This Week's N.Y. Deal Sheet
New York's investment market remained quiet, but the Midtown office leasing market perked up with several large leases getting signed.
TOP LEASES
The largest lease of the week was at the New York Times Building at 620 Eighth Ave. in Times Square. Seyfarth Shaw renewed its 132K SF lease at the building, owned by The New York Times and Brookfield Properties, Colliers' February Monthly snapshot revealed. The law firm first signed a 17-year lease at the building in 2007, according to a release from the tenant.
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Investment firm Jennison Associates signed a 15-year, nearly 121K SF Midtown office lease across four floors at Fisher Brothers’ Park Avenue Plaza located at 55 East 52nd St., the landlord announced. Jennison Associates’ lease begins in 2023, and it will move into the space in 2024 or 2025. The company is moving from RXR Realty’s 237 Park Ave. CBRE’s Howard Fiddle, Peter Turchin, Christie Harle, Roger Griswold and Benjamin Joseph as well as Fisher Brothers' Marc Packman, Clark Briffel and Charles Laginestra brokered the lease for the landlord, while CBRE's Edward Lederman arranged the lease for Jennison Associates.
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Jenner & Block LLP inked a 15-year, 67K SF lease to move from its current location at SL Green’s 919 Third Ave. to take four floors at the Durst Organization’s 1155 Sixth Ave. CBRE’s Lewis Miller, Jason Gorman and Zachary Weil represented the tenant alongside Jenner & Block partner Donald Resnick. The Durst Organization’s Tom Bow, Rocco Romeo and Tanya Grimaldo represented the landlord in-house.
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LIM College renewed its 60K SF lease at Bernstein Real Estate’s 216 East 45th St. last month, according to Colliers’ monthly snapshot. The address is home to the business and fashion school’s Maxwell Hall, according to its website. Asking rent was estimated to be around $43 to $52 per SF, Commercial Observer reports. Cresa’s Peter Sabesan, Richard Selig and Mike Okun arranged the lease for the college, while Bernstein Real Estate’s Vince Terranova and Peter Liptrot arranged the deal for the landlord, CO reports.
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Vornado secured two new media tenants at 1290 Sixth Ave. last month. G/O Media Inc., the parent company of several media organizations, including The Onion, signed a lease for 52K SF while streaming company fuboTV Inc. signed one for 55K SF, Colliers’ monthly snapshot shows.
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Ramallah Trading Co. signed an 11-year, 10K SF lease across the ninth floor of Brause Realty Inc.’s 320 Fifth Ave., the landlord announced. Resolution Real Estate Partners' Jonata Dayan and Brett Weiss represented both the landlord and the tenant in the deal.
TOP FINANCING DEALS
CIM Group secured $400M in loans on its 1440 Broadway office building, Commercial Observer reports. JPMorgan Chase provided a $300M floating-rate CMBS loan and Oaktree Capital provided a $100M loan. James Millon, Tom Traynor and P.J. Finley of CBRE brokered the financing. The building has a CVS Pharmacy on the ground floor, and WeWork and Macy’s offices have office spaces in the building.
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Industrial developer Innovo Property Group scored a $155M construction loan for its proposed 842K SF distribution center at 23-30 Borden Ave. in Long Island City. Starwood Property Trust financed the debt. The five-story project is one of many logistics buildings under development in neighborhoods along the bank of the East River in Brooklyn and Queens as the e-commerce boom continues.
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Extell scored a $105M inventory loan for its 200 East 95th St. building — dubbed The Kent — on the Upper East Side, PincusCo. Media reports. The Blackstone Group provided the debt. The newly built condominium has 83 condo units and 21 affordable rental units, according to New York YIMBY. Beyer Blinder Belle designed the building.
TOP SALES
A company connected to Oasis Mega Market bought 2818 Coney Island Ave. in Coney Island from Ford Coyle Properties for $22M, Crain’s New York Business reports. The address is currently home to an Uzbek restaurant, Nargis Cafe. The building is 13,700 SF, according to LoopNet. Oasis Mega Market is located down the street from the restaurant.
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Mack Real Estate Credit Strategies gained ownership of seven hotels previously owned by Hersha Hospitality Trust and Cindat Capital Management through a foreclosure auction. The hotels include select-service hotels in Midtown Manhattan and the Financial District. Mack acquired the hotels for $315.8M in transfer taxes; the portfolio was previously valued at over $800M.
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Albert Laboz of United American Land LLC purchased 80 Willoughby St. in Downtown Brooklyn, New York, from the Sisters of St. Joseph for $23.3M, property records show. The building is currently home to St. Joseph’s High School and Brooklyn Prospect Charter School, according to the schools’ website. The new owner also owns residential, office and retail properties across Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn, according to its website.
