NEW YORK CITY — Newmark Holdings has closed on $30 million in refinancing for 5-9 Union Square West, a mixed-use building in New York City’s Union Square. The eight-story, 105,000-square-foot building is currently over 93 percent leased to a variety of tenants, including Staples and Rockwell Architecture Design. Provided by Amalgamated Bank, the new loan features a seven-year term with a fixed interest rate of 3.13 percent and five years of interest-only payments.
NEW YORK CITY — HFF has brokered the sale of an apartment building located at 333-335 Carroll St. in Brooklyn’s Carroll Gardens neighborhood. 333 Carroll Condominium LLC sold the newly redeveloped Class A building to an undisclosed buyer for $27.2 million. Built in 1931 as a warehouse loft building, the property was redeveloped into residences in 2014. The five-story property features 30 units in a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units. Apartments feature open layouts, 10-foot ceilings, hardwood floors, reclaimed wood, walk-in closets, stainless steel appliances, open-island kitchens and oversized windows. On-site amenities include a rooftop deck, a fully-furnished lounge with TV and pool table, fitness center and below-grade parking. Andrew Scandalios, Jeff Julien and Rob Hinckley of HFF represented the seller in the deal.
NEW YORK CITY — An affiliate of Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) has acquired a 9.9 percent interest in New York-based office/retail REIT Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE: ESRT) for $622 million. QIA purchased 29.6 million newly issued Class A common shares of ESRT at $21 per share. The interest was acquired on a fully diluted basis, which is currently 19.4 percent ownership of Class A shares. Darcy Stacom of CBRE Group introduced QIA to ESRT. Goldman Sachs and Eastdil Secured acted as financial advisors. Goodwin Procter, Proskauer Rose and Clifford Chance U.S. acted as counsel. White & Case acted as QIA’s legal counsel. Empire State Realty Trust owns, manages, operates, acquires and repositions office and retail properties across New York City, including the Empire State Building. The company’s office and retail portfolio covers 10.1 million rentable square feet, consisting of 9.4 million rentable square feet in 14 office properties and 720,000 rentable square feet of retail. ESRT’s stock price closed at $20.52 per share on Tuesday, Aug. 23, up from $16.41 one year ago. The State of Qatar founded Qatar Investment Authority in 2005 to strengthen the country’s economy by diversifying into new asset classes. QIA is headquartered in Doha …
NEW YORK CITY — New York City-based PMZ Realty Capital has arranged a $71 million loan to refinance a four-property Hilton portfolio. The proceeds will be used by the undisclosed borrower to repay the first mortgage and mezzanine debt that has matured, as well as fund upcoming capital expenditure improvements throughout the portfolio. The portfolio includes the 140-room Hilton Garden Inn Ridgefield Park in Ridgefield Park, N.J.; the 125-room Hampton Inn & Suites in Kissimmee, Fla.; the 150-room Embassy Suites in Palmdale, Calif.; and the 192-suite Homewood Suites by Hilton in Nashville, Tenn. Michael Sonnabend of PMZ Realty Capital arranged the loan for the borrower.
NEW YORK CITY — Equicap has arranged a $4.5 million permanent loan for a mixed-use property located in Brooklyn’s Cobble Hill neighborhood. The newly developed building features one ground-floor retail unit and 10 apartments. Daniel Hilpert of Equicap arranged the loan, which features a five-year fixed interest rate, 30-year amortization schedule and three years of interest-only payments.
NEW YORK CITY — Metropolitan Realty Associates and joint venture partner TIAA Global Asset Management have acquired HUB LIC, a four-story commercial building located at 47-25 34th St. in Queen’s Long Island City, for $89 million. At the time of acquisition, the 326,000-square-foot property was 48 percent leased to a mix of tenants, including POLO Ralph Lauren, TEC Systems (Honeywell), Eleni’s Bakery, Gracie and Richelieu. The buyers plan to redevelop the property into office and retail space to attract a large-format retailer and offer 80,000 square feet of contiguous office space on a single floor. The building features 16- to 21-foot ceilings, a floor-to-ceiling window line, a 7,000-square-foot pitched skylight on the second floor, skylights throughout third floors, abundant parking and eight loading docks. Doug Harmon, Adam Spies, Adam Doneger and Josh King of Eastdil brokered the sale of the property, while Grant Frankel and Rob Turner, also of Eastdil, arranged acquisition financing for the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — Cushman & Wakefield has launched an Automotive Specialty Practice group in response to the recent transformation and growth in the auto industry. Led by Jeffrey Green, the group includes a global, cross-discipline team of real estate and business advisors to auto manufacturers, suppliers, distributors and retailers. Cushman & Wakefield is the first commercial real estate service firm to market a global comprehensive Auto SPG offering. The offering’s mission is to deeply understand and address the distinctive challenges of the automotive sector from labor issues, logistics, infrastructure, technology, credits and incentives to the unique requirements of the real estate itself. Cushman & Wakefield has has relationships with various automotive industry clients around the world, including Toyota, BMW, FCA, Mercedes Benz, Magna International, Hyundai and JLR.
NEW YORK CITY — Meridian Capital Group has arranged $7 million in financing for the acquisition of a warehouse located in the Astoria section of Queens. The one-year loan, provided by a local balance sheet lender, features full-term interest-only payments. Located at 19-79 Steinway St., the single-story, 10,000-square-foot warehouse offers easy access to New York City’s major distribution channels and close proximity to the N and Q subway lines. Bryan Geffen and Brian Flax of Meridian negotiated the loan for the undisclosed borrower.
NEW YORK CITY — Cammeby’s International has started construction of Neptune/Sixth, a mixed-use development located at 532 Neptune Avenue and 626 Sheepshead Bay Road in Brooklyn’s Coney Island. As the comprehensive redevelopment of the former Trump Village Shopping Center and Royal Palace Baths, the community-oriented development will feature a variety of services and retail options, residential and office space, public space and parking for more than 800 vehicles. Construction on the first phase — a standalone, seven-story, 161,000-square-foot retail and commercial building at 626 Sheepshead Bay Road — is underway, with completion slated for summer 2017. Cammeby’s plans to begin site work for the 90,000 square feet of retail space at Neptune Avenue this fall, and the project’s second phase, including a residential component, is scheduled to break ground in late 2017. New York-based S9 Architecture is designing the project. Winick Realty Group has been retained as the exclusive retail leasing agent, while The Lawrence Group is overseeing leasing for the project’s office space.
NEW YORK CITY — Meridian Capital Group has arranged $60 million in CMBS financing for the refinance of an office property located at 286 Madison Ave. in Midtown Manhattan. The borrower is APF Properties. Provided by Jeffries LoanCore, the 10-year loan features a fixed interest rate and full-term interest only-payments. The 23-story building features 131,358 square feet of office space. Tal Bar-Or, Raj Khatiwala and Kyle Kite of Meridian’s New York City headquarters negotiated the transaction.
