NEW YORK CITY — Ariel Property Advisors has arranged the $4.5 million sale of an eight-unit apartment building in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn. The four-story building measures 10,200 square feet and is near the Nostrand Avenue subway station, which provides access to the 2, 3 and 5 subway lines. Jonathan Berman and Michael A. Tortorici represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. The buyer was also undisclosed.
NEW YORK CITY — Global coworking provider WeWork has closed on its $850 million purchase of the Lord & Taylor Building, a landmark Midtown Manhattan asset located at 424-434 Fifth Ave. The seller, Hudson’s Bay Co. (HBC), is the parent company of Lord & Taylor, which for 104 years had its flagship store on the ground level of the 11-story building. The retailer closed its doors and its famous Fifth Avenue display windows after the 2018 holiday shopping season. HBC and WeWork Property Investors (WPI), WeWork’s real estate division, originally announced the purchase back in October 2017. The final purchase price is consistent with the previously disclosed terms of the transaction. WeWork is in the midst of overhauling the property. The New York-based company is collaborating with architect BIG to restore the Lord & Taylor Building’s display windows on the street level, two-story entrance and its rooftop terrace. WeWork is preserving the basement, first and second floors for retail. “Preserving one of the most iconic buildings in New York City’s history is a monumental opportunity,” says Bjarke Ingels, founding partner at BIG. “Our design will honor Lord & Taylor’s past, building toward the future and ensuring this landmark continues to be …
NEW YORK CITY — HFF has secured a $165 million construction loan for One Boerum Place, a 21-story, mixed-use condominium development in Brooklyn. Located in Brooklyn’s Borough Hall district, the 122-unit project will include a two-story fitness center, entertainment lounge, children’s playroom, landscaped rooftop, 24/7 doorman and concierge service, as well as a fully automated parking garage. The project is slated for completion in the first quarter of 2021. Christopher Peck, Graham Stephens, Peter Rotchford and Alex Staikos of HFF secured the floating-rate construction loan on behalf of One Boerum Development Partners LLC. The lender was a foreign pension fund.
NEW YORK CITY — GFI Realty Services has brokered the $10.4 million sale of two apartment buildings in the Midwood section of Brooklyn. Located at 2031 and 2233 Ocean Ave., the pre-war properties comprise 47 units and a total of 33,040 square feet. Both properties are four-story walk-up buildings. Erik Yankelovich of GFI represented both the buyer and seller in the transaction, both local investors.
NEW YORK CITY — A partnership between local investment firm TF Cornerstone Inc. and MSD Partners, the investment advisory firm of tech billionaire Michael Dell, will redevelop the Grand Hyatt hotel in Midtown Manhattan. The property, once partially owned by The Trump Organization, will be converted into a mixed-use destination. According to the New York Daily News, the 26-story building represents one of President Donald Trump’s first major real estate deals in Manhattan. In 1978, The Trump Organization partnered with Hyatt to buy the property, then known as Hotel Commodore, and undertake $100 million in renovations. The paper reports that Trump sold his share of the property in 1996 for $140 million. The new development, located at 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue, would replace the existing building with office and retail space, as well as a new luxury hotel, totaling roughly 2 million square feet of commercial space. The project would also upgrade the infrastructure of the existing public transit at the site. “Hyatt first entered the critical New York market with the flagship Grand Hyatt New York, and the hotel has always been one of our most iconic properties and vital locations,” says Mark Pardue, senior vice president of operations and …
NEW YORK CITY — Madison Realty Capital has provided a $52.5 construction loan for a mixed-use development in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. Located at 4452 Broadway, the seven-story, 134,475-square-foot project will include 129 residential units and 11,000 square feet of retail space. The project is being built under the Affordable New York program and will include a mix of 70 percent market-rate units and 30 percent reserved for those making a certain percentage of area median income. The property site consists of two adjacent lots totaling 24,280 square feet with 75 feet of frontage on Broadway and 303 feet on Fairview Avenue. The borrower, HAP Investment Developers, acquired the property in 2013.
NEW YORK CITY — JLL Capital Markets has arranged a $36.7 million construction loan for a mixed-use project on the border of the Chelsea and Flatiron neighborhoods of Manhattan. Located at 128-130 W. 23rd St., the 37,752-square-foot, 15-story project will include 30 residential units and 3,673 square feet of retail space. The property will also feature 2,500 square feet of amenity space including a fitness center and rooftop space. Jonathan Schwartz, Max Herzog, Brett Rosenberg and Chris Byrns of JLL Capital Markets secured financing for the borrowers, Pan-Brothers Association and Valyrian Capital. The lender was CapitalSource. Terms of the financing were not disclosed.
WOODSIDE, N.Y. — NAI Queens has arranged the $3.6 million sale of an 8,000-square-foot warehouse in Woodside. Located on 56th St., the two-story property was built in 1970 and features two drive-in doors as well as 10-foot clear heights. Brian Sarath of NAI Queens represented the seller, Nancy Siegel, in the transaction. The buyer was Susan Wu.
NEW YORK CITY — Saks Fifth Avenue has opened the new 53,000-square-foot main floor of its Manhattan flagship store. The floor is part of a $250 million renovation of the location. The renovated section triples the handbag department selling space, which includes more than 50 brands. The beauty floor above the main was renovated last year and is already open. The two floors are connected via a new atrium that features a large-scale multimedia installation centered around a 60- by 20-foot LED screen as well as custom terrazzo flooring from Italy. The Vault, a high-end jewelry experience, will be unveiled on the lower level of the store later this year.
NEW YORK CITY — Cushman & Wakefield has secured a 26,206-square-foot lease for The Wallace Foundation at 140 Broadway in downtown Manhattan. The private foundation will occupy the entire 49th floor of the building. Andrew Chase, Carri Lyon and Wes Rudes of Cushman & Wakefield represented The Wallace Foundation in the transaction. Robert Constable, Myles Fennon and Edward Mombello of Cushman & Wakefield represented the landlord, 140 BW LLC. The Wallace Foundation’s mission is to foster learning and enrichment for disadvantaged children and the vitality of the arts.