Thursday, November 4, 2010
The Kardashians' Store Opens, Kauses Komplete Khaos
What we saw: Escalades; barking, very unhappy police officers; and hundreds (maybe thousands?) of chanting super fans (seriously?) cordoned off by various steel barricades—many carrying signs professing their devotion to whatever the Kardashians are. It was a mess, Spring Street was closed off, and we couldn't even see the store behind the velvet ropes, photo backdrops, tragic admirers and cops, cops, cops. Basically: Yuck.
· Kim Kardashian, Khloe & Kourtney Open Dash Boutique In N.Y.C. [HuffPo]
· Dash Gets Staffed: Ms. Kardashian Will See You Now [Racked NY]
· Kardashian Insanity Has Already Begun in Soho [Racked NY]
NYU Pulls Back the Curtain on Revamped Provincetown Playhouse
The school and its critics are still arguing over how much of the old theater was actually preserved, but NYU is getting ready to share the renovated Provincetown Playhouse with its Greenwich Village neighbors. Performances will kick off this month in the 95-year-old MacDougal Street theater (which has a new law school building above it), but on December 11 there will be an open house event so everyone can see the upgraded interiors and what's left of the original walls. But why wait to get a glimpse? NYU has already posted a gallery of photos from inside the Provincetown. Oh, here's why: cider and cookies will be served! Andrew Berman might want to hire a royal taster.
· Provincetown Playhouse Image Gallery [NYU]
· Provincetown Playhouse coverage [Curbed]
$12,000 a Month to Live Where Jude Law Flung the Fruit
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Google May Buy Massive Chelsea Office Building for $2 Billion
Commercial real estate usually makes us slam the snooze button, but not today. The Post's Lois Weiss has some deets on a commercial deal we can actually get excited about: the rumored "tantalizing close to $2 billion" sale of 111 Eighth Avenue. And the buyer of the city's fourth-largest office building? Current tenant Google, which would be paying about $690/square foot for the 2.9 million-square-foot brick behemoth between 15th and 16th streets (a good deal compared to what the building might have fetched in 2007). It's unclear whether there's already a signed contract or if the deal is still in the works. But we don't think it's too early to welcome Google to the New York City real estate game.· Google eyes purchase of 111 Eighth Ave. [NYP]
· 111 Eighth Avenue coverage [Curbed]
$8 Million Park Slope Mansion Tries Again
How's this for confidence in the Brooklyn market? The owners of 315 Garfield Place in Park Slope have decided to put the renovated 6,700-square-foot mansion back on the market for $8.15 million, just below the $8.5 million mark they tried to get for the house right as Lehman Brothers was imploding. Needless to say, it didn't quite work out then, but that was before Park Slope was New York's #1 neighborhood, baby! The 28-foot-wide whopper just steps from Prospect Park, "reminiscent of a London terrace house of the Regency period" per the Brown Harris Stevens listing, was picked up for just $3.275 million in 2006, and then the restorin' and renovatin' began. While an $8 million price tag in Brooklyn is eye-popping, it's by no means a borough record. In fact, another house in the neighborhood sold for $8.45 million last year. So who's the target market?
Manhattanites looking to flee to Brooklyn for a more calm urban experience. That's our best guess, anyway, because the brokerbabble is kind of like Park Slope for Dummies:
So, better luck selling this time around?
· Listing: 315 Garfield Place [BHS]
· Video: 315 Garfield Place [LXTV]
· House of the Day: 315 Garfield Place [Brownstoner]
Where are extraordinary townhouses designed by the finest architects of their day in all styles built in the 1880s only four miles from Manhattan? A Historic District for over half a century with five-story mansion height restrictions thereby limiting population density and providing views of the clouds and sky? Where the scent of wood-burning fireplaces in the fall and winter months feel like a town in Vermont? Where the air feels cleaner and fresher because of a 585-acre park by Olmsted & Vaux with a 60-acre lake and a 90-acre Long Meadow where sheep grazed after the Civil War, and stunning Botanic Gardens? Without the roar of trucks and buses it feels like going back in time, an oasis chosen by notable figures who could choose to live anywhere.Pure poetry. The new listing doesn't have any fresh photos yet, but Open House NYC took a tour of the place the last time it was on the market. Here's the video: And for Brooklyn townhouse diehards, the floorplan. Build your own!
So, better luck selling this time around?
