This Week's N.Y. Deal Sheet
New York City's capital markets picked up steam this week as big sales and financing deals closed while the city's office leasing market slowed.
TOP SALES
The Kaufman Organization purchased an 82K SF, 12-story office building at 135 West 29th St. in the Flatiron District for $34.5M, the real estate firm announced. The deal is a 99-year ground lease agreement with seller MFM Properties. Kaufman Investments’ Michael Kazmierski and Lorenzo Bakewell-Stone brokered the deal. Kaufman plans to reposition the asset, which is currently 70% leased.
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Opal Holdings bought four suburban New Jersey office buildings for $254M from Mack-Cali Realty Corp., the seller announced. The Metropark portfolio, located at 99 and 101 Wood Ave. South and 333 and 343 Thornall St. in Jersey City, span 945K SF combined and are roughly 90% leased. Cushman & Wakefield’s Andy Merin, David Bernhaut, Gary Gabriel, Frank DiTommaso, Seth Zuidema, Adam Spies, Kevin Donner, Todd Elfand and Kevin Carton brokered the deal.
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EJS Group paid Gastonia LLC $32.3M for a five-story multifamily building at 1303-1309 Third Ave. on the Upper East Side, JLL announced. The 14-unit building went up in 1910 and contains one-bedrooms that were leased for between $2,100 and $2,600 per month, according to StreetEasy. JLL’s Guthrie Garvin, Jonathan Hageman, Jack Norton, Solomon Michailow and Bob Knakal brokered the deal for Gastonia LLC.
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Long Island-based self-storage developer Safe-N-Lock purchased a warehouse at 52-34 74th St. in Elmhurst, Queens, for $14.9M, property records show. Traditional Casket Corp. sold the 30K SF property. This is the latest in a series of self-storage deals since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, as self-storage companies have been investing in industrial buildings in the outer boroughs.
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Greenbook Properties purchased a $15M multifamily building at 70 Prospect Park West in Brooklyn, property records show. The six-story, 30-unit building was built in 1920, according to StreetEasy, and borders Brooklyn’s largest park. Real Estate attorney Neil Kupferman signed for the seller, 3M Associates Limited Liability Company.
TOP LEASES
The Brooklyn Prospect Charter School signed a lease for 70K SF at United American Land’s 80 Willoughby St. in Brooklyn, Crain’s New York Business reports. The 10-story building was formerly St. Joseph’s High School, and the landlord bought the property from the Sisters of St. Joseph earlier this month.
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Furniture retailer West Elm opened a 15K SF outlet showcase at Industry City in Brooklyn, increasing its existing footprint on the campus, the landlord announced. The company already has a 120K SF creative space called West Elm Makers Studio at Industry City since 2015. The new retail spot will join other furniture and design retailers. Industry City is jointly owned by developers Belvedere Capital, Jamestown and Angelo Gordon & Co.
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HypeClub, an e-commerce sneaker retailer, inked a 2,900 SF lease at Kushner Cos.’ 285 Lafayette St. in SoHo, the Commercial Observer reports. The retail space sits at the base of a 21-unit condominium building.
TOP FINANCING DEALS
JPMorgan Chase provided a $350M loan to the Wolkoff family for its 1.3M SF development at 22-44 Jackson Ave. in Queens, The Real Deal reports. The Long Island City redevelopment of 5Pointz, a local graffiti mecca, will contain 1,115 apartments, including 223 affordable units, as well as 40K SF of retail when it is complete, according to New York YIMBY.
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Related scored a $107.5M loan for its condos at 15 Hudson Yards, PincusCo. Media reports. Wells Fargo Bank provided the debt. The 88-story skyscraper contains 285 units with an average purchase price of nearly $7M and an average rental price of over $14K per month. The Manhattan condo market was oversupplied before the pandemic took hold and has taken a hit over the past year.
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Moinian Group secured $59.1M in financing on its 132-unit apartment building at 1428 Fulton St. in Brooklyn, PincusCo. Media reports. SG Capital Partners financed the loan. Still under construction, the 11-story, 59K SF residential building contains 11K SF of retail space at its base, according to LoopNet.
