Rochester’s story is similar to those of other cities with once prominent downtowns. Starting in the 1970s, businesses and families largely fled to the suburbs as newer and nicer suburban offices were built. Larger companies, including many staple downtown dwellers such as large law and accounting firms, left the downtown in search of free parking, shorter commutes and a suburban lifestyle for their employees. Yet Rochester was a small city with big businesses. Bausch & Lomb was founded in Rochester in 1853. Eastman Kodak started business there in 1888 and beginning in 1906, Xerox Corporation was formed. Kodak is still based in Rochester, though it is a much smaller entity than it was before the digital era, and Xerox moved to Norwalk, Connecticut, years ago. However, the core technology culture never left Rochester. Over the past few years the University of Rochester — the area’s largest employer — received more than $1.9 billion in research money, most of it from the federal government. Organizations like High Tech Rochester, Greater Rochester Enterprise and the Rochester Downtown Innovation Zone have played important roles in the region’s comeback. In 2015, the Rochester region won a nationwide competition and was named the site for …
NEW YORK CITY — HFF has arranged $29.5 million in construction financing for Phase II of The Vineyards at Blue Point, an active adult condominium community restricted to residents age 55 and older in Long Island’s Blue Point area. Evan Pariser of HFF arranged the construction loan through Bank of the Ozarks for the borrowers, Ornstein Leyton Co. and Latus Partners. Upon completion, the 280-unit property will encompass 44 buildings with townhomes and single-level flats. The units will feature oversized master bedrooms, in-unit washer/dryers and attached garages. Situated on 65 acres, the community features a heated outdoor swimming pool and bocce club, along with the Vineyards Club, which includes a fitness center, social rooms and lounge space.
NEW YORK CITY — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged the sale of The Clarke, two contiguous buildings located at 222-224 W. 21st St. in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood. Slate Property Group sold the property to a local investor for $29.4 million. The five-story buildings contain a total of 22,437 square feet and 27 free-market apartment units, including two Section 8 units, in a mix of one-, two-, three-, four- and five-bedroom layouts. Brock Emmetsberger and James Nelson of Cushman & Wakefield, along with David Schechtman, Lipa Lieberman and Abie Kassim of Meridian Capital Group, represented the seller. Jingying Wu of Sagewood Equity represented the buyer in the deal.
NEW YORK CITY — Seagis Property Group has acquired two warehouse buildings adjacent to JFK International Airport in Queens. The properties total 60,000 square feet. The name of the seller and acquisition price were not released. The acquisition complements Seagis’ existing JFK holdings, which total 850,000 square feet in 45 buildings.
NEW YORK CITY — Fairfield Properties has acquired a multifamily property located at 365 Stewart Ave. in Long Island’s Garden City for $36.5 million. Built in 1938, the four-story building features 80 apartment units. Aaron Jungreis of Rosewood Realty Group represented the buyer and the seller, Va Garden City LLC National Registered Agents Inc., in the deal.
NEW YORK CITY — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged the sale of two multifamily buildings located at 234 E. 95th St. and 446 E. 88th St. in Manhattan’s Upper East Side. A local investor acquired the properties, which total 40 apartment units. The property located at 234 E. 95th St. features 20 one-bedroom units and sold for nearly $670 per square foot. The 8,200-square-foot building also features additional 7,508 square feet of air rights. The 9,000-square-foot property, located at 446 E. 88th St., features 20 one-bedroom, rent-stabilized units and 1,988 square feet of additional air rights. The property sold for $760 per square foot. Guthrie Garvin, Thomas Gammino and Michael Gembecki of Cushman & Wakefield. The buyer, a local investor, was self-represented in the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — Eastern Consolidated has arranged refinancing loans for six multifamily properties in Manhattan in two separate transactions totaling $32.4 million. Jonathan Aghravi and Charles Han of Eastern Consolidated handled the loan placements with Amalgamated Bank. The first loan was a seven-year, $20 million refinancing for five mixed-use buildings, featuring 44 residential units and eight commercial units, located at 420, 422, 424, 426 and 428 Amsterdam. The second loan was a seven-year, $12.4 million refinancing for a newly renovated 28-unit multifamily property located at 44-46 E. End Ave.
NEW YORK CITY — Kalmon Dolgin Affiliates (KDA) has arranged the sales of sites at a sub-divided industrial complex located in Staten Island’s Mariners Harbor district to two Brooklyn-based buyers for a total of $13 million. Gary Mayzlin of KDA represented the seller, 135 Lake Avenue Realty LLC, and buyers in transactions. World Wide Plumbing acquired the property at 125 Lake Avenue, which features seven industrial acres and 100,000 square feet of warehouse buildings; and, Royal Seafood Baza Inc. purchased the property at 175 Lake Avenue, which consists of a 50,000-square-foot industrial warehouse with 40,000 square feet of parking.
The Capital Region continues to experience low vacancy rates across the industrial sector. The region’s growth over the last decade has primarily been driven by multibillion-dollar investments by GlobalFoundries, a semiconductor foundry, and State University of New York Polytechnic Institute (known as SUNY Poly). With limited new construction and virtually no spec-built facilities, the rates on existing spaces have finally experienced some rental appreciation after remaining relatively flat over the decade from 2005 to 2015. For the most part, the region has seen existing tenants shifting to new locations within the marketplace as opposed to companies entering to the marketplace for the first time. Generally, new entrants to the market that have some technology component to their business are locating at the SUNY Poly campus or related facilities. One of the most notable recent transactions was the $57 million sale of The Beltrone Portfolio to The Rosenblum Companies. The portfolio totaled 23 buildings made up of a mix of office and industrial properties. The industrial assets included 10 buildings that would be classified as Class A and B product. Historically the entire portfolio maintained a low vacancy status and at the time of sale it was approximately 5 percent vacant. …
NEW YORK CITY — Bestreich Realty Group has brokered the sale of a 38-unit five-building assemblage of multifamily properties located at 255-265 Linden St. in Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood. Linden Street Group acquired the properties from Excelsior Equities for $9.5 million. The assemblage comprises four contiguous eight-unit properties and one six-unit property. The buyer plans to hold the property and maximize value. Derek Bestreich, Luke Sproviero, Steve Reynolds of Bestreich represented the buyer and seller in the deal.