last updated today at 02:35PM
Miraval Living: third time's the charm?
Nov 20, 2008 02:35 PM
Miraaval_frontbox Miraval Living Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group has been brought on as the exclusive sales and listing agent for Miraval Living, a condo conversion at 515 East 72nd Street, between York Avenue and the FDR Drive. This is the third sales team to try to sell units in C&K Properties and Zamir Equities' condo conversion. Prudential Douglas Elliman took the project over from the Marketing Directors in September 2007. The 39-story building has 365 apartments, and according to Streeteasy.com, 107 units have been sold. Listing prices range from $750,000 to $5.5 million, Streeteasy.com says. Sales started in October 2006, and the building has 4,000 square feet of amenities, including a swimming pool, spa, art studio and health club. Corcoran Sunshine and the developers were not available for comment. TRD

Trust releases Pier 57 proposals
Nov 20, 2008 01:54 PM
Pier_57_frontbox Pier 57 The Hudson River Park Trust today officially released three development proposals, one each by the Durst Organization, Related Companies and Youngwoo & Associates, for the park's 880-foot Pier 57, at the end of West 15th Street in Chelsea. The Durst plan calls for the Children's Museum of Manhattan to move to Pier 57 and also includes additional park space. The Related Companies plan includes a food marketplace, film theaters and what the company is calling "a public room," that could function as an art gallery or community center. The Youngwoo & Associates proposal maps out a marketplace, a public auction house, a film center and a rooftop amphitheater. Revenue from the project will be used to maintain Hudson River Park. TRD

Real estate Web site and magazine launches
Nov 20, 2008 01:04 PM
ScheinMedia, a media company whose holdings include New York House Magazine and New Jersey & Company Magazine, is launching a new Web site and magazine called NYinc, that will focus on commercial and residential real estate in addition to law, finance and economic development in New York. The Web site will offer daily news coverage, and the magazine will be released quarterly, starting next year. NYinc has sections for business and green news, as well as editorials by Jonathan Schein, NYinc's publisher, and the founder of ScheinMedia. TRD

Seventh Avenue storefronts will remain dilapidated until tenant signs
Nov 20, 2008 12:59 PM
Brooklyn_stores_frontbox 79-81 Seventh Avenue Two empty storefronts at 79-81 Seventh Avenue in Park Slope, destroyed in a fire in 2004, won't be renovated until a tenant signs a lease for the space, said David Chemtob, the buildings' owner. Chemtob had hired an architecture firm, Fogarty & Finger, to rebuild the space and give it a glass facade, but since a contract with a prospective tenant fell through, Chemtob no longer plans to go through with the construction.

City coffers shrink as deals slow
Nov 20, 2008 12:30 PM
From the November issue: The slump in commercial building sales is threatening to take a sizable bite out of New York City tax revenues this year, which could force Mayor Michael Bloomberg to make even more drastic choices than he already has to keep the city budget balanced.
more By David Jones

New York firm sells Miami's Sovereign Hotel
Nov 20, 2008 12:00 PM
Sovereign_hotel_frontbox Sovereign Hotel Soho House has acquired the landmarked Sovereign Hotel, at 4385 Collins Avenue in Miami Beach, as part of its $39 million purchase of New York-based Ryder Properties. Soho House, which has created private member clubs and hotels in New York City and Britain, was originally leasing the hotel, which is undergoing a renovation that will add a 15-story tower. The members-only boutique hotel is set to open in late 2009 or early 2010 and will feature 47 rooms, a rooftop bar, pool, cabanas, spa and a movie screening room.

City might pay less for Coney land
Nov 20, 2008 11:45 AM
Coney_frontbox Coney Island Estimates reported earlier this week said the city might pay between $200 and $250 million for developer Joe Sitt's land in Coney Island, but sources familiar with the negotiations told the Brooklyn Paper that the city would likely pay less. If a deal is reached soon, Astroland amusement park -- which Sitt closed down in September -- might reopen next year. The city hopes to make Coney Island a year-round tourist attraction.

Fifth Avenue retail rents on the rise
Nov 20, 2008 11:15 AM
Retail rents have risen or remained stable on 94 percent of the 236 shopping streets around the world surveyed in Cushman & Wakefield's annual "Main Streets Across the World" report. Fifth Avenue remains the world's most expensive shopping street -- retailers can now expect to pay average annual rents of $1,850 per square foot, a 27 percent increase from 2007. Ground-level Fifth Avenue rents can go as high as $2,300 per square foot. Having a presence on a street like Fifth Avenue is important for a brand, regardless of how profitable the store is, said John Strachan, Cushman & Wakefield's global head of retail.

