NEW YORK CITY — Global investment bank SVB Leerink has signed a 112,000-square-foot office lease renewal and expansion at 1301 Avenue of the Americas, a 1.7 million-square-foot building located between 52nd and 53rd streets in Midtown Manhattan. New York City-based Paramount Group Inc. (NYSE: PGRE) owns the 45-story building, which features a newly renovated lobby, in-building access to Rockefeller Center and 30,000 square feet of ground-floor and concourse-level retail space.
NEW YORK CITY — Global investment bank Credit Agricole CIB has signed a 167,000-square-foot office lease at 1301 Avenue of the Americas, a 1.7 million-square-foot building located between 52nd and 53rd streets in Midtown Manhattan. New York City-based Paramount Group Inc. (NYSE: PGRE) owns the 45-story building, which features a newly renovated lobby, in-building access to Rockefeller Center and 30,000 square feet of ground-floor and concourse-level retail space.
NEW YORK CITY — Paramount Group Inc. (NYSE: PGRE) has agreed to sell a 10 percent interest in 1633 Broadway, a 2.5 million-square-foot office tower located on Broadway between 50th and 51st streets in Manhattan. While the price and buyer were not disclosed, the seller says the transaction values the property at $2.4 billion and netted a profit of $114 million for the company. The transaction is scheduled to close in the second quarter. Floor plates at the 48-story building range from 37,000 to 54,000 square feet. The property features a newly renovated lobby, 40 elevators, direct access to the New York City subway system and a 250-space parking garage. The property is located in the heart of Manhattan’s Theater District, with both Gershwin Theater and Circle In The Square Theater located in the building. The location is two blocks from Radio City Music Hall and Rockefeller Center, four blocks from Times Square and seven blocks from Central Park. “With this pending sale of a joint venture interest in 1633 Broadway, we have successfully proven the value of this enormous trophy asset at levels well above what is implied by our stock price,” says Albert Behler, chairman, CEO and president …
Chicago real estate has been the subject of considerable pessimism from local and national investors due to a variety of factors. Much of this can be blamed on our unfunded pension liability, which is expected to significantly increase real estate taxes across the area in the coming years. Many institutional multifamily investors claim that their data says to avoid Chicago. Instead, they seek multifamily properties at far lower returns and cap rates in places such as Nashville, Austin and Denver. While I believe those cities offer phenomenal investments, investors across the country are missing an amazing opportunity to invest in Chicago apartment properties. Real estate taxes Everyone seems to agree that real estate taxes will rise significantly in Chicago in the coming years. Who pays real estate taxes? Homeowners, commercial landlords and some businesses. Noticeably absent from this list are apartment renters who are generally unaffected by an increase in real estate taxes. In fact, a significant rise in residential real estate taxes should create even more demand for rental apartments in the Chicagoland area as would-be homeowners shift into the rental pool. Effect of high tax rates Do Chicagoans leave the city because of high tax rates? The data …
NEW YORK CITY — Madison Realty Capital, a New York-based lender, has provided an $83 million loan to recapitalize and rebrand a 230-room hotel in Manhattan. The loan proceeds allowed the borrower, Long Island-based McSam Hotel Group, to retire the existing debt on the property and transition the hotel to another brand. The hotel is located across from the Rockefeller Center.