· Listing: 315 Garfield Place [BHS]
· Video: 315 Garfield Place [LXTV]
· House of the Day: 315 Garfield Place [Brownstoner]
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Billionaires' real estate club
Billionaires have had to deal with the weakened market, too. Of course, their definition of economic pain might be a bit different, as is clear from the annual Forbes ranking of the richest Americans. Several wealthy New York real estate moguls once again make the list of the 400 richest Americans.
This month, The Real Deal looked at each of those moguls to further examine their real estate holdings and their investment strategies over the last few years, particularly during the downturn. Here is a breakdown, with insight provided by Dan Fasulo, managing director and head of research at Real Capital Analytics.
Richard LeFrak
(Net worth: $4.3 billion)
LeFrak Organization
Background: Richard was appointed president of the LeFrak Organization -- a family-run company since it was founded in 1901 -- in 1975. In a 2007 New York Times profile he was described as a "genial, straightforward and even-keeled tycoon." The LeFrak Organization has left an indelible mark on the New York metro region, having built hundreds of buildings with tens of thousands of apartments. And, according to Forbes, Richard has a higher net worth than any other real estate mogul in the city.
Strategy: LeFrak has always been a conservative investor, and with such expansive and reliable holdings, he seems to have more or less sat out the downturn. "They are not building anything on spec as far as office space goes, and they are only doing built-to-suits. They were building a lot of rentals and condos during the height but they put on the brakes immediately," Fasulo said. While the LeFrak Organization has stayed in the New York-New Jersey area, it did buy a medical building in Beverly Hills in 2008 (paying a premium $866 a square foot) and it has a luxury condo development on Hollywood Boulevard.
Signature properties: 40 West 57th Street, Lefrak City in Queens, and the massive Newport development in Jersey City.
Portfolio: 22 million square feet of residential and 13 million square feet of commercial space.
Minus: They may look back and regret being too conservative, according to market experts.
Plus: Sold Queens and Brooklyn portfolio for $250 million before the crash.
Leonard Stern
(Net worth: $3.5 billion)
Hartz Group
Background: The former head of a pet supplies company, Stern made his first foray into real estate in the late 1960s, when he bought a huge portion of the then-undeveloped Meadowlands for $10 million. The investment paid off more than twentyfold. From there he made a foray into media, purchasing the Village Voice in 1986 and a few other alternative weeklies before selling them all in 2000 and focusing on real estate.
Strategy: One of the more under-the-radar billionaires in New York City, Stern and the Hartz Group did little to up their profile during the downturn. They still have some land available for development at their Meadowlands property, but all in all they've remained pretty quiet. "When you are this rich and own so much property at such a low cost basis, you don't really have to take risk. There is no reason," said Fasulo.
Signature properties: 667 Madison, Soho Grand and Tribeca Grand.
Portfolio: More than 38 million square feet of office, industrial, hotel and retail properties nationwide.
Minus: May regret not making more moves over the past two years.
Plus: They've maintained strong leasing at their existing New Jersey properties.
Stephen Ross
(Net worth: $3.1 billion)
Related Companies
Background: Detroit-born but Miami-raised, Ross is a former tax attorney who has become one of New York's most prolific and high-profile developers. He founded his company in 1972, working in affordable housing. But over the last 15 years, he's built more than 20 residential towers in the city, ranging from the Brompton on the Upper East Side to Superior Ink on the West Side Highway. Real estate development remains his bread and butter, but he's diversified his holdings, including purchasing the Miami Dolphins last year for $1 billion.
Strategy: Related has been aggressive during the downturn and continues to look for deals. With two top executives at the company, Ross created SJB Bank to buy up failed banks. Meanwhile, the company purchased the mortgage on the 26-story 1775 Broadway with an eye on tearing it down and redeveloping it. Related filed to foreclose on the property, prompting a battle with owner Joseph Moinian, who defaulted on the loan. But the move may have backfired: Moinian hit Related and its partner Deutsche Bank with a lawsuit late last month, alleging that they engaged in a predatory scheme to take over the building. Related denies the allegation.
Signature property: Time Warner Center.
Portfolio: Tens of millions of square feet nationwide.
Minus: Lost out to the Durst Organization in the hotly contested bidding war for a stake in 1 World Trade Center.
Plus: In 2008, Related paid a stunning $1 billion for the Hudson Yards, the 26-acre swath of undeveloped land on the Far West Side, with plans to build 12 million square feet of office towers, residential buildings and parks. Development plans are on hold, but last month Related president Jeff Blau said the company will consider construction within 18 to 24 months and that it's receiving corporate interest for commercial space. Meanwhile, long-percolating plans to redevelop Penn Station -- a co-venture with Vornado -- appear to be moving forward.
