The Deal Sheet

Sales Transactions

Diversified Realty Advisors purchased a $48M non-performing construction loan from a four-member consortium of banks, representing one of the region’s largest bank note acquisitions in this downturn. The loan, of which half of the principal balance is outstanding, is for a fully completed mixed-use condo building in Hudson County, NJ.

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Massey Knakal sold the former home of the Bay Ridge United Methodist Church at 362-364 Ovington Ave. in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, to the School Construction Authority for $9.8M cash. The century-old church was demolished last October, and what remains is a property with dual zoning that can accommodate up to 92k SF of buildable SF for community facility purposes. The SCA will build a 680-seat elementary school and a smaller house of worship for BRUMC. The firm’s Stephen Palmese exclusively handled the transaction.

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GPT-East Haven, an entity controlled by Equity Residential, sold the Parkwood Apartments at 38 High St. in East Haven, Conn. to a local private investor for $8M. CB Richard Ellis’ Jeffrey Dunne,Christopher Leonard, Matthew Innes, and Michael Stone represented the seller, while Marcus & Millichap’s Steve Witten represented the buyer.

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BD Capital Advisors sold the 40k-SF 4401 Bronx Blvd. in the Bronx to Montefiore Medical Center for $5.2M. NAI Friedland Realty’s Rick Stassa brokered the deal.

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Massey Knakal also sold a 32.2k-SF pre-war walk-up apartment building at 1001 Avenue H in Flatbush, Brooklyn for $3.2M cash. The firm’s Eric Greenfield was the sole broker in the transaction.

Lease Transactions

Ernst & Young inked a 10-year, 35.6k-SF deal at First Stamford Place in Stamford, moving from 1111 Summer St. Cushman & Wakefield’s Paul Kauffman and Samuel Clark III represented the tenant, while Jeffrey Newman and Kathleen Caracappa represented landlord Malkin Properties (formerly known as W&M Properties) in-house.

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NAI Friedland Realty brokered five transactions:

• Transcare’s long-term 24.3k-SF industrial lease at 718 S. Fulton Ave. in Mt. Vernon. NAI Friedland’s Steve Kornspun represented both the tenant and landlord Simone Development. The asking rent was $9.50 PSF.
• Billy Matthews’ five-year, 9k-SF industrial/land lease at 775 Tiffany St. in the Bronx. Kornspun represented both the tenant and landlord Kimco Realty. The asking price was $6.8k per month.
• Slattery Moving & Storage’s two-year, 3k-SF industrial lease at 36 North 9W in Congers. NAI Friedland’s Alan Zucco represented both the tenant and landlord Snow Church Realty. The asking price was $8 PSF.
• Center Management’s 13-year, 3.4k-SF office lease at 1133 Westchester Ave. in White Plains. NAI Friedland’s Ellen Benedek and Carl Silbergleit represented the tenant and landlord RPW Group. The asking price was $32.50 PSF.
• The Church of Latter Day Saints’ five-year, 1.4k-SF lease at 700 White Plains Rd. in Scarsdale. Benedek and Silbergleit represented the tenant. The asking price was $26 PSF.

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Best Yet Market inked a 25k-SF lease at 2195 Fredrick Douglass Blvd. in Harlem for its newest supermarket location. Winick Realty’s Oren Erlich represented both the tenant and landlord in the long-term lease. The retail space is part of a newly developed 91-unit condo building, and the supermarket will move in by the end of the year.

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320 Fifth Avenue, also known as “The Handbag Building,” saw three deals, all brokered by Winoker Realty’s Jonata Dayan and Corey Abdo on behalf of owner Brause Realty: Almar Sales Co.’s, 10-year, 11.7k-SF lease (tenant broker: Benchmark Properties’ Michael Beyda); Fashion Forward NY’s five-year extension and expansion into 2k-SF; and Del Cesca Group’s three-year extension and expansion into 1.7k SF.

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VF Corporation signed a seven-year, 9.5k-SF lease at 260 W. 39th St. Cushman & Wakefield’s Don Preate represented the tenant, while the Kaufman Org.’s Michael Heaner represented the landlord. Although the terms were not disclosed, the asking rent was $38 PSF.

