UPSTATE NEW YORK; HARTFORD, CONN.; AND PHILADELPHIA — Equity Commonwealth (NYSE: EQC), a real estate investment trust (REIT) based in Chicago, has sold 13 properties in three separate transactions totaling $261 million. In the first transaction, the company sold an 11-property portfolio of small office assets totaling 2 million square feet in upstate New York for $104.6 million. The company also sold City Place, an 868,000-square-foot office property at 185 Asylum St. in Hartford, Conn., for $113.3 million. The office is the tallest building in Hartford. As of June 30, the property was 98.7 percent leased. In the third transaction, Equity Commonwealth sold an undisclosed property at the corner of North 16th and Race streets in Philadelphia for $43 million. The 609,000-square-foot vacant property is currently vacant. The buyers in all three sales were not disclosed. Concurrent with the dispositions, Equity Commonwealth has doubled its share buyback program from $100 million to $200 million. The company has repurchased 3.4 million shares of its common stock at an average price of $25.76 per share for a total investment of $87.8 million. The company currently has $112.2 million available for share repurchases over the next 12 months. Equity Commonwealth’s stock price closed …
NEW YORK CITY — Kalmon Dolgin Affiliates has arranged the sale of an industrial property located at 58-44 Maurice Ave. in the Maspeth area of Queens. The former baking facility of Junior’s Cheesecakes of Flatbush Avenue sold for $4.5 million. The building is split into 14,000 square feet on the ground level, a 1,500-square-foot mezzanine storage area and 1,500 square feet of office space on the mezzanine. The buyer, Quality Installation NY Inc., plans to use the space for the warehousing and manufacturing of furniture and workstation products and repairs. Grant Dolgin and Dmitri Gourianov of Kalmon Dolgin represented the seller, Let it Be Realty LLC, while DY Realty represented the buyer, Quality Installation NY Inc.
NEW YORK CITY — An undisclosed buyer has acquired an apartment building located at 316 68th St. in Brooklyn’s Bay Ridge neighborhood for $3.7 million, or $240 per square foot, in an all-cash transaction. The four-story, 15,390-square-foot property features 20 units, of which 19 are rent stabilized and one is rent controlled. Brendan Maddigan and Aaron Warkov of Cushman & Wakefield brokered the transaction. The name of the seller was not released.
NEW YORK CITY — Shaw Industries, a carpet manufacturer, has signed a long-term lease to occupy 7,963 square feet of retail space at 853 Broadway in Union Square. The company will take occupancy of the entire third floor at the end of this year to use as a showroom. The third floor is the first of three floors that were recently renovated with a glass curtain wall. The 21-story, 212,000-square-foot office building is owned and managed by The Feil Organization. Robert Fisher provided in-house representation for the landlord, while Nicholas Weld and Michael Affronti of CBRE represented Shaw Industries in the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — New York REIT Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to sell an apartment building located at 163 Washington Ave. in Brooklyn. The sales price is $38 million, or approximately $914 per square foot. Situated in Brooklyn’s Clinton Hill neighborhood, the property features 49 rental units, one commercial unit and 38 parking spaces. Holliday Fenoglio Fowler represented New York REIT in the transaction, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter. The name of the buyer was not disclosed.
NEW YORK CITY — Cushman & Wakefield has brokered the sale of an apartment building located at W. 204th and W. 207th streets in Manhattan’s Inwood neighborhood. The 49-unit property sold for $15.8 million, or $375 per square foot, in an all-cash transaction. The six-story, 42,108-square-foot building consists of 44 rent-stabilized units, three free-market apartments, one rent-controlled unit and one superintendent’s unit. Robert Shapiro of Cushman & Wakefield handled the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — Madison Realty Capital and Steelpoint Property Group have acquired 78 Prospect Park West, a multifamily property located at Prospect Park West between Third and Fourth streets in Brooklyn’s Park Slope neighborhood. The long-term ownership sold the seven-story, 41,113-square-foot building for $28 million in an off-market transaction. Built in the 1920s, the property features 40 apartment units, 10 of which are currently vacant. The joint venture plans to renovate and reposition as many units as possible into high-end luxury apartments, as well as initiate a capital expenditure program to modernize the property and enhance operating efficiencies. Aaron Mazor of TOWN Residential and Jonathan Butwin and Scott Dweck of TOWN Commercial represented both parties in the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — An affiliate of Harbor Group International LLC has completed the disposition of an elevator apartment building, located at 334 E. 79th St. in Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The 46-unit property sold for $25.5 million, or $940 per square foot, in an all-cash transaction. The eight-story building features four studio units, seven one-bedroom apartments, 31 two-bedroom units, two three-bedroom apartments and two four-bedroom units. Robert Shapiro and Thomas Gammino Jr. of Cushman & Wakefield handled the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — Kolorbar, an upscale full-service beauty salon, has signed a lease for retail space at 306 E. 86th St. on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The salon, which operates three additional stores in Manhattan, will occupy 1,500 square feet on the ground floor and 1,200 square feet in the basement of the building. The tenant is currently building out the space, including the installation of marble floors and an all-glass front, with occupancy expected in early November. Matthew Ball of Winick Realty Group represented the tenant, while Patty Holmstrom and Jeeun Elizabeth Kim, also of Winick Realty, represented the landlord, KMR Management, in the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — A partnership between Jeff Sutton and Aurora Capital has entered into a 99-year triple net lease for 511 Fifth Avenue, a 160,000-square-foot Class A building on the southeast corner of 43rd Street in Midtown Manhattan. The 17-story building serves as the New York headquarters for Israel Discount Bank and offers 20,000 square feet of retail space. The partnership will operate the property during the lease term, as well as undertake renovations and assume responsibility for leasing. Bruce Mosler, David Green, Louis Wolfowitz, Peyton Horn, Josh Kuriloff and Nat Rockett of Cushman & Wakefield represented the building’s owner, a group of family trusts, in the transaction. Raymond Sanseverino and Richard Nardi of Loeb & Loeb LLP provided legal representation for the owners, while Chris Smith and Lisa Brill of Shearman & Sterling represented the lessee.