Donald Trump
(Net worth: $2.4 billion)
Trump Organization
Background: A two-time Emmy nominee, Donald Trump needs no introduction. Having followed in the footsteps of his father, Donald has turned what was once a real estate development company into an internationally recognized brand.
Strategy: While he nearly went into bankruptcy in a previous recession, he seems to have survived this one relatively unscathed. "I think I became much more conservative," he said in a recent interview with The Real Deal when asked about the recession he endured in the early 1990s. "We're sitting on a lot of cash and I'm looking to buy, whereas in the early '90s I can honestly say it was the exact opposite. So I either learned something or was luckier."
Signature properties: Trump Tower, 40 Wall Street and Trump International Hotel and Tower, among others.
Portfolio: Several million square feet (hard to gauge because he holds partial interest in many properties).
Minus: The Trump Soho condo-hotel opened this spring following earlier community backlash, and so far has endured a tough sales market. In August, a group of 15 buyers sued Trump along with the other developers at the project and the sales team, alleging the Trump Soho team misled them by reporting inflated sales figures.
Plus: Trump has made several golf course acquisitions -- including one in Aberdeen, Scotland, where he is planning a $2 billion development project -- expanding an already diversified portfolio.
Mort Zuckerman
(Net worth: $2 billion)
Boston Properties
Background: As the owner of the Daily News and U.S. News and World Report, Zuckerman comfortably wears several professional hats. Canadian born, Zuckerman is active in philanthropy and politics. He founded Boston Properties in 1972 after working for a venerable Boston-based real estate development firm, Cabot, Cabot & Forbes.
Strategy: When it comes to real estate, Boston Properties has been among the most aggressive. "We are talking about billions of dollars of purchases in the downturn," said Fasulo, who called the $2.9 billion GM Building acquisition in 2008 a "no-brainer."
Signature properties: The GM Building and Boston's John Hancock Tower.
Portfolio: 50 million square feet.
Minus: Overextending. In the fourth quarter of 2008 the company reported $188 million in write-downs related to the three Midtown skyscrapers it purchased from Harry Macklowe for $1.1 billion. At one point in 2008, Boston Properties' share price fell 49 percent year-over-year, Crain's reported. But it has since rebounded.
Plus: Acquiring the GM Building, which meant beating out a bunch of bidders in a down-to-the-wire bidding war. Also, last month, the company signed an agreement to buy the iconic 62-story John Hancock Tower in Boston for $930 million, or around $550 a square foot.
Jerry Speyer
(Net worth: $1.8 billion)
Tishman Speyer
Background: A current titan on the New York City philanthropy scene, Speyer married into the Tishman family and, with his father-in-law, Robert Tishman, established Tishman Speyer in 1978. Currently, Speyer shares leadership responsibilities there with his son, Rob.
Strategy: No one can accuse Tishman Speyer of being timid. It bet big and lost big on Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village in what was one of the biggest, if not the biggest, failures of the downturn. But they are still standing, which speaks to their ability to shield themselves when things go south. "It looks like they will come through fine," said Fasulo. "They have been able to restructure and recapitalize their assets, and at the same time they are deleveraging some assets, and they are back out there and are active again."
Signature property: Rockefeller Center.
Portfolio: More than 80 million square feet of commercial and residential space worldwide.
Minus: Defaulting on the $5.4 billion purchase of Stuy Town. As has been beyond well-publicized, the property went back to lenders this year. It was recently appraised at only $1.9 billion.
Plus: Despite the Stuy Town flop, the firm actually had relatively minimal exposure and defaulting did not sink the ship. The company sold $10 billion in property at the top of the market and remains on firm ground.
Leon Charney
(Net worth: $1.3 billion)
L.H. Charney Associates
Background: Charney is not your typical self-made real estate tycoon. He's worked as a prominent entertainment attorney, as an author and as an adviser to President Jimmy Carter. He once considered a career as a vocalist and he's been described as the "unsung hero" of the Middle East Camp David Accords under Carter. And he's a major Times Square property owner.
Strategy: Charney has been pretty quiet of late. His one significant move was a dud: In 2007, he joined with George Comfort & Sons and Fortis Property Group to buy 119 West 40th Street for $182 million. He is now facing foreclosure on a $160 million senior mortgage there. But his strong connections to Israeli investors (his wife is Israeli and, according to press accounts, he's close with top Israeli politicians) mean he should never be counted out.
Signature property: One Times Square.
