This Week’s N.Y. Deal Sheet
Thanksgiving predictably brought a dip in CRE activity across the five boroughs, but some deals still came through over the last week.
TOP LEASES
Flex workspace company Industrious has found its latest New York City space, signing for 14K SF at Gordon Property Group’s 860 Broadway, according to a release. The 96-year-old property was once home to Andy Warhol’s Factory studio and was fully renovated in 2019, with Warhol’s former office turning into a third-floor conference room. Industrious, which was represented by Cushman & Wakefield’s Justin Halpern and Ed Wartels, is taking the full top floor in the deal and plans to open in the space in late 2023. Gordon Property Group was represented by JLL’s Seth Hecht and Thomas Swartz.
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Submetering firm Metergy Solutions has inked a long-term lease at The Factory in Long Island City, located at 30-30 47th Ave., according to a release. Metergy’s subsidiary, QuadLogic Controls, will occupy 12K SF, taking up part of the fifth floor of the 10-story, 1.1M SF building. Newmark's Brian Waterman, Howard Kesseler, Jordan Gosin and Alex Rosenblum represented ownership — a joint venture of Atlas Capital Group, Partners Group and Invesco Real Estate — in the deal.
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An immersive theater experience is coming to the 870 Seventh Ave. property owned by a joint venture of Highgate and Cerberus, according to a release. Gatsby Mansion New York LLC plans to debut its musical production of The Great Gatsby at 16K SF of the Midtown building next spring, in an off-market deal brokered by Bennett Pourciau of Keller Williams New York City. The musical has already run in Ireland, Belgium and South Korea, and is the UK’s longest-running immersive production, according to the release. Broadway International Group and Hartshorn Hook Enterprises, the two companies that form Gatsby Mansion New York LLC, have signed for a 12K SF ballroom, a 4K SF ballroom mezzanine and a 400 SF retail space for the production.
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Former Peloton CEO John Foley's new company, a direct-to-consumer rug business, has signed a deal for a New York City office space. Ernesta Home Inc., which recently raised $25M in a Series A funding round, has leased 7K SF at the 21-story, 185K SF 322 Eighth Ave. GFP Real Estate owns the nearly 100-year-old building and recently renovated its entrance and facade. The lobby’s mural from American artist Thomas Hart Benton was recently restored by a specialist from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the landlord plans to renovate the lobby further next year. GFP was repped in-house by Allen Gurevich. Ernesta, which was co-founded by Hisao Kushi and Yony Feng — who are also co-founders of Peloton — was represented by Newmark’s Ben Shapiro and Benjamin Birnbaum.
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Yet another private dining club is popping up in Manhattan, this time on the border of Bowery and the Lower East Side, the New York Post first reported. The Flyfish Club, which sells memberships through nonfungible tokens, is taking 11K SF at 141 East Houston St., a 68K SF office building owned by East End Capital, Grandview Partners and KPG Funds, Commercial Observer reported. Asking rents for the 10-year lease were $85 per SF, with Ripco Real Estate’s Richard Skulnik and Lindsay Zegans representing both the landlord and the tenant in the transaction. The club, founded by VCR Group’s David Rodolitz, entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk and chefs Conor Hanlon and Josh Capon, plans to open in late 2023.
TOP SALES
RXR has closed on the sale of the 40-story, 1330 Sixth Ave. office tower for $320M, Crain’s New York Business reports. The building was initially marketed at $350M and has been in contract with a joint venture led by Empire Capital Holdings since July this year, The Real Deal previously reported. Hakimian Capital, Manhattan Capital Group, Nassimi Realty and Matin Hakimi joined Empire Capital in the purchase. The property reportedly had $285M in debt from DekaBank from a 2018 refinancing.
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GO Partners, a joint venture between Orbach Affordable Housing Solutions and Black Spruce Management, has closed on three properties from the entity formerly known as the Solow Building Co. for $850M, The Real Deal reported. One Sutton Place North, Two Sutton Place North and One East River Place are the latest buildings to be acquired by the joint venture, which has reportedly become one of the city’s most active multifamily investors over the last two years. The sales were brokered by a JLL team led by Rob Hinckley and Jeff Julien, and Adam Spies and Adam Doneger of Cushman & Wakefield arranged the financing.
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Baron Property Group has purchased some of its joint venture partner LargaVista Cos.’ share of 4560 Broadway for $15M, Crain’s New York Business reported. The partners are planning a multifamily property in Manhattan’s Fort George neighborhood that has a 421-a tax abatement and a brownfield tax credit and is due to complete in early 2024, according to Baron Property Group’s website. The sale is reportedly for a parking facility at the address, according to Crain’s.
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An industrial site in south Brooklyn has sold for $13M, Crain’s reported. Mosdav Real Estate and QFF Realty Corp. sold the property to 1663 62nd Street LLC, an entity registered to Blimie Perlstein. The industrial and vacant site at 1660–1663 62nd St. spans 40K SF, according to Greiner-Maltz Real Estate’s website.
TOP FINANCING DEALS
Pennsylvania investor Westover Cos. is making its first NYC acquisition, according to a release: 85-unit East Village apartment building with a grocery store at its base, The Nathaniel. The property, located at 138 East 12th St. in the East Village, was previously owned by the Wafra Group, which held onto the building for seven years before selling it for $56.8M — a 42% loss on the $98.3M the company paid in 2015, The Real Deal reported.
Westover secured a $26.85M acquisition loan from an undisclosed lender, according to the release. A JLL Capital Markets Debt Advisory team of Steven Klein, Jamie Leachman, Christopher Pratt and Sean O’Brien arranged the financing.
