NEW YORK CITY — The average asking rent for retail spaces throughout Manhattan fell to $688 per square foot during the second quarter, the first time that figure has fallen below $700 per square foot since 2011, according to a new report from CBRE. The average asking rent represents a decline of 11.3 percent from that period in 2019 and a 3.6 percent decrease from the first quarter of this year. New York City is a month into Phase III of the state’s reopening plan, which allows outdoor dining, office and retail and personal care services to operate with social distancing and other sanitation guidelines in place. The state legislature also recently passed a bill to provide $100 million in rent relief and aid to commercial users impacted by the pandemic. The report noted that despite these initiatives, travel restrictions and lack of tourism caused quarterly retail sales to fall 15 percent to $33.4 billion, maintaining pressure on some retail users to make rent even as average rates are falling.
BLAUVELT, N.Y. — CBRE has negotiated a 200,775-square-foot industrial lease at Hudson Crossing Industrial Park, a 1.2 million-square-foot development in Blauvelt, about 30 miles north of Manhattan. The tenant, an undisclosed e-commerce user, will occupy 123,999 square feet at 400 Oritani Drive and 76,776 square feet at the neighboring building at 200 Oritani Drive. Thomas Monahan, Stephen D’Amato, Larry Schiffenhaus, Anastasia Lazrides, Lauren Hageman, Gerard Monahan and Brian Fiumara of CBRE represented the landlord, Onyx Equities, in the lease negotiations.
NEW YORK CITY — Alpha Realty has arranged the sale of a 48-unit apartment building located at 1675 Ocean Ave. in the Midwood area of Brooklyn. The property also houses two office spaces for a total of approximately 54,000 square feet of commercial space. Lev Marshev and Yehuda Leser of Alpha Realty brokered the off-market transaction between a local family that sold the asset to a private investor for $8.5 million.
NEW YORK CITY — Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) has signed a lease to fully occupy the office portion of The Farley Building, a mixed-use project under construction in Manhattan. The landlord, Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE: VNO), is redeveloping the historic property, which was formerly the James A. Farley Post Office Building. The social media giant will occupy 730,000 square feet in the building. A timeline for the move-in and the number of employees moving into Farley was not disclosed. “The Farley Building will further anchor our New York footprint and create a dedicated hub for our tech and engineering teams,” says Robert Cookson, Facebook’s vice president of real estate and facilities. The Farley Building spans a double-wide city block between 31st and 33rd streets and 8th and 9th avenues. The property is part of Vornado’s Penn District development. Vornado owns more than 10 million square feet in Penn District, which is undergoing a $2 billion redevelopment, not including infrastructure and transit improvements by City of New York totaling $3 billion. Penn District includes the Farley Building, Penn 1 and Penn 2, all of which are under construction. Penn 1 and 2 are redevelopments of One Penn Plaza and Two Penn Plaza, …
ASTORIA, N.Y. — JLL has arranged $55 million in joint venture equity for a multifamily project in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens. The project will be constructed on a 2.5-acre site at 30-77 Vernon Blvd and will consist of 534 units across three buildings. Stephen Palmese, Rob Hinckley, Jeffrey Julien, Nicco Lupo and Steven Rutman of JLL worked on behalf of the developer, Cape Advisors, to secure the undisclosed equity partner.
MERRICK, N.Y. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the $2.1 million sale of a 2,431-square-foot retail asset net leased to Wendy’s in the Long Island city of Merrick. Michael Tuccillo and Matthew Klang of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller and procured the buyer, both of which were private investors that requested anonymity, in the transaction. Wendy’s has 14 years remaining on its lease.
NEW YORK CITY AND FREMONT, CALIF. — The list of apparel retailers to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy grew longer over the weekend as the parent companies of Lord & Taylor and Men’s Wearhouse both filed petitions for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in an effort to restructure their debt loads. Le Tote Inc., a New York City-based e-commerce firm specializing in the clothing sector that owns Lord & Taylor, filed its petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Tailored Brands, the Fremont-based parent company of Men’s Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank, filed in a district court in Texas. Le Tote acquired Lord & Taylor about a year ago for $100 million from Hudson’s Bay Co. At that time, Lord & Taylor operated about 40 department stores around the country. Approximately half of those stores will now close. In mid-March, Hudson’s Bay Co., the Canadian firm that also owns Saks Fifth Avenue, also sold a 660,000-square-foot office building in Manhattan that had served as Lord & Taylor’s office hub. Amazon bought the property for $1.15 billion to serve as its New York City headquarters. Just two weeks ago, Tailored Brands unveiled a corporate restructuring plan that …
NEW YORK CITY — Polestar, the electric car manufacturing division of Volvo, has signed a lease for a 4,000-square-foot showroom at 5 E. 59th St. in Manhattan. Polestar, which has also opened pop-up showrooms in Los Angeles and San Francisco, will use the space to educate consumers about electric vehicles. Visitors can also schedule test drives and configure their own Polestar vehicle at the showroom’s digital atelier table. Andrew Kahn and Christian Stanton of Cushman & Wakefield represented the landlord, Capstone Equities, in the lease negotiations. Jason Greenstone, also with Cushman & Wakefield, represented Polestar.
NEW YORK CITY — Black Bear Capital Partners has arranged $62 million in permanent financing for a portfolio of nine multifamily properties totaling 432 units in The Bronx. Bryan Manz, Rob Serra, Emil DePasquale and Brandon Harris of Black Bear Capital Partners arranged the financing on behalf of the borrower, Finkelstein Timberger East Real Estate, an owner-operator with roughly 3,500 New York City-area units in its portfolio.
NEW YORK CITY — Locally based developer Bespoke Living has topped out 300 West, a 15-story condominium tower located at the corner of 122nd Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard in South Harlem. Designed by Issac & Stern Architects, the property will feature 170 units in studio, one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom units. Amenities will include a pool, fitness center, a rooftop terrace with outdoor grilling stations, a children’s activity area, package lockers and bike storage space. The development team expects to begin closing sales by the end of the year. Prices start at roughly $500,000.