NEW YORK CITY — Paramount Group Inc. (NYSE: PGRE) has received an $850 million refinancing for 1301 Avenue of the Americas, a 1.8 million-square-foot trophy office building located between 52nd and 53rd streets in Midtown Manhattan. The 45-story office tower includes 30,000 square feet of ground-floor and concourse-level retail space. The property also features in-building access to Rockefeller Center and views of Central Park. Cushman & Wakefield arranged the five-year, interest-only loan, which matures in October 2021 and has two one-year extension options. The net proceeds from the financing were used to repay the company’s 2017 debt maturities at 900 Third Avenue in Manhattan and Waterview in Washington, D.C. Paramount plans to use the remaining proceeds to help fund the previously announced acquisition of One Front Street in San Francisco, which is expected to close by the end of the year. “By capitalizing on today’s attractive credit markets for our high-quality, Class A assets, we strengthen our balance sheet and fortify our position in the market,” says Albert Behler, chairman, CEO and president of Paramount. “Over the past 10 months, we have successfully financed over $2.35 billion of debt at attractive rates,” adds Wilbur Paes, chief financial officer of Paramount. …
New construction starts in October advanced 13 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $591.1 billion, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. Much of October’s gain for total construction was due to a sharp rebound by nonresidential building, with additional support coming from a moderate upturn for housing as the result of further strengthening by multifamily housing. During the first 10 months of 2015, total construction starts on an unadjusted basis were $551.9 billion, up 10 percent from the same period a year ago. October’s data raised the Dodge Index to 125, compared to 111 in September. “The healthy increase for construction starts in October alleviates concern about a stalling expansion that may have arisen with the sluggish activity in August and September,” stated Robert Murray, chief economist for Dodge Data & Analytics. Nonresidential building in October jumped 32 percent to $200.7 billion after a weak September. The commercial building categories as a group soared 49 percent in October. Store construction surged 56 percent, pushed upward by the $561 million expansion and renovation of the Westfield Century City Mall in Los Angeles. Office construction advanced 45 percent, helped by the start of two large data center projects — the …
NEW YORK CITY — On behalf of a New York City-based sponsor, David Hayum of Meridian Capital Group has negotiated $130 million in permanent financing to refinance two office properties located in Midtown Manhattan. A regional balance sheet lender provided the $130 million, seven-year financing package, which features an interest rate of 3.88 percent. The properties are located at 15 West 47th Street and 22 West 48th Street, just south of Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan, and are encumbered by a $75 million mortgage and a $55 million mortgage, respectively. 15 West 47th Street is a premier diamond exchange building, and both properties have a concentration of diamond and jewelry manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers.
NEW YORK CITY — Eastern Consolidated’s Capital Advisory Division has arranged an $18 million short-term bridge loan on behalf of East 47th Street LLC (City Centre Properties). The loan will be used to facilitate the sale of a multi-lot development site assemblage in the Rockefeller Center area of Manhattan. HID Acquisition Group LLC, affiliated with Hidrock Realty Inc., is acquiring two 25-foot-wide lots — 12 East 48th and 13 East 47th streets — from City Centre Properties. Additionally, Hidrock acquired 14 East 48th Street from the First Church of Religious Science through an assignment of a contract between the church and City Centre. The sale price for the entire assemblage was $47 million. HID Acquisition plans to raze the existing structures and develop a 31-story residential condo tower on the site. The project will include a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments, as well as amenities targeting the international pied-a-terre market. Jonathan Aghravi and Matthew Hirsch of Eastern Consolidated’s Capital Advisory Division arranged the new financing. City Centre Properties was represented in the assemblage sale transaction by R. Stuart Gross and Chris Matousek of Eastern Consolidated. Additionally, Eastern Consolidated acted as the sole intermediary in both the assemblage site …
NEW YORK —The retail vacancy rate for Madison Avenue in New York City has made some big moves in the past two years, dropping from double digits to below 2.5 percent as luxury and fashion brands move into the market. This high-street retail location has long been known for stiff competition, not only among consumers vying for the latest haute couture, but also among retailers competing for prime space and limited consumer dollars. With a record-low retail vacancy rate on New York’s prime streets like Fifth Avenue, retailers are now expanding throughout the city as stronger growth prospects become increasingly attractive and obtainable. New York City contains nearly 57 million squarefeet of retail space, the slimmest inventory of any major market in the United States. Currently, there are only 670,000 squarefeet of new supply under construction, leaving retailers looking for the “next” neighborhood. “Retailers are growing in a calculated and cost-effective way by getting creative with store footprints and locations,” says Michael Hirschfeld, senior vice president of retail tenant service for Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL). “While their appetite for the best sites remains strong, the sought-after high-street space in the city will be limited through 2017, pushing retailers into new …