This Week’s N.Y. Deal Sheet
The final two weeks of 2022 saw several several sizable deals close, even as the year ended overall on a down note.
TOP SALES
60 Guilders closed on a major sale before the calendar flipped, purchasing three properties in Williamsburg for $143M, Commercial Observer reported. 60 Guilders nabbed a 113-unit apartment building at 205 North Ninth St., known as The Driggs, as well as 225 North Ninth St. and 220 North 10th St., from The Rabsky Group. The three properties combined span 211 units and ground-floor retail space between Roebling Street and Driggs Avenue; they were purchased along with a reported $103M in debt assumed by 60 Guilders when the sale closed.
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Empire State Realty Trust has snagged a mixed-use, market-rate, 96-unit apartment building in NoHo for $114.9M. The deal for the seven-story 298 Mulberry St., built in 1986, was an all-cash, 1031 transaction, according to a release. New York developer, investor and operator Broad Street Development and Texas-based investor and developer Crow Holdings Capital were the sellers, with representation from a JLL Capital Markets team of Andrew Scandalios, Rob Hinckley, Jeffrey Julien, Steven Rutman and Jonathan Faxon. The building’s retail space is leased to CVS.
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A joint venture of Gilbane Development Co., Systima Capital Management, ELH Management and TerreAlto has acquired four affordable housing properties in the Bronx from Spencer Equity for $107.5M, Crain’s New York Business reported. There are 477 units altogether in the buildings, located at 280 East 161st St., 1105 Jerome Ave., 101–103 West 165th St. and 2363 Southern Blvd., all of which are Section 8 housing funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Ariel Property Advisors’ Victor Sozio, Shimon Shkury, Jason Gold, Daniel Mahfar and Evan Hirsch arranged the deal.
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Vornado has sold the 29-story, 251K SF 40 Fulton St. for $40M under its initial asking price, The Real Deal reported. The Financial District office building, which Vornado has been marketing for between $130M and $140M since last spring, sold for $101M to investor David Werner. The sale works out to approximately $402 per SF, with the discount coming as interest rates rose throughout 2022. Newmark’s Evan Layne and Brett Siegel led the team that brokered the deal, which was backed by a $45M loan from UMB Bank and a $25M loan from the Bank of New Hampshire. UMB Bank is also listed as a trustee in the lending agreement. 40 Fulton was roughly 80% leased when it first hit the market.
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The site of infamous party scene The Jane Hotel has sold for $62M, Commercial Observer reports. Jane St. Hospitality sold the 113 Jane St. property to JK Hotel Group, which secured $40.5M in acquisition financing from a business that shares an address with investment company Kennedy Wilson. JK Hotel’s CEO, Jeff Klein, reportedly announced plans to buy the 114-year-old hotel in February, with plans to turn the property into a members-only club and its rooftop bar into a private outdoor lounge.
TOP FINANCING DEALS
Developers looking to execute the largest office-to-residential conversion in history now have financial backing to the tune of $536M, Commercial Observer reports. MSD Partners and Apollo Real Estate Financial provided the loan to cover the acquisition and redevelopment of 25 Water St. to the joint venture of GFP Real Estate, Metro Loft Management and Rockwood Capital. Dustin Stolly, Jordan Roeschlaub and Chris Kramer of Newmark arranged the financing.
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Two Trees Management notched $365M in financing for two residential properties that will be part of the developer’s long-term plans for Williamsburg’s Domino Sugar Refinery redevelopment, Commercial Observer reports. Through the entity 346 Kent, Two Trees received a $186.4M construction loan from JPMorgan Chase for the two residential properties to be located at 346 Kent Ave. The organization Domino Development Partners, an entity also owned by Two Trees, obtained an additional $118.9M construction loan for the project. Two Trees also received $60M of project loans from JPMorgan as part of the transaction, The Real Deal reported. The two planned residential towers, reaching 50 and 55 stories, respectively, will eventually provide approximately 600 units to the neighborhood and have a planned delivery date of 2025. Two Trees previously acquired the site from the Community Preservation Corp. for $185M in 2012.
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The New York City Housing Development Corp. has agreed to provide a $225M construction loan to nonprofit developer Phipps Houses for a planned 436-unit apartment building at 254 Euclid Ave., Commercial Observer reports. The property is one of three planned by Phipps on the block between Fulton Street and Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn’s Cypress Hills neighborhood. The loan for the affordable housing development was first reported by PincusCo, The development was first made possible by former Mayor Bill de Blasio, who rezoned 190 blocks in Cypress Hills and East New York in 2016 in the hopes of increasing affordable housing production, but construction has lagged in the area amid continuous delays.
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Slate Property Group and nonprofit RiseBoro Community Partnership have scored $121.7M to build a 185K SF, 215-unit development at 326 Rockaway Ave., in Brownsville, The Real Deal reported. Sixty percent of the units will be dedicated affordable housing, and the project will include 1,600 SF of ground-floor retail and a 3,800 SF community facility. The financing came from tax-exempt bonds, low-income housing tax credits purchased by Goldman Sachs and city agency subsidies, including the NYC 15/15 program, an initiative started by former Mayor Bill de Blasio, which is funding the development’s supportive units.
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The Arker Cos. has notched a $78.4M refinancing package for three multifamily properties in Far Rockaway, Queens, Commercial Observer reported. Merchants Capital provided the loan for the properties, located at 14-10 New Haven Ave., 249 Beach 15th St. and 14-03 Heyson Road and totaling 329 units altogether.
TOP LEASES
Intelligence company Signal AI is doubling its Manhattan office footprint with an 11K SF lease at 440 Park Ave. South, according to a release. Signal AI’s new space is directly across the street from its current home, 443 Park Ave. South, in Midtown South, and it plans to make its move during the first quarter. Landlord Samco Properties plans to completely renovate the office before Signal AI moves in, creating a newly built-out headquarters for the intelligence company and a collaborative space. Transwestern Real Estate’s Chase Gordon and partner Rory Murphy represented Signal AI.
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GFP Real Estate’s 247 West 37th St. has a new tenant: Greentex America, a textile manufacturer and distributor focused on ecological fabrics, has signed for 4K SF in the 18-story building, according to a release. GFP has agreed to build new offices, a conference room and a pantry for the company, and it also plans to install LED lighting and a new HVAC system in the property. Greentex plans to use the space for a showroom and executive offices. The deal was brokered by GFP’s Allen Gurevich on behalf of Greentex and in-house for the landlord by Matthew Mandell.
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Architecture firm Deborah Berke Partners has signed a 10-year lease agreement for 13K SF at Rudin Management’s 41 Madison Ave., Commercial Observer reports. The firm will take the entire 17th floor when it moves from 220 Fifth Ave. in summer 2023. A flurry of new tenants have reportedly entered leases at 41 Madison in recent months, including The Henry Luce Foundation taking an entire floor and Limekiln Real Estate Investment Management signing for 6K SF. Rudin recently renovated the building, adding a new lobby, a glass entrance and glass wall panels, updated elevator cabs and a new reception desk. Andrew Weiss of Signature Partners repped the architecture firm, while Robert Steinman repped Rudin in-house.
