Archive for June, 2010
June 30th, 2010
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From left: Elie Tahari, Rory Tahari and 141 Prince Street
Fashion designer Elie Tahari and his wife, Rory, sold their 9,600-square-foot cooperative at 141 Prince Street for $27.5 million to an unidentified buyer. The multi-story penthouse unit with three main bedrooms and three guest rooms sold on June 22 to TDUB-NY, LLC, city property records published today show. The New York Post
reported in February that the apartment was being quietly marketed for about $22 million.
[more]
June 30th, 2010
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In this post-crash world, digging up $100 million for a home builder is not an easy task.
June 30th, 2010
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From left: Gehry's Guggenheim Bilbao, Foster's HSBC Building and Piano's Menil Collection
Starchitect Frank Gehry has nabbed yet another accolade: the title of Modernism's "greatest renegade," courtesy of Vanity Fair, which surveyed 52 industry experts to name their choice for most influential piece of architecture built since 1980. Gehry's winning work, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, which was completed in 1997, shared the honor with other recent works, including Sir Norman Foster's HSBC Building in Hong Kong, which was finished in 1985, and Renzo Piano's Menil Collection, completed in Houston in 1987. But, despite the other worthy contenders, Paul Goldberger, a noted architecture critic, said that the Guggenheim Bilbao has a universal appeal.
[more]
June 30th, 2010
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General Growth Properties, owner of the
South Street Seaport in Lower Manhattan, will file its Chapter 11
reorganization plan on or around July 9, Crain’s reported. General Growth asked for one extension until Oct. 18 to file the plan and another extension until Dec. 16 to solicit acceptances of any plan. The extra time would allow them to explore all financing options. The company, which also owns about 200 shopping malls nationwide, filed for Chapter 11
last April, the biggest real estate bankruptcy case in U.S. history.
[Crain’s]
June 30th, 2010
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An annual BusinessWeek survey ranked Tel Aviv and Jerusalem higher than New York City in cost of living for expats, in a reversal of last year’s findings, Ynet News reported. The survey, conducted by ECA International between September 2009 and March 2010, compared the prices of 128 products, both imported and local, including clothing, food, electronics and entertainment. The reason for the higher ranking of Israeli cities on this year’s index is explained by the relative decrease of the dollar compared to the Israeli shekel. The magazine described Tel Aviv as Israel’s richest and most expensive city, with high daily expenses and average rent about $1,440 per month for a three-bedroom apartment.
[more]
June 30th, 2010
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1. Buyers and sellers disagree on
home values: survey
[UPI]
2. Freddie Mac short sales jump 600 percent from two years ago
[Housing Wire] 3. Budget plan saves
Ladder Co. 116 in Dutch Kills [Queens Gazette]
4. Houston-based law firm signs
10-year lease in Plaza District [Crain’s]
5. Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov buys billboard space near Madison Square Garden
[Real GM]
6. Buildings commissioner paints roof white to
reduce energy costs [DNAinfo]
7. Manhattan vacancy rates drop in second quarter, except in Downtown area
[Crain’s]
8. Apex condos in Harlem’s Aloft Hotel will hit market in September
[Curbed]
9. JFK runway makeover is completed earlier than expected
[Gothamist]
10. M. Wells Queens diner offering eclectic cuisine will open July 6
[NYT]
11. Experts analyze
housing prices [CNBC]
June 30th, 2010
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Bayer, a senior managing director with the Moinian Group
It's been a long haul for the Moinian Group to deliver the W Hotel and Residences Downtown, and the most strenuous part may still lie ahead. But executives at the project, located at 123 Washington Street, said they closed the sale of their first condo (there are a total of 159) on June 25. Meanwhile, the 217-room W New York-Downtown Hotel, in the same tower, is scheduled to open on July 26. About 64 furnished condos in the building were to be leased in late June to an unidentified company for two years, which will then re-lease them to corporate entities for short-term use, W executives told
The Real Deal. The Moinian Group declined to reveal how much the company was paying for the lease. Onlookers have been watching the high-profile hotel-condo project eagerly. The developer said he was thrilled that the tower, which had been plagued since its 2006 inception by construction delays and stop-work orders (not to mention the Great Recession), was finally open.
[more]
June 30th, 2010
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The 10-year Treasury note's yield has fallen just below 3 percent, and it's dragging mortgage rates down along with it. If the yield dips further -- particularly, if it crosses the 2.8 percent mark that market analysts say is a critical -- mortgage rates could drop so far as to spur homeowners to refinance the 5 and 6 percent loans they took out over the last year-and-a-half. That's bad news for investors in mortgage-backed securities, on which prices are near record highs. Following yesterday's drop in Treasury yields, the price of the 5 percent mortgage securities coupon -- which is reflective of mortgage rates -- fell to 104.75 from 106.0625.