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Adams & Co. zipped up six Garment District leases totaling 8.9k SF:

• Nikki Apparel’s five-year, 3.2k-SF lease at 525 Seventh Ave. (tenant broker: Adams’ Alan Bonett; landlord broker: Savitt Partners’ Bob Savitt). Asking rent was $43 PSF.
• Lanificio Alfredo Rodina’s three-year, 1.7k-SF lease at 530 Seventh Ave. (tenant broker: Adams’ Brett Maslin; landlord broker: Savitt’s Marc Schoen). Asking rent was $55 PSF.
• St. Lawrence U.S.A.’s four-year, 1k-SF lease at 34 W. 33rd St. (brokers: Adams’ David Levy and Maslin). Asking rents were $39 PSF.
• Northern Apparel’s five-year, 1.2k-SF lease at 34 W. 33rd St. (brokers: Levy and Maslin). Asking rents were $39 PSF.
• Chapter One Sportswear’s two-year, 842-SF lease at 231 W. 39th St. (tenant broker: Winoker Realty’s Howard Epstein; landlord brokers: Adams’ James Buslik and Jeffrey Buslik).
• Kimberly Taylor’s five-year, 656-SF lease at 110 W. 40th St. (tenant broker: Benchmark Properties’ Michael Beyda; landlord brokers: Adams’ Levy and Michael Greenberg).

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Enterprise Lighting inked a 10-year, 6.6k-SF lease at 20 W. 36th St. for its new HQ and showroom. Sierra Realty Corp.’s Gabe Isaacs represented the tenant, while Michael Joseph represented owner FirstService Williams in-house.

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Tri-State Transformers signed a five-year, 6k-SF warehouse lease at 1440 Commerce Ave. in the Bronx. New York Commercial Realty Group’s Frank Rao and Michael Rao were the sole brokers; the landlord is SDC Ferris Associates.

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Fiver Children’s Foundation inked a seven-year, 5.2k-SF lease at 519 Eighth Ave., relocating from 240 W. 35th St. Cushman & Wakefield’s Carri Lyon and Mark Mandell represented the tenant, while Steven Kaufman and Barbara Raskob represented owner The Kaufman Org. in-house.

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Manuela committed to 1.7k SF at 530 Seventh Ave. Savitt Partners’Marc Schoen and Michael Schoen represented both the tenant and the owner in-house.

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MHBK Associates inked a 10.5-year, 1.4k-SF lease at 434 Amsterdam Ave. for a new, soon-to-be-named wine bar. Sierra Realty Corp.’s Brad Schwarz represented both the tenant and the landlord, 200 West 81st Street Co.

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Eastern Consolidated’s Brian Ezratty brokered three parking garage leases: a 146-vehicle garage in a long-term lease with Icon Parking at 305 E. 24th St. (additional broker: Eastern’s Scott Ellard); a 10-year, 85-vehicle garage lease at 202 E.73rd St. with Imperial Parking; and a 10-year, 62-vehicle lease at 111 E. 24th St. with Champion Parking (additional brokers: Eastern’s Ellard and David Johnson).

Financing

Holliday Fenoglio Fowler’s NJ office arranged a $25M refinancing for the 333k-SF Glenpointe Centre West in Teaneck, NJ. The firm’s Tom Didio, Michael Lachs, and Angela Jaramillo worked exclusively on behalf of Alfred Sanzari Enterprises to secure the seven-year, fixed-rate loan through CIGNA Investments. The borrower was represented by Winne, Banta, Hetherington, Basralian & Kahn’s Thomas Cangialosi.

Construction & Development

The Moinian Group topped off the new W New York – Downtown Hotel & Residences at 123 Washington St. The 58-story, 400k-SF mixed-use development contains a 217-room W Hotel and 223 W Residences, designed by Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects with interior design by Graft. It is on the southern edge of the World Trade Center Memorial Site, the first new hotel and residential tower to be built in Manhattan, and the first new project apart from the WTC complex to begin construction after 9/11.

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Malkin Construction (formerly known as W&M Construction) completed the interior fit-out of Ventus Networks’ new HQ at 10 Norden Place in Norwalk, Conn. The space was formerly part of an industrial building and needed changed infrastructure and building envelope. The team also installed skylights, interior glass walls, and corridor sidelights. The project team included Corporate Design as the project architect and C&F Consulting Engineering.

