NEW YORK CITY — Bellwether Enterprise Real Estate Capital has provided a $5.6 million Freddie Mac permanent loan for the construction of a 71-unit affordable housing project located at 461 Alabama Ave. in Brooklyn. More than half the residences will be reserved for homeless renters. The financing was structured with a 35-year amortization schedule and a 4.63 percent fixed interest rate. Jim Gillespie and Ilya Weinstein of Bellwether Enterprise originated the loan on behalf of the borrower, a partnership between developer CB Emmanuel Realty and nonprofit Services for the Underserved.
The commercial real estate industry is still managing the COVID-19 pandemic and the heavy toll it has enforced on the national economy. The National Bureau of Economic Research declared in early June the U.S. economy was officially in a recession, less than three months after government-mandated shutdowns began en masse. Jay Olshonsky, president and CEO of New York-based NAI Global, says the sudden economic impact of the pandemic on the commercial real estate industry has already exceeded the global financial crisis. “The immediate magnitude of this is much greater than 2009,” says Olshonsky. “Some economists are predicting this could be 20 times as bad as far as the number of properties that are affected and could potentially go into default. The numbers are pretty staggering.” But Olshonsky is quick to point out that the current situation isn’t a doomsday scenario, nor is it permanent. “It will slowly get back to normal,” says Olshonsky. “There are a multitude of side effects. For every sell there’s a buy, for every loss there’s an opportunity. There will be opportunities that will be created.” Among those are distressed real estate assets, which can take the form of properties in foreclosure or mortgages that are …
WESTBURY, N.Y. — Bloomingdale’s Furniture will open a 25,000-square-foot store at Samanea Mall in Westbury, located on Long Island, in spring 2021. Matthew Kucker and Jordan Baruch of Colliers International represented the landlord in the lease negotiations. Brian Schuster of Ripco Real Estate represented Bloomingdale’s. Samanea Mall originally opened in 1997 and is currently undergoing a multimillion-dollar renovation.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Blueprint Healthcare Real Estate Advisors, a brokerage firm specializing in seniors housing and healthcare assets, has brokered the portfolio sale of two assisted living communities located in the Upstate New York city of Rochester. A REIT sold the communities to a regional investor in an all-cash transaction. Further details were not disclosed.
NEW YORK CITY — Peloton Interactive Inc. (NASDAQ: PTON), a provider of subscription-based home exercise equipment and routines, reported a 172 percent increase in total revenue during the fourth quarter relative to that period in 2019. With many commercial gyms still operating at reduced capacities and numerous fitness centers at office and apartment buildings still closed, Peloton saw its connected fitness subscriptions and paid digital subscriptions grow by 113 and 210 percent, respectively. The New York City-based company now has a total membership base of more than 3.1 million people. In addition, Peloton operated 95 showrooms across the world at the end of its fiscal fourth quarter, which CNBC reports ended on June 30, up from 74 a year ago.
NEW YORK CITY — RAL Development Services, in partnership with the New York City Economic Development Corp., has topped out Zero Irving, a 240,000-square-foot office building located in the Union Square neighborhood of Manhattan. Designed by Davis Brody Bond, the 21-story building is located at 124 E. 14th St. and will ultimately feature 176,000 square feet of Class A office space and 10,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space that will house a food hall, event space and a fitness center. Completion is scheduled for early 2021.
NEW YORK CITY — SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE: SLG), a locally based developer and Manhattan’s largest office owner, has opened One Vanderbilt. The $3.3 billion office tower is located across the street from Grand Central Station in Midtown Manhattan. Designed by Kohn Pederson Fox Associates, One Vanderbilt spans 1.7 million square feet. Rising 77 stories and 1,401 feet, it is the tallest commercial building in the Midtown area. CBRE is the leasing agent for One Vanderbilt. SL Green developed the building in partnership with Houston-based Hines and the National Pension Service of Korea, according to the New York Post. The local media outlet also reports that One Vanderbilt is currently 67 percent leased to companies such as TD Securities, Carlyle Group and KPS Capital Partners. SL Green will occupy 70,000 square feet at the building for its new headquarters. Move-ins are scheduled to begin before the end of the year. Asking rents range from $125 to $300 per square foot. SL Green began assembling various tracts on the block between 42nd and 43rd streets and Madison and Vanderbilt avenues for the project more than 20 years ago, the Post reports. As part of the project, SL Green also made …
NEW YORK CITY — Century 21, a New York City-based department store chain with a 60-year operating history, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The retailer will soon begin the process of ceasing operations and will close all 13 of its stores, which are located in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Florida. The decision follows nonpayment by Century 21’s insurance providers of $175 million due under policies put in place to protect against losses stemming from business interruption such as those experienced as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
NEW YORK CITY — Locally based developer The Kalikow Group will begin leasing The Sidney, a 68-unit multifamily building located in 2415 Church Ave. in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn. Developed in partnership with WRS Associates and The Ishay Group, The Sidney is named after Sidney Kalikow, the patriarch of the family-owned development group. Units are available in studio, one- and two-bedroom formats. Amenities include coworking space, a tenant lounge, game room, rooftop terrace, package room and a fitness center. The project is almost entirely complete, with the first units expected to be available for occupancy in late September or early October.
NEW YORK CITY — Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) has filed a lawsuit in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware against LVMH Moët Hennessy-Louis Vuitton (LVMH) as part of an effort to force the French conglomerate to complete its $16.2 billion acquisition of the New York City-based jeweler. The lawsuit refutes LVMH’s suggestions that it can avoid completing the acquisition by claiming Tiffany has undergone a material adverse effect, meaning the jeweler had breached the terms of the merger agreement. Both CNBC and The Wall Street Journal have reported that LVMH is attempting to scrap the deal by claiming that Tiffany failed to follow certain management procedures during the pandemic, such as continuing to distribute dividends to shareholders despite declining profitability, thus misrepresenting its finances and nullifying the deal. As of late 2019, LVMH, based in Paris, owned more than 70 luxury brands in the clothing, cosmetics, jewelry and spirits industries, including Dom Pérignon champagne, Givenchy clothing and perfume and Christian Dior fashion and perfume. New York City-based Tiffany & Co., which was founded in 1837, operated about 300 stores worldwide and employed some 14,000 people as of late 2019.