Northeast

15-w-nyc

NEW YORK CITY — E4H Architecture, a firm which designs hospitals and other medical health facilities, has signed a 10,156-square-foot office lease expansion for its office in the Garment District of Manhattan. The firm signed a 10-year lease for the entire sixth floor of an office building located at 15 W. 37th St. The firm will move its operations from its original 5,700-square-foot space on the 16th floor of the same building in the second quarter of this year. Norman Bobrow and David Badner of Norman Bobrow & Co. represented E4H in the lease negotiations. Jarad Winter, J.D. Cohen, William Cohen and Steven Levy of Newmark Knight Frank represented the landlord, Kamber Management.

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Manhattan has long been one of the most competitive retail markets in the country due to two characteristics of its population: an incredible density and high incomes among residents and workers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the average weekly wage of Manhattan’s private sector workforce was $3,153 in the first quarter of 2019, much higher than the national average of $1,184 per week. In addition to its residential base, tourism plays a strong role in Manhattan’s retail sales. Marketing agency NYC & Co. projects that New York City will host 67 million visitors this year, up from approximately 65 million in 2018. While these demographic factors have kept Manhattan’s brick-and-mortar retail market somewhat insulated from e-commerce and other factors affecting the industry, the borough has not been completely shielded from the woes affecting the retail industry. Pocket-sized technology offers immediate access to everything from groceries and apparel to cars and construction materials, forcing brick-and-mortar retailers to get creative with their shopping experiences in order to avoid closing stores. Manhattan remains a top-tier market that commands rents above the national average. But the net result of e-commerce and asking rents that don’t match operating costs is a shift in …

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NEW YORK CITY — Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) has unveiled plans to close 125 of its least productive stores over the next three years. The retailer will also close its offices in San Francisco, downtown Cincinnati and Lorain, Ohio, leaving the New York City office as the sole corporate headquarters. The reorganization strategy also includes increasing the Macy’s digital platform, while optimizing its brick-and-mortar portfolio and lowering overhead costs. Beginning this year, Macy’s expects the strategy to generate annual gross savings of approximately $1.5 billion, to be fully realized by year-end 2022. “We will focus our resources on the healthy parts of our business, directly address the unhealthy parts of the business and explore new revenue streams,” says Jeff Gennette, chairman and CEO of Macy’s. “Over the past three years, we have shown we can grow the top line; however, we have significant work to do to improve the bottom line.” The 125 stores that Macy’s plans to close account for approximately $1.4 billion in annual sales and one-fifth of its store footprint. Thirty of the stores are in the process of closure now. Steve Horwitz, a professor in the Miller College of Business at Ball State University in Muncie, …

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Brad Savage Apprise Walker Dunlop

Technology and data are here to make things easier, faster and more accurate than ever before. However, some industries have lagged behind. This inspired Walker & Dunlop and its data science partner, GeoPhy, to fulfill a need in the market related to multifamily valuation. “We built Apprise because we saw a significant opportunity to improve a critical part of the underwriting and valuation process that has largely gone unchanged for decades,” says Brad Savage, Chief Product Officer for Apprise by Walker & Dunlop. “It is the natural and needed progression of any industry to harness the power of technology to make its practitioners more efficient and more informed. This is something we’re seeing in nearly all industries, except commercial real estate valuation…until now.” Apprise by Walker & Dunlop integrates data feeds and business processes that cover 80 percent of the steps in the traditional appraisal process. This can often result in appraisals in five days or less, compared to up to three weeks for traditional reports. The process is powered by GeoPhy’s Automated Valuation Model (AVM), which automates data feeds and can pre-populate relevant fields, preventing errors or duplicate entries that can happen with manual submissions. Selection bias is also reduced with the …

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David Leopold Berkadia

It’s no secret America is in a housing crisis, but the problem is easier to identify than it is to tackle. David Leopold, senior vice president and head of affordable housing for Berkadia, believes it can be tackled, however, if the industry’s best and brightest can collaborate on a nationwide strategy. Finance Insight (FI): What is your view on the affordable housing market? Leopold: It’s an exciting time in the affordable housing market. There’s massive demand for affordable housing nationwide, which means new opportunities for innovation and new needs to be fulfilled. There’s also a real sense of urgency and commitment galvanizing players across the industry to pursue innovative solutions that will result in decent, affordable and safe housing in every single community across the country. This extends to developers, lawmakers, real estate professionals and beyond. It’s a tall order, but this work is essential to the well-being of our communities. FI: Speaking of tall orders, what are some of the challenges facing the affordable housing industry? Leopold: Rent control is certainly a hot topic and will remain one in the year ahead. Last year was a significant chapter in the rent control debate, with comprehensive statewide reform enacted in …

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Garden city

CRANSTON, R.I. — WS Development has acquired Garden City Center, a 530,000-square-foot retail property in Cranston, a southern suburb of Providence. Whole Foods Market anchors the retail center, along with Starbucks, Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn and other tenants. Robert Griffin, Geoffrey Millerd and Justin Smith led a Newmark Knight Frank team that represented the seller, a public pension fund advised by TA Realty LLC.

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GLEN MILLS, PA. — Erickson Living has broken ground on an expansion at Maris Grove, a continuing care retirement community in Glen Mills, located approximately 20 miles west of Philadelphia. The three-story, 76,000-square-foot project will be named Evergreen Pointe and will feature 84 new assisted living units. Evergreen Pointe is part of Erickson’s multi-year plan to expand and renovate Maris Grove’s existing residences. The new building will be located adjacent to the existing continuing care building, Rose Court, which will be renovated to include a dedicated memory care neighborhood and redesigned lobby and bistro. Construction of Evergreen Pointe is estimated to take 18 months. Three independent living neighborhoods, with more than 1,200 independent living apartment homes, are also located on the 87-acre campus. Architectural firm SFCS designed the project.

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2301-pennsauken-nj

PENNSAUKEN, N.J. — Colliers International has brokered the sale of a 37,856-square-foot industrial property in Pennsauken, an eastern suburb of Philadelphia. Situated at 2301 Haddonfield Road, the property features 16-foot clear heights and convenient access to the Cherry Hill Commuter Rail. Maple Direct Printing was the anchor tenant of the building at the time of sale. Ian Richman and Marc Isdaner of Colliers represented the seller, The Bloom Organization. Velocity Ventures was the buyer.

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hap8-nyc

NEW YORK CITY — HAP Investments LLC has topped out HAP Eight, a 20-story residential property in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. The property comprises two side-by-side towers featuring 112 multifamily units and 87 condominium residences. The two buildings will share amenities, including a fitness facility, pool and parking deck. DXA Studio Architects designed the project, which is slated for completion in early 2021.

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10-grand-central

NEW YORK CITY — Salad chain Sweetgreen has signed a 3,500-square-foot retail lease at 10 Grand Central, a 35-story office building in Midtown Manhattan. The fast-casual restaurant will occupy the ground-floor retail space at the building fronting 44th Street this summer. Jacqueline Klinger of TSCG represented Sweetgreen in the lease negotiations. Henry Henderson represented the landlord, Marx Realty, on an internal basis.

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