This Week’s N.Y. Deal Sheet
Leasing and financing picked up steam in New York City this week, with deal volume increasing and even a few larger sales closing before the long Labor Day weekend.
TOP LEASES
Cosmetics company E.l.f. Beauty tripled its footprint at Meysar Realty Corp.’s 16 W. 22nd St., according to a release. The tenant signed a 26K SF expansion to two additional floors in the 12-story property in the Flatiron District, bringing its total space in the building to 39K SF. The beauty company has occupied 13K SF in the 165K SF, 1910-built property since 2020. Cushman & Wakefield’s Jonathan Schindler repped E.l.f. Beauty, while GFP Real Estate’s Barbara Yagoda repped Meysar.
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RAL Development Services' and JRE Partners' office property at 124 E. 14th St., a 21-story property in Union Square known as Zero Irving, signed a new tenant. Senator Investment Group will take 12K SF, bringing the 270K SF office tower to full occupancy, according to a release. The investment firm plans to move from 510 Madison Ave. to new digs on the 20th floor of Zero Irving in the first quarter. Other tenants in the building include software company Sigma Computing and fintech firm Melio.
CBRE’s Ben Friedland, Silvio Petrillo and Joseph D'Apice repped the investment group, while JLL’s Mitchell Konsker, Benjamin Bass, Dan Turkewitz, Kristen Morgan and Carlee Palmer repped the landlord.
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Adams & Co.’s 16 Madison Square W. signed global production agency Wellcom Worldwide to 24K SF, Commercial Observer reported. Asking rents were $59 per SF. Wellcom is moving from 175 Pearl St. in the Dumbo neighborhood of Brooklyn. It was previously at the Terminal Warehouse in Chelsea but is moving back to Manhattan with this deal.
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Murray Hill Wine Storage signed a 10K SF lease at 124 W. 36th St., taking the fifth and sixth floors of the seven-story property as office space, Commercial Observer reported. The deal boosts the property’s occupancy from 50% to 83%. Asking rents were $31 per SF for the 10-year lease. Okada & Co.’s Christopher Okada, Avery Reavill and Alex Fleischman represented the landlord, Joseph Nazar. Tatiana Stepanovic of Keller Williams repped the tenant.
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Law firm Edelman & Edelman has signed for 10K SF at Piedmont Office Realty Trust’s 60 Broad St, according to a release. The law firm will move from 61 Broadway to Piedmont’s 39-story skyscraper in Manhattan’s Financial District. The deal brings the property to 90% leased. Piedmont was represented by a JLL team led by John Wheeler, Robin Olinyk and Thomas Swartz, while CBRE’s Rob Wizenberg repped the law firm.
TOP FINANCING
Tishman Speyer nabbed a $301M refinancing deal from Starwood Property Trust for a mixed-use redevelopment that includes 620K SF of office space and the Downtown Brooklyn Macy’s store, The Real Deal first reported. The project has three towers between nine and 12 stories, with 255K SF of its office space occupied by St. Francis College.
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Related Cos. scored a $380M refi covering eight properties that make up the Bronx Terminal Market from a group of lenders that includes Deutsche Bank, Bank of America, Starwood Mortgage Capital and Wells Fargo, PincusCo reported. The loan covers retail properties at 700 and 610 Exterior St. as well as a parking garage at 651 River Ave. The loan replaces a prior securitized loan of $380M originated by Deutsche Bank and Cantor Commercial Real Estate Lending.
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RXR Realty signed a $177.5M refinancing deal for an office condo unit in Midtown West, PincusCo reported. The sum comes from ING Capital. RXR has owned the 397K SF property since it purchased it for $300M in 2014.
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Rockrose Development notched a $105M construction loan from Wells Fargo for a residential development in Long Island City, PincusCo reported. Rockrose acquired the property in 2020 for $13M and submitted development plans a month later. The project at 27-34 Jackson Ave., with an alternative address of 43-14 Queens St., received permits in 2022. It is mostly complete and will provide a total of 301 units spanning 771K SF.
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JPMorgan Chase originated a $210M refinancing package securitized by Freddie Mac for Slate Property Group in partnership with Fundamental Advisors, according to a release. The sum is part of Freddie Mac Multifamily's Q Series. The seven-year, fixed-rate loan covers Slate and Fundamental’s transitional and affordable housing portfolio of 12 properties in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx.
The deal is the first of its kind, designated as a social bond and providing liquidity to social impact financial institutions that bring affordable housing to low-income communities and underserved populations, the release says. The portfolio totals 1,115 beds, including homeless shelters, and spans 304K SF. All of the properties are operated by nonprofits and backed by a contract with the New York City Department of Homeless Services.
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Northwind Group has agreed to lend $75M to a joint venture of Metro Loft Management and David Werner Real Estate Investments, according to a release. The loan covers the $60M purchase of Alexandria Real Estate Equities' stake in the former Pfizer headquarters at 219 E. 42nd St. in Midtown Manhattan. The JV is planning a residential conversion yielding a 660-unit, 29-story multifamily property. It also owns the adjacent property, 235 E. 42nd St., which is also part of the conversion plan, according to PincusCo.
TOP SALES
New York University acquired 35 Cooper Square for $69.2M, Commercial Observer reported. The 12-story property, which spans 45K SF and was developed in 2011, will remain student housing. NYU now has a 14M SF real estate portfolio in Manhattan. The seller was Bhatia Development and Sherwood Equities.
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Wildflower sold a 40K SF parking lot in the Maspeth neighborhood of Queens to Tesla US Property Holdings for $18M, PincusCo reported. The property will likely be developed into a charging station for electric vehicles, Commercial Observer reported. David Junik and Decio Baio of Pinnacle Realty represented Wildflower.
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JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Hines shelled out $320.2M to close a deal for 250 Park Ave., a 20-story office building near JPMorgan’s new headquarters at 270 Park Ave., Crain’s New York Business reported. The sale has been under contract since mid-July, according to Bloomberg, and hit public records this week after closing earlier this month.
Newmark’s Adam Spies and Doug Harmon were brokering the sale, according to previous reporting. The seller was AEW Capital, which finished revamping the building in 2021, according to previous Commercial Observer reports.