Portfolio: 1.5 million square feet.
Minus: The 119 West 40th Street foreclosure.
Plus: He makes good predictions. In January he told Forbes the stock market would climb by 12 percent in 2010. The Dow is up about 14 percent since then.
Sheldon Solow
(Net worth: $1.2 billion)
Background: Solow, a Brooklyn-born son of a bricklayer, bet the farm on a Manhattan high-rise on West 57th Street in 1972 and won big. Over the years, Solow's litigious nature has become a hallmark of his real estate career. In June, the New York Times reported that Solow, who is rumored to be in poor health, is back to work after a short absence.
Strategy: It doesn't get much bigger than Solow's $4 billion East River project, where he has plans to erect seven towers on nine acres along First Avenue. But despite the fact that the project won approval, the Solow juggernaut has shown some distressing signs with development stalled there and steep vacancy at 9 West 57th Street.
Signature Property: The Solow Building at 9 West 57th Street.
Portfolio: Tens of millions of square feet.
Minus: Solow was slapped with an $85.7 million court judgment brought by Citigroup in March, and may be on the hook for as much as $111 million plus interest.
Plus: Earlier this year he sold a small piece of the land on his 9.2-acre East Side parcel to the city's School Construction Authority for $33 million.
Steven Roth
(Net worth: $1.1 billion)
Vornado Realty Trust
Background: A notoriously shrewd investor, Roth started out scooping up retail properties in New Jersey and then went on a buying spree in the early 1990s, picking up stakes in Manhattan skyscrapers, including such gems as One Penn Plaza and 731 Lexington Avenue -- the current home of Bloomberg LP.
Strategy: According to Fasulo, Vornado has not been as active as they wanted to be during the downturn and missed out on a couple of opportunities that competitors SL Green and Boston Properties seized upon. That said, there is anticipation that Vornado is poised for some significant moves. It recently closed on a first round of financing for a new $1 billion real estate fund. And last month, Crain's reported that it purchased 150,000 square feet of retail space in the Lucida condo on the Upper East Side from developer Gary Barnett for $190 million.
Signature property: 731 Lexington Avenue (Bloomberg Tower).
Portfolio: Over 100 million square feet.
Minus: Vornado hasn't bought a full building since 2007. Earlier this year, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino called the REIT's failure to develop a Beantown site in a timely fashion "reprehensible."
Plus: In August, Vornado won approval from the City Council to commence construction on a 1,200-foot skyscraper at 15 Penn Plaza. The company also recently bought a 9 percent stake in retailer JCPenney, which has 450 shopping centers nationwide. "If they can get access to that prime real estate, they can potentially unlock all that value," said Fasulo.
U.S. broker commissions nearly 58% off peak
(Source: Calculated Risk)Wasserstein's Fifth Avenue duplex sees rush of buyers
The 11th floor of the late Bruce Wasserstein's Fifth Avenue duplex apartment hit the market last Friday with an asking price of $26 million, attracting a rush of prospective buyers who were enticed by the unusual move of holding a one-day auction. Several brokers familiar with the listing said brokers were told to provide sealed bids from their buyers by the end of the day Monday, with the four-bedroom co-op at 927 Fifth Avenue due to go into contract soon after, the Wall Street Journal reported. Wasserstein, the brother of playwright Wendy Wasserstein, was known as "Bid 'em up Bruce," for his ability to get high bids in mergers and acquisitions. But it isn't clear whether the Wasserstein estate or the listing broker, Mary Rutherfurd of Brown Harris Stevens, suggested the auction approach. Brokers said the high interest in the Wasserstein unit reflected the scarcity of large Fifth Avenue apartments on the market that are well priced, coming out to about $4,200 per square foot with monthly maintenance fees of $14,776. Wasserstein bought the 11th floor apartment in 2001, for $15 million, from investment banker Richard Gilder.
Residents of Downtown Insanity Palace Sue for $20 Million
When buyers at Shaya Boymelgreen's Newswalk building in Prospect Heights complained to him about faulty construction, he responded, "What do they expect — a Manhattan building?" But they should see how he treats his Manhattan buildings: apparently not much better. A number of residents of Boymelgreen's 15 Broad Street have filed a $20 million lawsuit against him and Africa Israel, his partner company on the project, alleging unfinished construction and nasty smells. The lawsuit, which comes from the four non-Boymelgreen-controlled members of the condo board and a number of other building residents, also claims Boymelgreen opted not to make improvements required for the building's certificate of occupancy so he could keep control of the 11-member condo board. Among the construction issues, according to the Post, are poor insulation, leaks, and missing fireproofing. And a movie theater that's unusable because it doesn't meet building codes, which, in late-night FiDi, probably feels like just as much of a problem.· Economy class suit at 15 Broad [NYP]
· 15 Broad Street coverage [Curbed]
Meet the Flintstones at Tribeca's Pier 25, Opening Thursday!
