This Week's N.Y. Deal Sheet
New York City office leasing has started to pick up, and cobwebs are also shaking loose in the construction financing market.
TOP LEASES
The performing arts college and conservatory American Musical & Dramatic Academy inked a 10-year 34K SF lease across four floors at Zar Property NY’s 250 West 54th St. in the Theater District, Zar announced. The school will take up the 10th, 11th, 12th and penthouse floors. Asking rent was $63 per SF. The landlord was represented in-house by Dario and David Zar and the tenant was represented by SquareFoot’s Jeffery Rosenblatt and James Cleary.
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Target penned a 40-year, 130K SF lease at Marx Realty’s Cross County Shopping Center in Yonkers, The Real Deal reported. This is the latest expansion for the retailer, which has seen its stock increase significantly since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Target also signed two new leases, at Vornado’s 150 East 86th St. on the Upper East Side and Chetrit Group’s 795 Columbus Ave. on the Upper West Side, in June.
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Centric Brands signed a 10-year deal to remain in the Empire State Building for nearly 88K SF less than its existing footprint, Commercial Observer reports. The lifestyle brand, which will occupy 212K SF in the building, had been subleasing 300K SF from Global Brands Group. The new direct lease with Empire State Realty Trust had an asking rent in the $70s per SF, CO reports. Peter Riguardi, Joseph Messina and Cynthia Wasserberger of JLL represented the tenant and ESRT CEO Anthony Malkin led an in-house leasing team including Ryan Kass and Shanae Ursini.
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E-commerce behemoth Amazon inked a lease for 975K SF at Matrix Development Group’s Matrix Global Logistics Park, Crain’s New York Business reports. This is the latest in Amazon's enormous growth amid the pandemic. The new Staten Island center will create 1,250 jobs and is set to open in November, according to Crain’s. The building is the third major lease Amazon has signed at the logistics park, seven months after workers at another of its Matrix fulfillment centers staged a walkout protesting conditions amid the pandemic, one of a series of unprecedented worker organizing actions in Amazon warehouses this spring. The four-building development, which also counts Ikea as a tenant, is now fully leased, Crain's reports.
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Chicago-based law firm Freeborn & Peters LLP signed a 17K SF lease with The Durst Organization at 1155 Sixth Ave., the landlord announced. The tenant is moving from its current location at 230 Park Ave. to the 26th floor of Durst’s building. CBRE’s Matthew McBride represented the law firm and Durst’s Rocco Romeo and Tanya Grimaldo represented the landlord in-house.
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Sanne penned a seven-year lease for nearly 21K SF at Empire State Realty Trust’s 1333 Broadway, Commercial Observer reports. The fifth-floor office lease had an asking rent of $69 per SF. Jon Sarkisian, Jared Freede and Thomas Haughton of CBRE represented the tenant and Cushman & Wakefield’s Rob Lowe, Ron LoRusso, Anthony LoPresti, Maria Travlos and Dan Organ represented the landlord, along with ESRT’s Keith Cody and Shanae Ursini.
TOP SALES
Developer Nightingale Group paid Madison Realty Capital $84.1M for the Whale Building at 14 53rd St. in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, Crain’s New York Business reports. The seller will retain a 25% stake in the property, according to Commercial Observer. The building will be converted from an industrial space to an office building. Brokers say there has been an increased interest in office space outside of Manhattan in the boroughs and suburbs since the city reopened.
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Bonita QOZ LLC purchased an industrial property at 1416 Ferris Place and a nonresidential lot at 1400 Ferris Place in the Bronx for $12.5M, property records show. Mount Vernon-based oil and gas company Fred Schildwachter & Sons Inc. sold the property.
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Thor Equities bought a 180K SF life sciences building at 7 Powder Horn Drive in Warren, New Jersey, from Ivy Realty, Commercial Observer reports. Kevin Welsh, Brian Schulz and Jason Emrani of Newmark brokered the deal for the seller. The life sciences sector in the New York area has been booming amid the pandemic. A record amount of venture capital and federal funding has been pumped into the sector this year.
TOP FINANCING DEALS
MAG Partners secured a $173M construction loan for its 479-unit new multifamily building at 241 West 28th St. in Chelsea. Madison Capital Realty provided the debt for the project, which MAG Partners will break ground on next month as a joint venture with Safanad, Atalaya Capital Management and Qualitas. This comes as the Manhattan multifamily market is being ravaged in the economic aftermath of the worst of the pandemic in New York City.
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Atlas Capital Group, Invesco and Partners Group scored a $300M refinancing deal for their office redevelopment, The Factory LIC at 30-30 47th Ave., Commercial Observer reports. Credit Suisse provided the debt. The building, built in 1926, was previously a Macy's warehouse. It has indoor parking, an office amenity that brokers say tenants are looking for amid the pandemic.
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Developer Fairstead secured $79.4M in financing to fund its conversion of a hotel into affordable senior housing on 117 West 79th St. on the Upper West Side. Merchants Capital provided a $51M construction loan and a $28.4M loan from Freddie Mac, originated by Merchants Capital. Fairstead is developing the property in partnership with Project FIND. The project is set to have 77 units and will remain affordable for at least the next 60 years, according to Fairstead. Seniors aged 62 or older with a median income of 40% to 50% of the average in the area will be able to apply to live there. Construction is set to start in the coming weeks.