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Monteroy Andersen DeMarco finished the first U.S. showroom for Chromavis. The 1.5k-SF showroom occupies space that was once a gallery at 24 W. 57th St. Challenges included unblocking closed-off windows and no-water source, along with familiarizing the Italian executives with the norms of the American construction process. In addition to the showroom, the space houses an office and a conference room. The project team also included Helmsley Spear’s Jeff Tuller, Chromavis’ broker; contractor Reniss; engineer Dewberry; and IT firm Tukuru Technologies. The landlord is Trigon Properties.

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Glorius Sun Robert Martin completed the $1M renovation of the 1.1M-SF Blue Hill Plaza on Veterans Memorial Dr. in Pearl River. Renovations included enhancements to the main lobby and concourse and new 32-inch touch-screen directories and LCD screens throughout the office complex. Renovation of the second lobby and additional improvements are scheduled to begin this fall.

ALSO AROUND NEW YORK…

Business

Former Trizec Properties partners Steve Grant (most recently of Tishman Speyer) and Doug Winshall (most recently of Taconic Investment Partners) have formed ClearRock Properties, a real estate investment, development, and operating company focused on Northeast office properties. The firm will target $10M-$100M+ projects in New York, Boston, and Washington, DC. They first partnered in ’97 to establish and lead Trizec’s NY office.

Exec Moves

Jordan Berger joined Monday Properties as director of its New York office, overseeing leasing activities, managing internal and external leasing teams, and developing and enhancing existing tenant relationships. He was previously with Jones Lang LaSalle, handling clients like Morgan Stanley, Baron Asset Management, and The State of New York.

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Grubb & Ellis nabbed three middle-market specialists from Cushman & Wakefield’s capital markets team: Jon Epstein,Charles Kingsley, and Yoav Oelsner. The three men join G&E’s private capital markets group as EVPs. Over the past six years, the team’s total sale volume has exceeded $2.2B, and have included high-profile transactions like the Plaza Hotel, 530 Broadway, 225 Fifth Ave., 90 West St., and 610 Lexington Ave.

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William McCahill joined Capital One Bank’s commercial real estate team as EVP and lead banker. He was previously with Apollo Real Estate Advisors, where he handled debt and equity investments in transitional properties. He also held positions at Bank of America, Chase, and Fleet Bank. He holds degrees from Fordham and Notre Dame.

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John Gallagher joined Colliers ABR as managing director of brokerage services, responsible for monitoring business development opportunities and establishing operating requirements for professional service groups and to develop and increase cross-selling opportunities in the New York office. He was previously with Cushman & Wakefield. He is a graduate of SUNY Institute of Technology at Utica.

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John Pavone joined UGL Equis’ leasing team as VP, focusing on the Midtown market. He was previously with CB Richard Ellis, where he was involved in 7.6M SF of sales and lease transactions, plus agency assignments for CalSTRS. He is a graduate of Loyola College in Maryland.

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David Monahan joined Savills as SVP of the firm’s NYC office, where he will work in the firm’s investment sales practice, with a focus on retail and office transactions. He was previously with DTZ Rockwood, and held a position at Lend Lease.

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Liah Chin joined The Praedium Group as analyst, assisting the acquisitions team in identifying investments for Praedium Fund VII. She was previously with Sorin Capital Management, and is a graduate of Princeton.

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Glenn Brill joined S. Sunshine & Associates as a strategic planning and transaction advisor, where he will provide nonprofit clients with strategic and tactical real estate planning services. Glenn was previously acquisitions and development advisor to Cherokee Investment Partners, and held positions at Ernst & Young and Marcus & Millichap. He is a graduate of SUNY New Paltz.

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Jones Lang LaSalle promoted Janet Grapengeter and Mark Windt to SVPs. Janet serves as an operations consultant for the PANYNJ and is responsible for operations planning at the World Trade Center redevelopment site. She was previously with Clairol and Bristol Myers Squibb, and holds degrees from UVA and NYU. Mark is the general manager for the 1.7M-SF 1285 Avenue of the Americas. He is a graduate of Metropolitan College of New York.

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Ruth Ann Blankenheim was promoted to VP of The Clarett Group. She joined the firm in ’04, and has been focusing on underwriting, financial analysis, acquisitions and project management. Prior to joining Clarett, she served as a merchandise analyst for Lord & Taylor. She holds degrees from NYU and Villanova.