This Week’s N.Y. Deal Sheet
This week saw a smattering of leases in Manhattan, including one office tower in NoMad hitting 100% leased, but it was headlined by a mammoth construction loan in Queens.
TOP FINANCING DEALS
TF Cornerstone nabbed a $725M loan to build a 1,386-unit multifamily complex in Long Island City’s Hunters Point neighborhood, The Real Deal reports. The funding comes from Wells Fargo and PNC Bank, which loaned $418M and $307M respectively. Wells Fargo's loan will go toward an 811-unit project whose two towers will reach 25 and 38 stories, while PNC’s loan will fund a 33-story tower providing 575 units on top of a six-floor podium. Roughly 30% of the multifamily in the complex will be income-restricted. The buildings will be located at 2-20 and 2-21 Malt Drive, addresses that currently don’t exist but will be along a privately owned, publicly accessible street connecting the buildings and named for the site’s past as a beer distribution facility.
***
D.C.-based affordable housing developer Dantes Partners teamed up with the New York City Housing Authority to obtain a $120M loan on three of NYCHA’s Harlem properties: Audubon Houses, Bethune Gardens and Thurgood Marshall Plaza. The 557-unit, three-building multifamily portfolio was built between 1962 and 1985 and is in dire need of upgrades, which will include new kitchens, bathrooms, windows, appliances, flooring, building elevators, and heating and cooling systems, according to a release. Dantes Partners obtained a 99-year ground lease from NYCHA in order to complete the upgrades, and the loan will allow NYCHA and Dantes Partners to invest $200K in each unit, per the release. The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Rental Assistance Demonstration program, among other state and federal programs, supports 555 of the 557 units via rental assistance. The financing came in the form of a Freddie Mac loan and was arranged by a Walker & Dunlop team including John Gilmore, Jess Deeney, Karl Rincavage, Ethan Waite and Jordan Gregory.
***
Carthage Real Estate Advisors scored a $100M loan from the New York City Housing Development Corp. and West Harlem Development Corp. for Marcus Garvey Village, a 330-unit housing development in Harlem, Commercial Observer reported. The property, located at 212 West 124th St., spans 300K SF and will feature 3K SF of commercial space and 7K SF of community facilities. Marcus Garvey Village will reserve half of its apartment units as affordable housing while half will be market-rate, and is part of Carthage’s Marcus Village development, which includes an 18-story building next door at 224 West 124th St.
TOP LEASES
Windsor Management’s 99 Madison Ave. has a new tenant: Italian company Boffi|DePadova, which has brands linked to the world of architectural interior design for kitchens. The firm signed for 20K SF across the ground floor, mezzanine, second floor and lower level of the 17-story tower. The NoMad building is now 100% leased and is undergoing a capital improvement program that will include a new lobby, a new facade and a floor-to-ceiling glass storefront for an area that will be Boffi|DePadova’s flagship showroom. Cushman & Wakefield’s Andrew Kahn, Fanny Fan and Adrienne Gallus repped both the tenant and the landlord in this deal.
***
Liquor company Rémy Cointreau has signed a 30K SF lease at Rudin’s 3 Times Square. The publicly traded French spirits group will relocate its NYC headquarters to the 30-story property on a 10-year deal for the skyscraper's 20th floor. The company is expected to move from its current digs, Vornado’s 1963-built 1290 Sixth Ave., for Rudin’s 2001-built property this summer. Architecture firm FXCollaborative worked on the design for Rudin’s 2020 capital improvement plan at 3 Times Square, which will have a new, glass-walled triple-height lobby, a touchless entry system and a dedicated 16th floor amenity space. Rémy Cointreau joins anchor tenant Touro College in the building and was represented by a Cresa Global team of Peter Sabesan, Richard Selig, Nicholas Markel and Benjamin Grajzgrund, with Cresa’s James Pirot and Ronald Zeccardi retained to oversee a build-out of facilities for the liquor company’s space. Rudin Management Co.’s Tom Keating repped the landlord in-house, alongside Cushman & Wakefield’s Ron Lo Russo.
