NEW YORK CITY — Target will open a 90,000-square-foot store at Kings Plaza, an enclosed shopping center by California-based REIT Macerich (NYSE: MAC) in Brooklyn. Target will backfill a three-story anchor building previously occupied by J.C. Penney. An expected opening date was not released. Other retailers at Kings Plaza include Macy’s, Zara, Burlington, Primark and Michael Kors.
NEW YORK CITY — Greystone has provided two Fannie Mae acquisition loans totaling $17.5 million for a pair of affordable seniors housing properties totaling 151 units in the New York City area. In the first deal, Greystone originated a $12.4 million loan for Highland Avenue Senior Apartments, an 88-unit community in Yonkers that was built in 2008. In the second transaction, the company provided $5.1 million in acquisition financing for 2120 Hughes Avenue, a 63-unit property in The Bronx that was constructed in 1995. Dan Sacks and Ilan Bassali of Greystone originated the loans on behalf of the borrower, Heritage Affordable Communities LLC.
By Taylor Williams For lenders and investors in New York City’s affordable housing market, accurately underwriting rent growth, operating costs and long-term asset appreciation can be a tricky proposition in today’s economic environment. To be fair, buyers and financiers of affordable housing properties in many U.S. markets are being forced to adjust and recalculate their metrics due to forces they can’t control. Yet macroeconomic factors like rising inflation, which puts heavy pressure on construction and operating costs, can often seem more acute in the Big Apple, where the cost of living and doing business is already higher than virtually anywhere else in the country. Economic Drivers The labor and materials costs for the renovations and rehabilitations that many affordable housing communities need are rising. According to Producer Price Index data supplied by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, for the month of August, the latest report available at the time of this writing, the aggregate cost of construction materials had risen by 19 percent from August 2019. Much of this rise in materials costs is due to disruption of the global supply chain via COVID-19, causing developers of much-needed housing stock to incur heftier budgets and longer construction timelines on …
NEW YORK CITY — Bathhouse, a provider of high-end spa services, has signed a 34,328-square-foot retail lease at 7 West 21st St. in Manhattan’s Flatiron District. The location within Friedland Properties’ 289,809-square-foot residential building will be the company’s first in Manhattan to accompany its space in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg area. Jason Pruger and Lucas Kooyman of Newmark represented Friedland Properties in the lease negotiations. Ross Eisenberg of RDE Advisors Inc. represented Bathhouse.
HEMPSTEAD AND WEST HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — New York-based investment firm Castle Lanterra Properties has acquired two multifamily properties totaling 315 units in the Long Island communities of Hempstead and West Hempstead for $136 million. Mill Creek Residential originally developed the communities in 2012. Units at both properties feature stainless steel appliances, breakfast bars, individual washers and dryers and private balconies/patios. In addition, both offer amenities such as pools, clubhouses with lounges, business centers, courtyards with fire pits and private storage spaces. USB Realty Investors sold the assets to Castle Lanterra for an undisclosed price. Jose Cruz, Steve Simonelli, Andrew Scandalios, Jeffrey Julien, Michael Oliver and Kevin O’Hearn of JLL brokered the deal.
NEW YORK CITY — Locally based brokerage firm Rosewood Realty Group has arranged the $13 million sale of two rent-stabilized apartment buildings totaling 98 units in the Inwood area of Manhattan. The buildings were constructed in 1920 and comprise two studios, 32 one-bedrooms units, 44 two-bedroom residences and 20 three-bedroom units. Aaron Jungreis and Ben Khakshoor of Rosewood Realty represented the seller, Morris Lieberman, and the buyer, Prana Investments, in the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — Food52, an e-commerce firm that supplies cookware, has signed a 42,000-square-foot office lease at Dock 72, a 675,000-square-foot office building located within the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The company will relocate from Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood to occupy the entire 13th floor of Dock 72 beginning in the second half of next year. Locally based owner-operator Rudin Development co-developed the property, which is surrounded by water on three sides, in partnership with Boston Properties (NYSE: BXP) and WeWork. Dock 72 offers amenities such as a rooftop conference center, ground-floor food hall, fitness and wellness center and an open lawn with a basketball court. Helen Paul and Rico Murtha of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. Robert Steinman of Rudin, Andrew Levin of BXP, Joe Cirone, Ron Lo Russo and Patrick Dugan of Cushman & Wakefield and Sacha Zarba and Freddie Fackelmayer of CBRE represented ownership.
NEW YORK CITY — Locally based general contractor Archstone Builders is underway on renovations of the McGraw-Hill Building, a historic property at 330 W. 42nd St. in Manhattan. Since its original construction in 1931, the 35-story, 700,000-square-foot building has served as the headquarters of both the namesake publishing giant and Marvel Comics. Capital improvements include a restoration of the original design of the façade, a window replacement program and an upgrade of the entryways and storefront. MdeAs is the project architect, and New York-based Resolution Real Estate Partners owns the building.
NEW YORK CITY — Locally based investment firm A&E Real Estate has acquired a 19-story apartment building located at 400 E. 57th St. in Manhattan’s Sutton Place neighborhood. The property features a mix of 263 rent-stabilized and market-rate units. SL Green sold the property to A&E Real Estate for an undisclosed price. The two firms also traded a multifamily property at 400 E. 58th St. earlier this year.
NEW YORK CITY — A partnership between Simi Capital Group, an investment firm with offices in New York City and Miami, global asset management firm Cerberus Capital Management and Atlanta-based Stonemont Financial has purchased a self-storage facility in Staten Island. The sales price was $19 million. The partnership plans to demolish the building at 2577 Forest Ave. and convert the site into an outdoor storage facility that will feature industrial parking space. Construction is expected to begin early next year.