[Fox Business]
June 30th, 2010
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June 30th, 2010
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George Stephanopoulos, host of "Good Morning America," and his wife, actress Alexandra Wentworth, purchased a full-floor apartment at 30 East 72nd Street, between Madison and Park avenues, for $6.5 million, the Observer reported. The pre-war three-bedroom apartment in the 16-story building features a private elevator vestibule, a fireplace, a wet bar
and walk-in closets. Heather Sargent of the Corcoran Group had the listing, and declined to comment to the Observer.
[NYO]
June 30th, 2010
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Gottfried and
Dexter House, an alleged illegal hotel The Real Deal uncovered
The state legislature may pass a bill that would sharpen the language for laws relating to transient and permanent housing, cracking down on the so-called
illegal hotels that flourish on the Upper West Side,
the West Side Spirit reported. The Democrat-supported bill -- which
already passed in the House -- would affect the many landlords who own
buildings with single room occupancy units and prefer to rent them out
to tourists rather than low-income New Yorkers. The bill’s sponsor,
Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, believes that “it’s harassment and
dangerous for tenants to share their apartment buildings with
transients trooping in and out at all hours,” he told the West Side Spirit.
[more]
June 30th, 2010
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If you're looking to get a handle on the latest commercial sales, retail
leases or office leases, check out "The Deal Sheet" on
TheRealDeal.com.
You can access them at the top left-hand corner of the website, or click here for
commercial sales, here for
retail leases and here for
office leases. And if you want to see the deals posted in the latest magazine
issue, go to the
magazine page and scroll down to where it says "Deal
Sheet Summary."
TRD
June 30th, 2010
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A new rental complex at
34 Berry Street is showcasing work by artist
Yazmany Arboleda, whose 2008 Midtown exhibits -- “The Assassination of
Hillary Clinton” and “The Assassination of Barack Obama” -- were
censored by the NYPD, the New York Post reported. Arboleda, 29, was
asked to design a series of acrylic-on-canvas paintings for
the 142-unit housing development in North Williamsburg. Building owner
LCOR commissioned Arboleda for 50 paintings that are on display
throughout the seven-story building, many depicting abstract seltzer
bottles to honor the site's heritage as a former seltzer factory.
[Post]
June 30th, 2010
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New Jersey Governor Christopher Christie signed into law yesterday the state's smallest budget in five years, enacting various financial reforms including one that would heavily impact homeowners, according to the New York Times. Christie, against the will of fellow lawmakers, wants to impose a 2.5 percent annual limit on local property tax increases, through a constitutional amendment which requires voter approval. To put the measure on the November ballot, the legislative committee would have to approve it next week, and the full Assembly and Senate would need to do so by July. Yesterday, the Legislature passed a counter-proposal, setting a 2.9 percent limit, without changing the constitution.
[more]
June 30th, 2010
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Given the current housing crisis, the long-term mortgage may be past its heyday, housing expert Robert Shiller told CNBC. “The 30-year
mortgage is outdated, the standard fixed-rate mortgage is outdated,
and it has to be improved,” said Shiller, co-creator of the S &
P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, which tracks home prices in the United
States. “People want a more modern vehicle, and that's something we
need to think about next,” he added. Now that the finance reform bill
is almost complete, Congress may next be looking to revamp the broken
housing market.
[CNBC]
June 30th, 2010
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Builder Lennar Corp. recently cut some Las Vegas prices more than 15%, but that isn't enough to encourage buyers.
June 30th, 2010
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Fannie Mae's announcement that it would seek tougher penalties against borrowers who default on mortgages that they can afford to pay has sparked a range of reactions.
June 29th, 2010
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The House of Representatives voted on Tuesday to extend by three months the closing deadline for the home buyer tax credit, setting the stage for a possible last-minute reprieve with Wednesdays deadline looming.
The extension of the tax credit worth up to $8,000 isnt a sure thing yet. The Senate still needs to pass the House measure, and President Obama would have to sign it into law.
June 29th, 2010
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From left, 100 Church Street, 260-261 Madison Avenue and Tamir Sapir
The Sapir Organization is facing litigation from commercial real estate brokerage Rosenhaus Real Estate, which claims the developer failed to pay commissions at its 260-261 Madison Avenue office complex in Midtown and its former office tower at 100 Church Street near the World Trade Center site.
Rosenhaus, in a suit filed last Friday in New York State Supreme Court, alleges that it brokered a deal in 2007 for HQ Global Workplaces, which leased the entire 8th floor at 260-261 Madison Avenue. Under the agreement, the developer agreed to pay a total of more than $830,500, in four installments.
The commercial brokerage, led by Richard Rosenhaus, alleges the first two installments, of $469,419, were paid, but the remaining two payments were not.
