New York City’s retail outlook is sunny, as steady labor market expansion — bolstered by substantial Fortune 500 hiring — has spurred retailer demand for existing and new spaces in all five boroughs. Strong retail property performance in the City That Never Sleeps has supported continued rent and price growth, which will result in higher sales velocity over the short- and mid-terms. Employment Gains, Tourism Underlie Performance During the first six months of 2016, New York City employers created 33,600 new jobs. This pronounced job growth, which has been characteristic of the current cycle, reduced the unemployment rate to 5 percent by the end of the first quarter. This is the lowest rate unemployment rate the city has seen since November 2007. By the end of the year, area employers will add 90,000 workers, with the education and health services and professional and business services sectors projected to post the greatest increases. The leisure and hospitality sector will also contribute significantly to employment gains this year, as greater tourism spending prompts organizations in the sector to ramp up hiring. Another important indicator of NYC’s economic health is strong retail sales, which represent one of the best paces of retail spending …
NEW YORK CITY — Rudder Property Group has brokered a number of office and retail property sales, including seven that total $72.1 million at 866 United Nations Plaza in New York. Systems Property Development acquired the retail and garage portion of the building for $31.1 million. Glenn Tolchin of JLL represented the seller in the transaction. Michael Rudder and Mike Heller of Rudder Property Group represented the seller in the office condominium sales: The National Spiritual Assembly Of the Baha’is of the United States acquired a 9,938-square-foot office condominium for $12.4 million. James Saunders of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank represented the buyer in the deal. The Government of Monaco purchased a 7,031-square-foot office space for $9 million. Steven Kaufman of Hanley Advisors represented the buyer. MGRM Holding Inc. bought a 3,563-square-foot office condo for $3.6 million. Mike Bhuiyan of DJK Residential represented the purchaser. The Egyptian Building Fund Authority and the Ministry of Egyptian Foreign Affairs acquired a 10,200-square-foot office space for $8.2 million. Joshua Sloyer of Douglas Elliman and Tahani Elrafei of McBride Agency Realtors represented the buyer. The Permanent Mission of the Republic of Djibouti to the United Nations purchased a 4,643-square-foot office condo for $4.9 million. The Military …
NEW YORK CITY — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of a mixed-use property located at 239 Elizabeth St. in Manhattan’s Nolita neighborhood. An estate sold the property to a private investor for $7.2 million, or more than $900 per square foot. The six-story property comprises a studio unit, five two-bedroom apartments, five one-bedroom apartments and one retail unit. Peter Von Der Ahe, Joe Koicim and Joshua Grossman of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller and buyer in the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — HFF has arranged $26.9 million in acquisition and construction financing for 314 Scholes Street, a three-building industrial complex located in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood. HFF arranged the five-year, floating-rate loan through M&T Bank for the borrower, The Hudson Companies. The borrower plans to convert the 97,475-square-foot complex into 83,211 square feet of creative office space and 14,543 square feet of retail space. Designed by S9 Architects, the project is slated for completion in 2018. Christopher Peck and Rory Shepard of HFF secured the financing for the borrower.
NEW YORK CITY — Cignature Realty Associates has brokered the sale of a multifamily building located at 546 Isham St. in the Inwood section of Manhattan. Hillcrest Acquisitions acquired the five-story corner building from Geisinger Equities for $9.4 million, or $249 per square foot. Built in 1928, the 37,700-square-foot property features 49 apartments in a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom layouts. Lazer Sternhell and Peter Vanderpool of Cignature Realty represented the buyer and seller in the deal.
NEW YORK CITY — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of a three-unit townhome located at 426 W. 22nd St. in Manhattan’s West Chelsea neighborhood. A private investor acquired the residential rental property for $7.3 million, or more than $1,577 per square foot. The three-story property features a garden-level three-bedroom duplex with a private garden, a second-floor two-bedroom unit with terrace and a third-floor two-bedroom duplex with terrace. Peter Von Der Ahe, Joe Koicim and Josh Grossman of Marcus & Millichap represented the undisclosed seller and buyer in the deal.
NEW YORK CITY — Cushman & Wakefield advised L.H. Charney Associates Inc. on a $185 million senior mortgage financing for 10 Times Square, also known at 1441 Broadway, in New York City. The fixed-rate financing was provided by an affiliate of Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. The 36-story building features more than 540,000 square feet of office/showroom and retail space, including 31 floors of fully-leased office/showroom space and 55,000 square feet of ground-floor, concourse and second/mezzanine-level retail space. The building’s newly designed retail space and lobby will be delivered in 2017. Alex Hernandez, Steve Kohn, Chris Moyer and Alex Lapidus of Cushman & Wakefield’s Equity, Debt and Finance team arranged the the financing.
PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. — BEB Real Estate has leased 56,000 square feet of office and industrial space to Cintas Corp. The Cincinnati-based company will occupy space on the first and second floors at 12 Harbor Park Drive in Port Washington. Lee Brodsky, Dan Oliver and Dan Marcus of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank represented the landlord, BEB Real Estate, in the deal.
NEW YORK CITY — American Finance Trust Inc. (AFIN) has acquired all of the outstanding common stock of American Realty Capital – Retail Centers of America Inc. (RCA) for approximately $1.4 billion, including the assumption or repayment of $432 million in debt. The merger of the two New York-based, non-traded REITs creates a retail REIT with an enterprise value of approximately $3.9 billion. The combined company will retain the AFIN name and continue to be led by AFIN’s management team, with the addition of Kase Abusharkh from RCA, who will serve as AFIN’s chief investment officer of the multi-tenant portfolio. Members of both boards of directors will continue to serve on the board of the combined company. “The combination of AFIN and RCA will help the company achieve critical scale, afford improved access to capital markets, result in significant cost savings for shareholders and increase coverage of our distributions,” said Michael Weil, CEO of AFIN. “For AFIN, today’s announcement is a key step forward in our plan to grow earnings.” AFIN, formerly known as American Realty Capital Trust V Inc., was formed in January 2013 to acquire mostly freestanding, single-tenant retail properties leased to investment grade or other creditworthy tenants. …
NEW YORK CITY — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged the sale of an industrial warehouse located at 214 40th St. in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park. An undisclosed buyer acquired the property for $6 million, or $437 per square foot. The 13,730-square-foot building features three drive-in garage bays with curb cuts, elevators, a new high-grade industrial hot water boiler, 3,000 amps of electricity and office space on the third floor. Aaron Warkov, Adam Ecker, Daniel Arnel and Michael Purcell of Cushman & Wakefield represented the undisclosed seller in the deal.