The Deal Sheet
Sales Transactions
L&M Equities purchased a 120-unit building and adjacent development site spanning Fifth Avenue’s entire western block between 116th and 117th Sts. from Metrovest Equities for $21.9M. Massey Knakal’s Shimon Shkury and Tom Donovan represented the seller.
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Progressive Credit Union purchased a 15.2k-SF office condo at 131 W. 33rd St. for $6.9M. Murray Hill Properties’ AJ Camhi represented the buyer, while Time Equities’ Michael Rudder and Michael Heller represented the seller.
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The Pearlgreen Corp. purchased a 112k-SF industrial building at 30 Pine St. in New Rochelle from Bakers Pride Oven Co. for $5.6M. Feinberg Bros.’ Joel Feinberg represented the buyer, while CBRE's William Cuddy, Budd Wiesenberg, and Kevin Langtry repped the seller. Pearlgreen is scheduled to move in Spring ’10.
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Michael Brandon Enterprises purchased a two-floor, 10.3k-SF commercial condo at 323 W. 29th St. from The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts for $4.9M. RMD Realty Associates’ Robert Dalton represented the buyer, while Winoker Realty’s Jonata Dayan,Adam Ben-Dayan, and Jonathan Ben-Dayan repped the seller.
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Massey Knakal sold a residential development sit at 2681-91 Marion Ave. in the Bronx for $2.3M cash. The site consists of four contiguous lots offering 164’ of frontage with roughly 150’-180’ of depth, totaling approximately 96.3k buildable SF. Karl Brumback was the sole broker in the transaction.
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Palisades Financial completed its foreclosure on approximately 7 acres of the former Centuria property in Fort Lee, NJ. Palisades Regional Investment Fund II originated the loan for the property in April ’07 to Town and Country Developers, which went into default in ’08 and Palisades took the deed from the developer in June.
Lease Transactions
De’Longhi inked a 200k-SF warehouse/distribution renewal at 24 and 30 Passaic St. in Wood-Ridge, Conn. Grubb & Ellis’ Frank Lopriore and John Donnelly represented the tenant, while Team Resources represented owner Wood-Ridge Industrial Associates.
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Seven new business leased space at the Brooklyn Navy Yard: Atair Aerospace (10.3k SF); Tom Edmonds (8.7k SF); Circle Studio(1.6k SF); Michael Berkowitz (1.5k SF); Tecro (600 SF); Caroll Taveras Photography (576 SF); and William Lipton Gallery (356 SF). The third quarter saw 41k SF in new leases and an additional 29k SF of expansions.
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LeClairRyan inked a 45k-SF lease at One Riverfront Center in Newark. LeClairRyan’s David Freinberg, CB Richard Ellis’s David Opper, and Cushman & Wakefield’s David Sherman and Marc Trevison represented the tenant, while Newmark Knight Frank’s Timothy Greiner and Hope Brodsky represented owner Matrix Development Group.
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Wilton 372, a 92k-SF building at 372 Danbury Rd. in Wilton, Conn. completed its Class B to Class A transformation by owner Luzern Associates, which includes a redesigned exterior, new entrance, and new pre-builts. At the completion, five companies signed leases totaling 39k-SF: Boyce Benefits Group’s relocation; Euro RSCG Discovery’s in-house relocation; Cannondale Associates; the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society; and Drinks Americas Holdings’ renewal. Newmark Knight Frank’s John Goodkind, Gilbert Ohls, and Richard Rosencrans handle leasing for the building.
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GrantThornton signed a long-term, 16k-SF renewal at Metropark Corporate Campus, 299 Thornall St. in Edison, NJ. Cushman & Wakefield’s Richard Baumstein and Matthew Seltzer represented the tenant, while owner M. Alfieri Co. was represented in-house.
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SL Green signed six leases in its buildings:
- Exponent’s three-year, 6k-SF renewal at 420 Lexington
- BabyCenter’s five-year, 3.1k-SF lease at 711 Third Ave. (tenant broker: Colliers ABR’s Harry Krausman; landlord broker: Amy Schustek, in-house)
- Rule Financial’s two-year, 2k-SF lease at 28 W. 44th St. (landlord broker: Schustek, in-house)
- Diamond Reporting’s 1.7k-SF expansion at 16 Court St., Brooklyn (tenant broker: CB Richard Ellis’ Gary Kaminski)
- Avrom R Vann’s five-year, 1.1k-SF lease at 420 Lexington
- Spectrum Cos.’ five-year 292-SF renewal at 420 Lexington
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Municipal Art Society inked a new 12.7k-SF HQ lease at 111 W. 57th St. for 10 years. Cushman & Wakefield’s Carri Lyon represented the tenant, while C&W’s Mark Lauzon represented owner Steinway & Sons.