Bloomberg says no to homeowner rebate
Nov 20, 2008 10:40 AM
Bloomberg_frontbox Mayor Michael Bloomberg After the City Council told Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Monday that he was legally required to send out $400 rebate checks to about 600,000 homeowners, Bloomberg said yesterday he has no plans to send out the checks.  Bloomberg, who has said the city needs the money this year, said at a news conference that homeowners who have been waiting for the money should "plan for the worst." But the mayor cannot legally withhold the checks without City Council approval.

Co-op boards get stricter
Nov 20, 2008 10:00 AM

Many co-op boards are becoming stricter about approving new residents because of the financial crisis. The boards are scrutinizing every investment and transaction in applications to make sure a buyer is financially sound. Some are asking for additional escrow, ignoring buyers' stock portfolios as the market declines, and want six months of financial records as opposed to two months, which was the norm last year.


Current Issue
Cover

From The November Issue

The downward plunge

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This month, in a series of stories, The Real Deal examines the next chapter in New York City real estate. Wall Street's wild volatility last month froze the city's residential market. Brokers said the economic seesawing is paralyzing buyers and sellers. Mortgage lenders have also clamped down further on buyers, though more buyers are heading to all-cash deals. Many are wondering: Could the dark days of the late 1980s and early 1990s return? More

Ominous signs for new condos

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Despite buyers' desire to purchase, banks are increasingly unwilling to write mortgages for some new buildings, especially those that have sold only a small percentage of their units. More

High-end U.S. markets show cracks in the foundation

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This month, The Real Deal looks at the nation's most exclusive zip codes to see how high-end markets besides Manhattan are faring. While these areas are more insulated than their less affluent counterparts, many markets are beginning to see big cracks in their foundations with prices and sales volume declining. More

Will Tishman Speyer buckle?

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Few companies have looked down from as lofty a perch as Tishman Speyer, the venerable blue-chip firm that holds stakes in several New York landmarks such as Rockefeller Center and the Chrysler Building. Tishman expanded its empire even wider during the boom, but now it appears that even this company is paying a price for success. More

Fourth Avenue on slippery Slope

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Park Slope's Fourth Avenue has been billed as the next frontier of gentrification in Brooklyn. However, because of the credit crunch, a number of buildings that were initially planned as condos will now come to market as rentals. The frenzied pace of construction of new projects should also slow. More

Holding up funds for construction

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A growing number of developers with projects under way in Manhattan are being confronted by lenders who are either unwilling or unable to continue funding. The Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, which was filed in mid-September, has -- not surprisingly -- put several construction projects in the city on hold. But other lenders are also putting pressure on developers to provide more equity in projects as a way to improve the financial profile of their struggling banks, real estate attorneys said. More

Residential market halts in its tracks

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Wall Street's recent wild volatility has caused the New York City real estate market to freeze in its tracks, with sales volume screeching to a halt and deals falling apart as potential buyers have watched their net worth evaporate. More

Chelsea Enclave makes a deal with soul

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The Chelsea Enclave, a luxury apartment building under construction on the edge of property owned by the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church in West Chelsea negotiated long and hard to make sure the new construction on their land would be something it could live with. More

City coffers shrink as deals slow

The slump in commercial building sales is threatening to take a sizable bite out of New York City tax revenues this year, which could force Mayor Michael Bloomberg to make even more drastic choices than he already has to keep the city budget balanced. More

Crisis may spawn building sales rise

Real estate analysts believe developer Harry Macklowe won't be the last to lose a Manhattan trophy tower purchased in the heady days of 2006 and 2007. More

Brokers advise tenants to sit tight as rents drop

Lease valuations were unpredictable and deals were few last month while brokers cautioned tenants to hold off on signing any unnecessary rental contracts as prices continued to drop, real estate experts said.
More


Special Reports

Who got crunched -- and who didn't
A look at where players landed one year after the credit market debacle
Hailing other holiday spots
While Hamptons hurting, other locales draw interest
The biggest problems in New York City real estate
Experts weigh in on how to fix industry crises
Developers falling into a Catch-22
Residential developers in bind with slow sales
In Hamptons, it's no vacation
Building permits drop, spec homes sit and restaurateurs grow wary amid slowdown
Condos on the chopping block
Prices come down to help move new projects
Adding it all up
A tally of numbers that matter: construction costs, the high-end market, and foreign buyer migration
Manhattan's biggest firms
Our annual survey of the top Manhattan firms



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