The Deal Sheet
There's more to a Manhattan building than meets the eye: condominium interests, air rights, and land (plus lots of scotch locked in desk drawers). If you're willing to sell, the sum now equals more than its parts.
Yesterday, we snapped ABS executive managing director Alan Cohen, who tells us a lot of his firm's business this year is coming from advisory services, telling clients how to get the most out of a property. His team works with a lot of generational investors interested in cashing in on the flood of buyers, for instance, and selling outright isn't their only option. A land lease can provide a chunk of revenue now and a stream of income for generations (it's like Lotto for Life without the gambling). He also tells us retail condominium interests are big sellers, and hotel groups are buying into JVs for redevelopments, repositionings, and ground-ups. We were visiting him in his office on the north side of Union Square, where he told us he gives that book he's holding, Never Eat Alone, to all his brokers.
