflated landlord expectations, tenant hesitancy and increased supply from tenant defaults. Yes, the Manhattan retail leasing market has softened, but not enough to significantly reduce historically high asking rents. For example, the fourth quarter of 2015 saw ground-floor average asking rent decreasing in the majority of the major corridors over the second quarter 2015. Fifth Avenue, from 49th to 59th, saw an 8 percent decrease; Madison, from 57th to 72nd, saw a 5 percent decrease; West 34th Street, from Fifth to Seventh avenues, saw a 16 percent decrease; and Broadway, from Houston to Broome, saw a 15 percent decrease. The corridors which saw rent increases were modest compared to the rises we saw in early 2015 and 2014. While this is in part due to increasing supply, an adjustment in landlord expectations is having the greatest impact. High rates of default and eviction have plagued New York City for years, mostly due to inexperienced tenants relying on unrealistic revenue …
NEW YORK CITY — Five Mile Capital and Centurion Group have completed the development of River & Warren, a condominium project located at 212 Warren St. in Lower Manhattan. The project included the renovation and conversion of a 27-story, 324-unit apartment building into a 162-unit condominium building feature two- to five-bedroom layouts. Condos include white oak flooring, kitchens with custom oak and marbled islands, custom floor-to-ceiling millwork cabinetry with white Italian marble countertops, and high-end appliances. On-site amenities include a fitness center, playroom and rooftop park. CetraRuddy Architecture designed the property, while Mc Gowan served as construction manager.
NEW YORK CITY — World Wide Group has secured $247 million in financing for three properties in New York City. The Singer & Bassuk Organization arranged the financing for the borrower. World Wide Group received $50 million in permanent financing for a six-story, 185,000-square-foot property located at 110 Green St. in Brooklyn’s Greenpoint neighborhood. The company acquired the 130-unit apartment building from Meadow Partners for $103 million. World Wide Group also received a $32 million acquisition loan for the $73 million purchase of Luna, a 124-unit residential building located at 42-15 Crescent St. in Long Island City, Queens. Additionally, World Wide secured $165 million in permanent financing for QLIC, a 421-unit apartment building that the company developed in Long Island City.
NEW YORK CITY — Gotham Organization is converting a schoolhouse into a condominium property called Inkwell in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan. Located at 520 W. 45th St., the five-story building will feature 18 residences and is the first New York City condominium project designed by AvroKO. The design incorporates features of the former elementary school with blackboards in the kitchens and powder rooms. Additionally, the property features AvroKO-designed custom lighting and furniture throughout, a custom cage light fixture in the gym, entry closets in each unit, and bespoke light fixtures in the kitchens and bathrooms. Slated for completion this fall, the building will feature 16 two-bedroom residences ranging in size from 1,200 square feet to 1,400 square feet and starting at $1.78 million, and two three-bedroom, 1,900-square-foot residences with private gardens starting at $2.75 million. On-site amenities will include a gym with an outdoor lounge, and bike and tenant storage.
NEW YORK CITY — American Realty Capital New York City REIT has closed on the previously announced $180 million acquisition of 1140 Avenue of the Americas, an institutional-quality office property in Midtown Manhattan. The seller was an affiliate of Blackstone Real Estate Partners VI LP. The 22-story building features 250,000 rentable square feet of office space. The acquisition was funded by a combination of cash and mortgage financing.
NEW YORK CITY — TerraCRG has brokered the sale of a vacant commercial lot located in Brooklyn’s Gowanus neighborhood. Located at 84 14th St., the site sold for $2.6 million, or $163 per buildable square foot. Zoned M2-1, the vacant 7,996-square-foot lot offers 15,992 buildable square feet. The site is surrounded by a mix of residential and commercial buildings. Dan Marks and Mike Hernandez of TerraCRG brokered the transaction. The names of the seller and buyer were not released.
SL Green Taps AECOM’s Tishman Construction to Manage Construction of $1B Office Project in Manhattan
NEW YORK CITY — SL Green Realty Corp. has chosen AECOM’s Tishman Construction unit to manage the construction of One Vanderbilt, a 58-story office development located adjacent to Grand Central Terminal in New York City’s East Midtown business district. The total value of construction for the project is approximately $1 billion. The skyscraper will contain 1.6 million square feet of Class A commercial space, a public transit hall and a 14,000-square-foot public plaza. The development will also include $220 million worth of public transit improvements to the Grand Central transit hub. When One Vanderbilt is complete, the building is expected to be the second tallest office tower in New York City, reaching heights of 1,401 square feet, according to Tishman. The tower will be second only to One World Trade Center, which Tishman also built. Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF) designed the building to pay homage to the Grand Central Terminal and fit into the skyline alongside the Chrysler Building, located one block away from the development site. The developers plan to achieve LEED v4 Gold certification for the project. Primary construction is scheduled to begin in 2016, with completion expected in 2020. — Katie Sloan
ELMSFORD, N.Y. — GHP Office Realty LLC has acquired an 81,500-square-foot flex building located at 375 Executive Blvd. within Cross Westchester Executive Park in Elmsford. The building features 75,000 square feet of warehouse space with four loading docks and two drive-in doors, and 6,500 square feet of office space. Andrew Greenspan and Jamie Schwartz of GHP led the acquisition team. The buyer plans to upgrade the property to modernize it and make it more energy efficient. The County of Westchester sold the property for an undisclosed price.
NEW YORK CITY — Avison Young has arranged the sale of a seven-story parking garage located at 19 W. 20th St. in Manhattan’s Flatiron District. Extell Development sold the property to 19-25 West 20th Street Property LLC for $32.2 million. The 52,000-square-foot property is under a long-term lease to Icon Parking. Vincent Carrega, Jon Epstein, Neil Helman and Charles Kingsley of Avison Young represented the seller.
NEW YORK CITY — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of a mixed-use property located at 524 Lorimer St. in Brooklyn. A limited liability company acquired the 3,384-square-foot building for $4 million. The purchaser was a 1031 exchange buyer from the Upper East Side. Shaun Riney, James Saros, Michael Salvatico and Matthew Steinberg of Marcus & Millichap’s Brooklyn office represented the seller and buyer in the transaction.