This Week's N.Y. Deal Sheet
In the last week before the holidays, an affordable housing portfolio traded in the Bronx, an international jewelry company leased space for its U.S. headquarters and a huge new mixed-use development in Brooklyn scored construction financing.
TOP LEASES
Real estate data firm Compstak is doubling the size of its Manhattan headquarters in a relocation deal, taking almost 26K SF at 675 Sixth Ave., landlord GFP Real Estate announced. The five-year deal for space previously occupied by Quartz Media sees Compstak move from its current office at 36 Cooper Square. Todd Hershman of Newmark represented the tenant in the deal, while the landlord was represented in-house by GFP Real Estate Chairman Jeffrey Gural, alongside Anthony Sciacca, Brittany Silver, Robert Silver and Jamie Jacobs of Newmark.
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LuisaViaRoma, an Italian fashion retailer, is taking 13K SF at 1 Bond St., according to multiple press reports. The space will be the company’s first American location, and the space, asking $250 per SF, is split into 7,855 SF on the ground level and 5K SF on the lower level, the New York Post reported. MONA brokers Brandon Singer, Michael Cody, Max Kreinces and Suzanne Berstock represented the landlord. DH Advisors’ Dan Harroch brokered the deal for the tenant.
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Danish jewelry company Pandora is moving its U.S. headquarters from Baltimore to 27K SF at 1540 Broadway, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced this week. The space is on the 35th floor of the building, which is owned by Edge Fund Advisors and HSBC, and the asking rent was $82 per SF, per the New York Post. Clark Finney and Frank Doyle led a JLL team acting for the landlord. Empire State Development is supporting Pandora’s move, per an announcement from Hochul’s office, with up to $1.5M in performance-based tax credits. This will support the creation of 133 new full-time jobs, according to the release.
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The New York City Department of Parks & Recreation leased 30K SF at 97-77 Queens Blvd. in Rego Park for its Division of Forestry, Horticulture and Natural Resources. LeFrak owns the property, Commercial Observer reports, and the asking rent was $44 per SF. CBRE’s Roy Chipkin arranged the 20-year deal on behalf of the landlord.
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Blink Fitness leased 15K SF at 886 Broadway in Brooklyn. The franchise signed on to occupy the entire base of the building, taking space from the lower level through the third floor. Spark Management owns the newly constructed building at the border of Bedford-Stuyvesant and Bushwick in North Brooklyn. Newmark's Ryan Gessin, William Grover and Ross Perlman represented Spark Management in the deal, while Ezra Saff of Retail Zone brokered the lease for Blink Fitness.
TOP FINANCING DEALS
Lendlease locked down $360M in construction financing for the development of 1 Java St., a 36-story, 834-apartment multifamily development on the waterfront in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The debt reportedly came from a group of lenders led by Bank of America, including Mizuho Bank, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. and TD Bank. Lendlease is developing the project, which will include a "living shoreline" for climate resiliency and isset for completion in 2026, with Australian fund Aware Super.
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Gary Barnett’s Extell Development scored $217M from Bank of America and $49M from Athene Annuity and Life Insurance to refinance a portion of its luxury residential development in Two Bridges, One Manhattan Square, The Real Deal reported. The loan from BOA is for 224 unsold condominium units, while the smaller loan covers 113 unsold units. Those apartments represent 44% of the property, per TRD.
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Taconic Capital lent Burnett Equities $95M to refinance the Martinique New York on Broadway, Curio Collection by Hilton, Commercial Observer reports. The 531-key hotel is at 49 West 32nd St., and Burnett paid $55.5M for it last year with the intention of upgrading the property. Dustin Stolly and Jordan Roeschlaub of Newmark arranged the financing with Nick Scribani, Tyler Dumon and Tim Polglase. Adam Etra and Jessica Shevins from Newmark’s lodging capital markets team were also on the deal.
TOP SALES
The Heyman Family sold the former Courtyard by Marriott LaGuardia Hotel at 90-10 Ditmars Blvd. for $53M to Kenny Huang, The Real Deal reports. The 228-room property has been closed for five years, and Huang is set to redevelop the property, but no details were made public. Ripco Real Estate’s Stephen Preuss and Kevin Louie arranged the sale.
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A joint venture of Systima Capital Management, Gilbane Development Co., ELH Mgmt. LLC and TerreAlto spent $107.5M on a Bronx affordable housing portfolio. The seller, represented by Ariel Property Advisors, was not made public. The portfolio has four multifamily buildings spanning 477 units and approximately 525K SF in the Morrisania, High Bridge and Belmont neighborhoods. Ariel’s Victor Sozio, Shimon Shkury, Jason Gold, Daniel Mahfar and Evan Hirsch arranged the deal.
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Witkoff Group bought out its partner at Columbus House at 721 Columbus Ave. on the Upper West Side, PincusCo reports, paying $50M for the stake. General Electric Pension Fund was the partner on the 246-unit apartment building, per the publication. Witkoff in 2006 led a group that bought the property for $68M from Cord Meyer Development.