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Rizutto’s Wood-Fired Kitchen & Bar opened a third 6k-SF restaurant at 540 Riverside Ave. in Westport, Conn. CB Richard Ellis’ Jessica Curtis represented the tenant in negotiations with owner Mill Pond Farms.
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1407 Broadway saw two deals: Michelin Star’s four-year, 3.7k-SF lease (tenant broker: Cushman & Wakefield’s Jack Cohen; landlord broker: The Kaufman Org.’s Grant Greenspan; asking price: $42 PSF); and Angel Kiss’ five-year, 1.6k-SF lease (broker: Kaufman’s Sommer Scafidi; asking price: $41 PSF)
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1350 Avenue of the Americas saw two new deals: Lehrman’s 10-year, 3.1k-SF lease (tenant broker: FirstService Williams’ Michael Berger) and RTW Investments’ five-year, 2k-SF lease (tenant broker: Prime Manhattan Realty’s William McCollum). Howard Tenenbaum and Gary Rosen repped owner SL Green in-house.
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215 Park Avenue South saw two new deals: Netherland Board of Tourism’s 10-year, 2.6k-SF lease (tenant broker: Studley’s Zev Holzman) and Comverge’s four-year, 1.8k-SF lease. Howard Tenenbaum and Gary Rosen again represented owner SL Green in-house.
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Arenson Office Furnishings of Connecticut renewed its 4k-SF lease at 300 First Stamford Place in Stamford, Conn. for five years. The tenant represented itself, while Jeffrey Newman represented owner Malkin Properties in-house.
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Revere Capital Advisors expanded its lease at 12 E. 52nd St. by 2.1k SF. The tenant represented itself, while George Constantin represented owner Heritage Realty Services in-house. Although the terms of the lease were undisclosed, the aggregate rent for the space totaled $1.4M.
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Camicissima signed a 10-year, 1.7k-SF lease to open its first US store at 509 Madison Ave. Cushman & Wakefield’s Alex Cohen and David Tricarico represented the tenant, while Alan Zimmerman and Larry Schulte represented owner Kensico Properties in-house.
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Franklin Hamilton inked a five-year, 1.5k-SF lease at 4 Gannett Dr. in White Plains. Although the terms of lease were undisclosed, the aggregate rent for the space totaled $161k. The property is owned by Heritage Realty Services affiliate Dryland Gannett.
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Luxe Den Salon signed a 10-year, 1.2k-SF expansion lease at 519 Eighth Ave. The Kaufman Org.’s Steven Kaufman and Barbara Raskob represented both the tenant and the landlord.
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John Szoke Editions inked a long-term lease for the third floor of 24 W. 57th St. Sierra Realty Corp.’s Peter Braus represented the tenant, while Promenade Real Estate Corp.’s Steve Pressler represented owner APF Properties.
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Gelato shop Grom took 800 SF at 240 Park Avenue South. Newmark Knight Frank Retail’s Jonathan Krivine represented the tenant, while Gotham Realty’s Sarah Cohen represented the owner.
Financing
Holiday Fenoglio Fowler’s Jon Mikula and Michael Klein arranged a $2.1M refinancing for a free-standing Duane Reade at 108 McLean Ave. in Yonkers. The fixed-rate loan was placed with Intervest National Bank on behalf of The Hampshire Cos.
Construction & Development
Aragon Construction began construction on Columbia University’s 7.3k-SF space at 880 Third Ave. The space will be used for its medical center’s department of ophthalmology, which will open upon its January completion. Aragon teamed with AIA Integrated Design Group to create 14 treatment rooms, an elevator lobby, waiting area, office rooms and technical rooms. Jack Resnick & Sons is the building owner.
Business
National appraisal and consulting services firm PGP Valuation became FirstService PGP Valuation, part of FirstService Real Estate Advisors’ integrated service platform. FirstService REA and FirstService PGP Valuation are part of FirstService Corp., which also provides access to a range of commercial real estate services through brands such as Colliers International, PKF Hospitality and MHPM Project Leaders.
Exec Moves
Stephen Eynon joined Jones Lang LaSalle as SVP, working out of the firm’s Midtown office with business development, and tenant and agency representation. He was previously with CB Richard Ellis and predecessor firms Edward S. Gordon Co. and Insignia/Edward S. Gordon, where he was director of leasing for the Empire State Building. He has a degree from Lehigh.
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Valentin Presnov returned to Massey Knakal’s Brooklyn office as senior associate, working alongside first VP of sales Brian Hanson covering Coney Island, Sheepshead Bay, Homecrest, Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach. He recently completed his Real Estate MBA at Baruch’s Zicklin School of Business, and held positions at Firenze Jewels and One Stop Imaging before joining Massey.
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Slater Traaen joined The Kaufman Org. as associate broker, focusing on promotional office leasing brokerage. He was previously with Conquest Advisors, where he helped companies find office space in Manhattan, including Mission Media’s US HQ at 565 Broadway. He is a graduate of the University of San Diego.
