NEW YORK CITY — Pembrook Capital Management LLC has secured a $20 million first mortgage loan for the acquisition of a retail property located at 468 Columbus Ave. in Manhattan’s Upper West Side. The property is currently a three-story, 15,000-square-foot vacant retail asset with the potential for residential development. The undisclosed borrower plans to lease the current three floors to a retail tenant and redevelop the property for residential use by adding five additional floors of apartments. Upon completion, the new property is expected to be eight stores with 31,000 square feet of rentable space. Terence Baydala of Pembrook arranged the financing.
NEW YORK CITY — BGC Partners (NASDAQ: BGCP) has entered into an agreement to acquire Long Island, N.Y.-based Excess Space Retail Services Inc. Currently advising on 35.6 million square feet of retail space in North America, Excess Space provides real estate disposition, lease restructuring and lease renewal services, as well as related valuations for retailers nationwide. Since its formation, Excess Space has generated approximately $4 billion in cost savings for clients. Upon close of the acquisition, the deal is expected to complement and drive future growth opportunity within Newmark Grubb Knight Frank Global Corporate Services, which is BGC Partners’ commercial real estate services brand. Financial details of the agreement were not released.
NEW YORK CITY — Hines, along with Pacolet Milliken Enterprises and institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management, have sold 7 Bryant Park in New York City to an institutional investor for an undisclosed price. Located between West 39th and 40th streets, the 30-story, 470,000-square-foot property was designed by Henry N. Cobb and Yvonne Szeto of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners. Currently, floors 15 through 27 and a first-floor retail space are available for lease. Hines has assumed on-site management responsibilities and CBRE has been selected as the exclusive leasing agent for the property. Phillips Lytle and Proskauer advised on the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — Rosewood Realty Group has brokered the sale of a multifamily property located at 805 St. Marks Ave. in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood. Akelius Residential Property, the U.S. arm of Sweden-based Akelius, purchased the six-story, 172,000-square-foot property for $44 million, or 18.85 times the current rent roll. The property features 200 rent-stabilized and rent-controlled apartment units. Aaron Jungreis of Rosewood represented the seller, Burke Leighton Asset Management, while Billy Billitzer of Rosewood represented the buyer in the transaction.
CLARENCE, N.Y. — The Cooper Commercial Investment Group has arranged the sale of the Jo-Ann Plaza retail center located in Clarence. A Brooklyn-based private investment group purchased the property for $9.3 million from a publicly traded REIT. The 92,720-square-foot property is 100 percent occupied by Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts, Big Lots and OfficeMax. Dan Cooper of the Cooper Commercial Investment Group represented the seller in the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — Dalan Management has partnered with RWN Real Estate Partners to acquire a mixed-use property located at 235 Elizabeth St. in New York City’s Nolita district. Gordon Chin, who owned the property with his family since 1987, sold the property for $14.6 million, or approximately $800 per square foot. The six-story, 18,081-square-foot property features 27 residential apartments and three retail spaces. Daniel Altman of Belkin Burden Wenig and Goldman LLP provided legal counsel for the buyer in the transaction, which was brokered by George Solano of City Limits.
NEW YORK CITY — Eastern Consolidated has arranged the $8 million sale of a retail property located in Brooklyn. Supermarket Farm Country, the current tenant, has purchased the 26,800-square-foot property located at 2203-2225 Linden Blvd. from the Lee Estate. Adelaide Polsinelli and Ben Tapper of Eastern Consolidated represented both parties in the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — ARM Real Estate Group has brokered the sale of a corner retail building located in the Woodside neighborhood of Queens. The Daniel Group purchased the 9,500-square-foot property for $2.8 million from 5401 Nb LLC. Located at 540-01 Northern Blvd. and built in 1952, the property features three retail spaces: a Chinese restaurant, a convenience store and a carpet shop. The buyer plans to reposition the property once the current leases expire. Anand Melwani of ARM Real Estate Group represented both parties in the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — HAP Investments has broken ground for the construction of a residential property in Washington Heights. Located at 655-667 West 187th St., the multi-story building will feature 47 apartment units. The property was designed by Karim Rashid and Karl Fischer will serve as the architect of record. The construction team will employ a modular building system developed by Deluxe Building Systems, which will result in 40 percent faster construction and reduced material waste.
NEW YORK CITY — Sweden-based Akelius through its U.S. company, Akelius US LLC, has acquired an apartment building along East 21st St. in Manhattan’s Gramercy Park for an undisclosed price. Built in 1930, the property features 196 apartment units. This is the company’s second acquisition in the United States. Additional details of the transaction were not disclosed.