This Week’s N.Y. Deal Sheet
This week saw a Financial District development site change hands at a steep discount amid a dearth of sales, while the lending markets and even office leasing — especially in Midtown and Midtown South — had an active week.
TOP LEASES
Fisher Brothers signed several leases totaling 61K SF at 299 Park Ave., including one tenant relocating from another building in the landlord’s portfolio. Law firm Becker, Glynn, Muffly, Chassin & Hosinski renewed its 25K SF agreement at the building, while Park Madison Partners, previously a subtenant in the building, signed a 6K SF direct lease. Investment firm MacKay Shields is moving from Fisher Brothers' 1345 Sixth Ave. to 30K SF on the 32nd floor at 299 Park. The landlord recently spent $20M on capital improvements in the building, which included elevator, lobby and facade upgrades. Fisher Brothers’ Marc Packman, Charles Laginestra, Clark Briffel and Josh Fisher repped the landlord in-house in the deals, alongside Newmark’s David Falk, Peter Shimkin and Andrew Sachs. Cushman & Wakefield’s Mark Weiss repped the law firm, and Newmark's Eric Cagner repped Park Madison Partners.
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SL Green announced that it signed more than 100K SF of new leases at its under-construction One Madison Ave. office tower. The biggest deal was for an unnamed “publicly traded financial services firm” that signed a 67K SF, 11-year lease on two tower floors. It also signed a subsidiary of Flutter Entertainment to a 36K SF, 12-year lease on the building's 23rd floor. An Italian sandwich shop also agreed to a 1K SF lease on the ground floor. JLL's Justin Haber and Seth Godnick represented Flutter, their colleagues Steven Rotter and Todd Stracci represented the financial services firm, and SL Green was represented by Paul Glickman, Ben Bass, Diana Biasotti and Alexander Chudnoff of JLL. The 1.4M SF One Madison building is more than 63% leased, with all of its tower floors spoken for, according to a release.
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Tishman Speyer has signed antitrust law firm Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider to 28K SF at 45 Rockefeller Plaza, Commercial Observer reported. The firm is relocating from The Durst Organization’s 114 W. 47th St. to the full 33rd floor at Tishman Speyer’s 39-story tower. Axinn was repped by JLL’s Lisa Kiell and Andrew Coe, while ownership was repped in-house by Blythe Kinsler, Samantha Augarten, Joe Simon and Kate Walker.
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Investment manager VanEck has signed a 53K SF renewal at Tishman Speyer’s 666 Third Ave., CO reports. VanEck has had its headquarters in the 767K SF building for at least a decade, where fellow tenants include pension fund manager APG and law firm Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo. The 32-story property is known as the Chrysler East tower due to its position next to the Chrysler Building. Ownership was repped in-house by Samantha Augarten. Daniel Thompson and Adam Ardise of Cushman & Wakefield repped the tenant.
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The New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services has renewed its 43K SF agreement at 34-09 Queens Blvd., CO reports. The city agency has been at the four-story industrial property, owned by First Pioneer Properties, since 1997 and renewed its space there without brokers. The NYC DCAS uses the site as a testing center for civil service exams required for hiring city employees. Other tenants in the Long Island City building, which was previously home to the Breyers Ice Cream factory, include freight forwarding company Atelier 4.
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The Metropolitan Transportation Authority looks like it is headed to Alma Realty’s 30-30 Northern Blvd. in Long Island City, Queens, CO reported. The MTA plans to lease 53K SF at the building for “reality-based situational training” for new recruits at the MTA Police Department, according to public documents cited by CO. The 15-year lease would cost the agency $1.9M in annual rent for the first five years, $2M for the next five years and $2.1M for the final five years. The lease hasn't yet been signed but was approved by the MTA’s board in a March meeting. The MTA’s chief of real estate transactions, David Florio, worked with CBRE to find the location and negotiate on behalf of the agency.
TOP FINANCING
Citi Real Estate Funding has agreed to lend $155M in CMBS debt to Williams Equities to refinance a two-building property at 28-40 W. 23rd St., according to a release. The debt is one of the largest mixed-use loans with an office concentration issued via CMBS over the past two years, according to the release, and will fund new building improvements and amenities at the 578K SF Flatiron District property. The retail anchor is Home Depot, while office tenants include credit card company Ramp and Estee Lauder brand Aramis. Citigroup’s Joe Dyckman repped the lender, and attorney William Stempel repped the borrower. Williams Equities’ Andrew Roos, Michael Cohen, Robert Getreu, Jessica Verdi and Mac Roos assisted in the transaction.
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The Brodsky Organization nabbed a $415M Freddie Mac loan from M&T Realty Capital Corp. for its Brooklyn Crossing development at Pacific Park, according to a release. The loan will go toward the construction of an 858-unit multifamily property at 18 Sixth Ave. in Brooklyn. The development will eventually feature studio and one-to-three-bedroom apartments, plus amenities like an outdoor pool and rooftop terrace. M&T Realty's Robert Barry arranged the financing.
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Slate Property Group’s debt financing arm, Scale Lending, has originated a $150M loan to The Beitel Group for the construction of a 13-story, 450-unit multifamily project in the Bronx’s Mott Haven neighborhood, according to a release. The Beitel Group acquired the site at 120 E. 144th St. in 2022, later demolishing the existing building to pursue a full 289K SF redevelopment featuring studios, one- and two-bedroom apartments, and a tenant amenity package including a coworking space and a rooftop lounge. The project is expected to be completed in mid-2025, with the fresh funds going toward completing construction.
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The Durst Organization nabbed a $120M construction loan from Wells Fargo for two properties in Hallets Point, PincusCo reported. The loan covers approximately 100 residential units at 3-24 27th Ave. in Astoria and the nearby 26-02 First St.
TOP SALES
Goose Property Management has acquired 268 Bergen St., a 238K SF development site in Brooklyn’s Boerum Hill neighborhood, for $40M, according to a release. An industrial manufacturing facility in a past life, the site has already gone through NYC’s rezoning process and been approved for a mixed-use residential project. A JLL Capital Markets team of Michael Mazzara, Brendan Maddigan, Ethan Stanton and Winfield Clifford repped the seller, Dillon Realty Interests, as well as the buyer.
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Hidrock Properties has sold a Financial District property at a significant discount compared to what it spent acquiring the lot in 2018, CO reported. The property, 112 Liberty St., sold at 46% less than the previous sum, with buyer Hiwin Group USA and CEO Xiaogang Wang spending $21.7M on the property. Hidrock paid $38.5M for the site, then planned a 20-story, 112K SF hotel. The firm knocked down the five-story commercial building that occupied the site but never moved forward with vertical development.
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Derby Copeland Capital has sold four properties totaling 165 residential units and six commercial spaces for $60M, according to a release. Page Management acquired the properties, which are spread between the West Village, Chelsea and SoHo. An Avison Young team of James Nelson, David Shalom, Brandon Polakoff, Ryan McGuirl and Alexandra Marolda repped the buyer and the seller in the deals for 236 W. 15th St., 253-255 W. 11th St., 82 Washington Place and 188-192 Sixth Ave.