***
The Feil Organization’s 261 Fifth Ave. skyscraper has signed four new tenants totaling 19K SF, according to a release. Cosmetological and skincare firm B.R. USA expanded its existing lease by 70% to 6K SF and public relations firm Bold P also took 6K SF in the building. Cushman & Wakefield’s Barry Zeller negotiated the lease for B.R. USA, while JLL’s Greg Wang represented Bold P, with Feil’s David Turino repping the landlord in-house in both deals. Feil’s Tim Parlante also represented the landlord in-house in two further deals: digital banking firm Grasshopper Bancorp, which took 3K SF with representation from Newmark’s Dylan Weissman, and event planner Fleurish NYC, which also took 3K SF with representation from JMC Management. Asking rents were $68 per SF in the spaces occupied by Bold PR and Grasshopper Bancorp in the 25-story building. The 450K SF 261 Fifth Ave. tower was built in 1928 and acquired by the Feil Organization in 2005. Feil recently invested $20M in renovations and upgrades for the building, including updating the lobby, elevators, window and retail storefronts.
***
The Olayan Group’s 550 Madison Ave. has signed lease for a yet-unnamed eatery for 15K SF across three floors, the New York Post reported. The restaurant will be helmed by Cote owner Simon Kim and Olayan under their firm Gracious Hospitality Management, and will have access to the 850K SF building’s new outdoor gardens once they are completed. The building is currently undergoing a $300M renovation that will refurbish its retail spaces and lower-level facades in addition to the outdoor garden. Olayan Group paid $1.4B to acquire the building in 2016, and it is currently approximately 50% leased, with insurer Chubb signing for 240K SF in 2021.
***
Himmel + Meringoff Properties has signed public relations firm Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis for 16K SF at its 6 East 32nd St. office building, Commercial Observer reported. The 10-year lease is a slight downsize for the PR firm, which is moving from an 18K SF space at 136 Madison Ave. Sunshine Sachs, which was founded in 1992 and represents clients including Microsoft, the NAACP and Leonardo DiCaprio, joins AI developer Dataminr and digital marketing agency the Kepler Group in the 11-story property, where asking rents were $65 per SF. Himmel + Meringoff’s Maureen Pescatore and Adam Weissleder handled the deal in-house for the landlord, while Sunshine Sachs was repped by Kirill Azovtsev, Allison Buck, Sam Mann and Jim Wenk of Savills.
TOP SALES
Private real estate management firm Avanath Capital Management has acquired 7 DeKalb Ave., a 251-unit multifamily property in Downtown Brooklyn, for $101.25M, according to a release. The eight-story property was purchased with equity from Avanath’s Renaissance Fund and is part of the 700K SF City Point development. The Brodsky Organization sold the property, plus a loan provided by Fannie Mae and Wells Fargo, in an off-market transaction. 7 DeKalb Ave. features a mix of affordable and market-rate units, and is Avanath’s second multifamily acquisition in Brooklyn in the last year after its May purchase of a two-building portfolio featuring 852 units.
***
Camber Property Group has closed on two acquisitions in the Bronx for $56.4M total, according to a release. The 100% affordable properties are Morris Heights Mews, a three-building, 111-unit Section 8 project located at 1695 Grand Ave. in the Morris Heights neighborhood, and Trinity Apartments, a 78-unit Section 8 project at 2105 Daly Ave. in the West Farms neighborhood. The Community Preservation Corp. partnered with Camber to implement $3M of capital improvements during a 20-year contract at the Morris Heights property, with Camber planning to introduce upgrades to the building’s energy-efficiency, facade and roof, repairs to building systems including the elevator and boiler, and repairs to resident units. Camber also plans to implement energy-efficiency and common area improvements at the West Farms property. SVN Affordable was the broker for the Morris Heights Mews transaction, while the Trinity Apartments deal was brokered by Marcus & Millichap Affordable Housing Advisors' Andy Daitch, Matt Kurzmann and Neil Rosenthal.