[more]
June 29th, 2010
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Former Yahoo CEO Terry Semel has been battling in court with his East Hamptons neighbors over a small second building he built on his eight-acre property on Further Lane, the East Hampton Star reported. Jonathan and Peter Sobel, a pair of brothers, are accusing Semel of trying to avoid zoning issues by having both buildings on the property. Instead of dying down, the four-year-old issue has become “World War III,” Semel told the East Hampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals last week. He is prepared to pursue it, no matter “how long it takes or how much money it takes,” he said.
[East Hampton Star via NY Mag]
June 29th, 2010
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Madani Halal will become Queens’ third federally approved slaughterhouse once the $5 million Ozone Park facility is completed in July, according to the New York Daily News. The completion marks the end of a five-year project that transformed an auto-body shop into a professional slaughterhouse, allowing a father-and-son business to fill the increased demand for Halal products in their growing Muslim community. “We’re spending a lot more money to open a USDA facility, but it allows me to sell to supermarkets, butcher shops, across state lines and even internationally, said Imran Uddin, whose father, Riaz Uddin, started the business in 1977.
[more]
June 29th, 2010
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New York City area home prices remained relatively flat in April, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, which measures monthly home price changes in 20 U.S. metropolitan regions. In April, New York City-area's home prices declined 1 percent on the index, compared to April 2009, and dropped .3 percent compared to March. Some New York City area real estate experts have
questioned the report's validity in their market, since it doesn't include co-ops or condos in its report. Nationwide, despite the uptick in market activity due to the expiration of the
first-time homebuyer tax credit, home prices showed only modest improvement in April, compared to the same month a year earlier. The 10-city composite was up 4.6 percent in the report, while the 20-city composite was up 3.8 percent over April 2009.
[more]
June 29th, 2010
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Douglas Heddings, a top real estate broker and founder of the popular blog True Gotham, has left Manhattan’s Charles Rutenberg Realty to start his own firm, with an unusual business model based on higher-than-average commission splits and profit sharing. The new company is known as the Heddings Property Group -- the same name as Heddings' team at Rutenberg. The firm, which now has 12 agents, will continue to be based out of the 515 West End Avenue office that Heddings opened when he and a team of four agents
joined Rutenberg in June 2009. But Heddings said he plans to open a five-agent office in the Union Square area Aug. 1, and a Hamptons branch in the fall. In the next three months, he plans to hire between six and 12 additional people.
[more]
June 29th, 2010
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The city council is on the brink of passing the $1.2 billion Domino sugar refinery redevelopment project this morning, thanks to a last-minute deal that was approved by the Williamsburg project’s opponents. Sources told the Brooklyn Paper that Community Preservation Corporation Resources agreed to reduce its two 40-story towers to 34 stories, while still maintaining the entire 660 units of below-market-rate housing from earlier versions of the plan. Council member Steve Levin initially wanted the 2,200-unit project to be cut by 600 units, which Domino rejected, saying that each floor of housing that was cut would cost the developer $5 million.
[more]
June 29th, 2010
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Community advocates are riled over a possible new homeless shelter in southeastern Queens, according to the New York Daily News. Residents and local officials are speaking out over the shelter, which is angling to move into a 54-unit apartment building at 170-02 93rd Avenue in Jamaica, because they say their neighborhood is already overrun with similar facilities. City Council member Leroy Comrie said that the proposed shelter's proximity to a senior center and single-parent female shelter could spell bad news.
[more]
June 29th, 2010
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General Motors is weighing a plan to ramp up its marketing efforts with a new Manhattan showroom that the company hopes would attract wealthy potential investors to the brand, Bloomberg News reported. New York City is a weak spot for GM: it's market share here was 9.6 percent last quarter, compared with 18.7 nationwide. And a similar advertising ploy has been tried by Audi, whose Audi Forum on the corner of 47th Street and Park Avenue showcases its newest models and hosts events.
[more]
June 29th, 2010
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After some delay, the new,
$1 million Prudential Douglas Elliman
website is up and running, the firm announced today. The beta version of the
site, which includes a Virtual Office Website or "VOW," encompasses
Elliman's listings in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island, including
the Hamptons. The firm does not cover Staten Island or the Bronx. The site's launch had been delayed due to pending VOW approval from the Real Estate Board of New York. Elliman President and CEO Dottie Herman described the site unveiling as a "soft launch" with a new version
that includes additional features planned for September.
"When you're doing something like this it's an ongoing process," Herman
said. "We have a lot of other features that are coming out."
[more]
June 29th, 2010
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While the One Madison Park condo development has faced numerous fiscal foibles in the last year, New York Times architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff has declared it a triumph. As
The Real Deal reported earlier this month, the development's creditors are aiming to
force One Madison into bankruptcy over $12 million in unpaid loans. But financial troubles haven't taken the luster off of the development, which Ouroussoff described as "a dazzling addition to [its] street."
[more]
