This Week’s N.Y. Deal Sheet
New York City closed out July with a flurry of leasing activity, including a deal bringing McFlurrys back to Times Square.
TOP LEASES
Burlington, the discount department store retailer, has expanded by 35K SF in the Garment District and now occupies almost 103K SF after signing a deal at 1400 Broadway this week, Commercial Observer reports. The retailer will be spread across three floors of the 37-story tower, where it first moved in 2010, after expanding last year to 68K SF in the property. Newmark’s Scott Klau, Erik Harris and Neil Rubin represented the landlord, Empire State Realty Trust, in the transaction while Colliers’ Alan Desino represented Burlington.
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Silverstein Properties signed one new lease and one expansion at 529 Fifth Ave. this week. Jeweler SDC Designs renewed its 12K SF 16th floor lease and added 17K SF on the 10th floor, bringing its total footprint in the building to almost 30K SF. Investment management firm ARS Investment signed for just under 11K SF on the fifth floor, relocating from 500 Fifth Ave. Joseph Artusa, Keith Cody and Harlan Strader III provided in-house representation for Silverstein, while SDC was represented by Newmark’s Lance Korman and ARS was represented by Savills’ Daniel Horowitz and Jeffrey Peck. Asking rents were $70 per SF following the completion of a $20M upgrade to the property completed earlier this year.
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Fast-food establishment McDonald’s has signed a 20-year lease to bring the franchise back to Times Square, Commercial Observer reports. The lease, expected to be worth $40M overall, will see the Golden Arches return to the tourist destination in approximately 5K SF across two floors at Wharton Properties’ 661 Eighth Ave. McDonald's closed its previous Times Square spot on 42nd Street in June 2020.
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Design firm Huge has signed a 71K SF lease at Dock 72, Rudin Management and Boston Properties’ Brooklyn Navy Yard office tower. Huge will move from its 80K SF Dumbo location at 45 Main St. to a space that will operate “more like a clubhouse” than a traditional office, Huge's CEO told the New York Post. Boston Properties’ Andrew Levin and Rudin’s Robert Steinman represented the landlord, while Cara Chayet, David Hollander, Liz Lash and Ken Rapp of CBRE represented the tenant, alongside Winter Stockwell in-house.
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Global Holdings Management Group has signed lease expansions and renewals with two tenants at 410 Park Ave., Commercial Observer reported. China’s seventh-largest lender, China CITIC Bank, has signed a 10-year renewal and expansion that takes its footprint from 12K SF to almost 15K SF. Private equity firm Glendower Capital also signed a 10-year renewal of its lease and doubled its space in the tower, bringing its total footprint from 8K SF to nearly 15K SF. Asking rents were reportedly between $79 and $89 per SF. A JLL team including Paul Glickman, Benjamin Bass, Diana Biasotti, Kristen Morgan and Harrison Potter represented Global Holdings, while CBRE’s Clyde Reetz repped China CITIC Bank and Cresa’s Gregg Cohen repped Glendower Capital.
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The General Services Administration signed for 48K SF at New York City REIT’s 123 William St., according to a release. The GSA, which handles real estate deals on behalf of the federal government, will occupy the entire third floor and part of the fourth floor of the 545K SF, 27-story building in Lower Manhattan owned by the beleaguered REIT, which has struggled to fill the office spaces that constitute the majority of its portfolio even compared to other office owners. JLL’s William Korchak and Yolanda Morgan-Wells repped the GSA in the deal, while an Avison Young team led by Todd Korren represented NYC REIT.
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Security firm Allied Universal has signed a 30K SF lease at 501 Seventh Ave., where asking rents were $62 per SF, Commercial Observer reported. The 10-year lease will see the firm move from its 12K SF space at 1 Grand Central Place to the 18-story tower whose other tenants include insurance provider Argo Group and media firm Captivate. Allied was represented by Louis D’Avanzo and Michael Baraldi of Cushman & Wakefield, while landlord Empire State Realty Trust had representation from Cushman & Wakefield’s Ron Lo Russo, Heather Thomas, Patrick Murphy, Will Yeatman and Pierce Hance with ESRT’s Shanae Ursini.
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Luggage retailer TUMI has signed for 20K SF at Wohio Holdings’ 16 East 34th St., according to a release. Asking rents at the space were in the mid-$60s at the 22-story, 372K SF office building that was upgraded during the pandemic to introduce a tenant amenity roof deck in addition to a new retail facade, lobby, elevators and entrance. Cushman & Wakefield’s Jonathan Serko, Jonathan Schindler and Barry Garfinkle represented the tenant. Newmark’s Matthew Leon, Stephen Gordon and Nathan Kropp represented the landlord.
TOP FINANCING DEALS
Lonicera Partners has secured a $134M construction loan from Santander and City National Bank for the development of 15 Hanover Place, a mixed-income multifamily development in downtown Brooklyn, according to a release. The building will feature 314 units across 34 floors upon completion, in addition to 9K SF of commercial space. A Cushman & Wakefield Equity, Debt & Structured Finance team of Gideon Gil, Zachary Kraft and Sebastian Sanchez represented Lonicera Partners in the deal.
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Square Mile Capital has agreed to lend $285M in acquisition financing to a joint venture operated by A&E Real Estate for the acquisition of 160 Riverside Blvd., according to a release. A&E recently acquired the 33-story, 455-unit multifamily building from real estate investment trust Equity Residential for $415M. The 21-year-old building was developed by Hudson Waterfront and features amenities including a 24-hour fitness center and concierge. Estreich & Co.’s Jon Estreich and Jason Boxer brokered the transaction.
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The Chetrit Group nabbed a $185M loan from Mack Real Estate Credit Strategies to refinance Hotel Carter at 250 West 43rd St., The Real Deal reports. The loan will replace a 2018 bridge loan of $152M from JPMorgan Chase. Surya Capital Partners’ Adi Chugh handled the deal for Chetrit and also arranged the 2018 loan. The hotel, which was originally built in 1930, was named NYC’s dirtiest hotel three times by TripAdvisor and was also the site of a high-profile 2007 homicide.
TOP SALES
Oceanwide Holdings has sold the site of its previously planned supertall to an undisclosed buyer for $169M, PincusCo reported. A Delaware-based company registered in late May — just days after the development site fell into receivership — purchased 80 South St. in a sale that closed in mid-July, according to The Real Deal. The receivership note covers an industrial building at 163 Front St. and also includes 102K SF of built space and 44K SF of air rights. Oceanwide originally bought the site for $390M and invested a further $20M. Plans for the tower would have made it the tallest building in Lower Manhattan, but the Chinese firm never began construction on the site before it struggled with liquidity.
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ZG Capital Partners has purchased MEK Management’s 43 East 53rd St. for $102.5M, The Real Deal reports. The sale of the building, previously home to Santander Bank, is for $17M less than MEK paid in 2015. The sale is being arranged by Ackman-Ziff’s Ross Mezzo, while Jordan Roeschlaub and Dustin Stolly secured a $120M acquisition loan from ACRES Capital in addition to $55M of limited partner equity from Rialto Capital for the acquisition and renovations to the 20-story, 134K SF building.
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Related Fund Management has bought 32-02 Queens Blvd. in Long Island City for $61M from the family that started cosmetics giant Mana Products, Bisnow has learned. The eight-story property, also known as the Packard Motor Building, was first constructed in 1931. Doug Harmon, Kevin Donner, Josh King and Willis Robbins of Cushman & Wakefield brokered the sale. The building can be redeveloped into a number of different uses, including self-storage, warehouse or life sciences.
