NEW YORK CITY — Clipper Realty has entered into an agreement to acquire a residential property located at 107 Columbia Heights in Brooklyn. The Jehovah’s Witnesses is selling the apartment property for $87.5 million, or $569 per square foot. The 154,000-square-foot property features 161 apartment units. The buyer plans to create 12 additional units by converting various public spaces on the property. The acquisition is expected to close in May.
NEW YORK CITY — Spotify, a digital music service, is relocating its U.S. headquarters to 4 World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan from its current location in Midtown South. The company will occupy 378,000 square feet at the office building, which is owned by Silverstein Properties. Spotify is expected to move in early 2018. The relocation and expansion will accommodate more than 1,000 new jobs as well as 832 existing jobs.
NEW YORK AND TOKYO — SoftBank Group Corp., a Tokyo-based tech conglomerate, has entered into a definitive merger agreement under which the company will acquire equity firm Fortress Investment Group LLC (NYSE: FIG) for approximately $3.3 billion in cash. Founded in 1998, Fortress has 1,100 employees and $70.1 billion in assets under management as of Sept. 30, 2016. Private equity funds and permanent capital vehicles, including commercial real estate, comprise about 65 percent of the company’s portfolio. Within the multifamily sector, Fortress manages New Senior Investment Group Inc., a seniors housing REIT that as of Sept. 30 owned 154 properties in 37 states. “Fortress’ excellent track record speaks for itself, and we look forward to benefitting from its leadership, broad-based expertise and world-class investment platform,” says Masayoshi Son, chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group Corp. “For SoftBank, this opportunity will immediately help expand our group capabilities, and, alongside our soon-to-be-established SoftBank Vision Fund platform, will accelerate our SoftBank 2.0 transformation strategy of bold, disciplined investment and world class execution to drive sustainable long-term growth,” adds Son. SoftBank’s global portfolio of companies includes advanced telecommunications, internet services, artificial intelligence, smart robotics, clean energy technology and Internet of Things (IoT) providers. Last …
MONTICELLO, N.Y. — A joint venture between Heidenberg Properties Group, Strategic Real Estate Partners and Norse Realty Group has acquired Thompson Square Shopping Center in Monticello. An undisclosed seller sold the 117,944-square-foot property for $19.1 million. A 54,300-square-foot ShopRite anchors the property, which was 90 percent leased at the time of sale. Tenants include Staples, AutoZone, Monticello Cinemas, Catskills Hudson Bank, Brother Bruno’s, Subway and GameStop. This is the second joint venture acquisition between the three companies.
HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. — CBRE has arranged the sale of an office property located at 150 Motor Parkway in Hauppauge. UA Properties acquired the building from RA 150 Motor Parkway, an entity controlled by RNY Property Trust, for $21 million as part of a 1031 exchange. The 201,258-square-foot building features a theater-style media room and boardroom, café, health club and bank branch with drive-through ATM. Jeffrey Dunne, David Gavin, Travis Langer and Philip Heilpern of CBRE represented the seller and procured the buyer in the deal.
NEW YORK CITY — Brooklyn Standard Properties has purchased a four-building mixed-use portfolio for $16.5 million. Fordham Apartments LLC sold the 56,836-square-foot portfolio that offers a total of 74 apartments, three retail spaces, office space and a 12-car parking lot. The portfolio includes a five-story, 22-unit building at 615 E. 189th St.; two four-story buildings at 2476 and 2483-2489 Cambreleng Ave. totaling 38 units; and a five-story, 14-unit mixed-use building at 2470 Belmont Ave. Aaron Jungreis of Rosewood Realty Group represented the buyer and seller in the deal.
NEW YORK — Empire State Development Corp. has selected a design-build team led by Lendlease Construction LMB Inc. and Turner Construction to oversee the $1.5 billion expansion of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. The team also includes Atlanta-based architect tvsdesign, which is aiming for the center’s expansion to be certified LEED Silver. Named after a former U.S. Senator from New York, the conference center is located on 11th Avenue in Manhattan’s Westside and bills itself as the busiest convention center in the country. The venue hosted events on 337 days in 2015. The six-block convention center opened in 1986 and spans 2.1 million square feet, of which 840,000 square feet is exhibition space. According to media reports, the Lendlease-Turner team is planning on a 46-month construction schedule for the expansion. The expansion will add 90,000 square feet of permanent space to the center’s current exhibit space, which will create an approximately 500,000-square-foot exhibition hall. Additionally the project will include 45,000 square feet of meeting room space and a 55,000 square-foot ballroom, the largest of its kind in New York City. The expansion will also reroute 20,000 event-related trucks off area streets each year, which is …
NEW YORK CITY — New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development and Housing Development Corp. have selected Jonathan Rose Cos. and L+M Development Partners to develop a mixed-use, sustainable community on East 111th Street in East Harlem. Slated to be constructed in three phases, the property will bring 655 affordable rental units to the area with 163 designated as permanently affordable, 20 percent for extremely low-income households, nearly 60 percent for low-income households and 79 affordable seniors housing units. The development will also include an 85,000-square-foot Harlem RBI/Dream Charter School, an 11,000-square-foot Union Settlement Community Space, a 29,000-square-foot YMCA facility, a 26,000-square-foot Mount Sinai East Harlem Community Health Center, a 7,500-square-foot Urban Market grocery store and a Two Boots Pizza location. Designed by Handel Architects, the project is utilizing a passive design that will result in 60 to 70 percent less energy usage than a standard building of its kind. Passive design uses building placement within a site to maximize environmental factors to reduce energy usage for heating and cooling.
NEW YORK CITY — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged the sale of a mixed-use property located at 106 Franklin St. in Manhattan’s Tribeca East Historic District. An undisclosed buyer acquired the 10,500-square-foot property for $11.5 million, or $1,095 per square foot. Partially vacant at the time of sale, the five-story building features 4,200 square feet of additional air rights. Will Suarez and Maurice Suede of Cushman & Wakefield represented the undisclosed seller, while Rachel Glazer of Brown Harris Stevens represented the buyer in the deal.
NEW YORK CITY — L+M Development Partners and Nelson Management Group have started construction on two affordable multifamily properties at 1520 and 1530 Story Ave. within the Lafayette Boynton apartment complex in the Soundview neighborhood of the Bronx. Combined the two 13-story buildings will feature 435 units in a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units. On-site amenities include a fitness center and a 7,500-square-foot community facility space. Additionally, the project will include two acres of landscaped greenspace with walking paths between the properties, a children’s play area and an outdoor fitness center. Nelson Management Group is undertaking the project through its investment arm Global One Investments.