[Photos via Tribeca Citizen.]
Just in time for the cold weather and whipping winds that make Hudson River Park a no-go, Tribeca's Pier 25 is set to open to the public on Thursday. The park's newest finger, jutting into the river at N. Moore Street, is designed for more active users of the west side waterfront, and includes a playground, basketball and beach volleyball courts and the hotly anticipated miniature golf course, which is actually a throwback to what was once here. The Tribeca Citizen has an excellent preview of Pier 25, which we've pillaged to create the above photo gallery. The biggest reveal: What's inside that faux-stone "Fred Flintstone" house that was our brief obsession. It's a mini-golf hole. An easy one! Check out this aerial shot to learn the pier's layout. See you on the links!
· Sneak Peek: Pier 25 [Tribeca Citizen]
· Pier 25 coverage [Curbed]
· Sneak Peek: Pier 25 [Tribeca Citizen]
· Pier 25 coverage [Curbed]
Monday, November 1, 2010
The LeBron effect on condo sales
LeBron James
Realtors say that the buzz over new Miami Heat members LeBron James and Chris Bosh is helping the four condo towers near the American Airlines Arena. "You can call the sales office and sometimes not get through to anyone because they're so busy," said Lori Ordover, director of sales for Africa Israel USA, developer of the Marquis. "That bodes well for what's going to happen this season." Russell Wright, who bought the penthouse unit at the Marquis for $4.2 million, said he chose the building partly for its location. Wright has floor seats for Heat games. [Miami Herald]
First Part of Revamped East River Waterfront Opening Soon
After some time spent left in the dust of the Hudson River waterfront and Brooklyn Bridge Park revamps, the East River Waterfront had had enough. Phase 1 of the East Side's waterfront redo kicked off last summer, with work on piers 15 and 35. The first bit of that work will finish up at the end of the year, and a two-block section between Maiden Lane and Wall Street will open to the public. DNAinfo took a tour and reveals some of the highlights, including a series of stone steps leading to the water, bar-style seating along the railing, and a 4,300-square-foot dog run with a giant sculpture of a squirrel, for dogs who just don't get excited about hexagonal pavers.
· City Offers Glimpse of New East River Waterfront [DNAinfo]
· East River Waterfront coverage [Curbed]
Trump Tower
Art Dealer Finds Something New to Collect: Trump Tower Apartments
Hillel Nahmad, member of the Nahmad family of art world bigwigs, doesn't seem to have a hard time deciding what to do with his money: buy apartments at Midtown's Trump Tower. He's just closed on his fourth apartment on the 51st floor of the 721 Fifth Avenue building, according to public records. The newest ingredient in Nahmad's Trump happy meal is #51D, for which he just paid $2.62 million. That's within Nahmad's usual purchase price range. He spent $2.5 million on #51J in 1999, $1.05 million on 51H in 2001, and $5 million on 51K a few months ago. Is Nahmad slowly buying up the pieces for a full-floor combo? We assume he has something specific in mind, since he's had 17 years to consider something else upstairs.· Sale: 721 Fifth Avenue #51D [ACRIS]
· Trump Tower coverage [Curbed]
Designer Kelly Wearstler Lists Maximalist Estate at Maximalist Price
Designer Kelly Wearstler Lists Maximalist Estate at Maximalist Price
Months after rumors start flying that uber-designer Kelly Wearster and hotelier Brad Korzen quietly put their Beverly Hills mansion on the market, the 11,300-square-foot pad is officially listed for $46M. Called Hillcrest Estate, the Georgian/Hollywood Regency-style home was originally built for actor William Powell and his wife at the time, a li'l actress by the name of Carole Lombard. Wearstler and Korzen hired architect Brian Tichenor to preserve much of the home's Art Moderne details, and the space was profiled in the October 2009 issue of Vogue: "horn-legged tables, black-lacquer-and-brass furnishings and objets, ebony leather Chesterfield sofas, and an alarmingly overscaled nude sculpture (torsos, busts, and other statuary abound in the house." Which translates, of course, to more statuary than Recoleta. Consider it Wearstler maximalism at its finest.
Months after rumors start flying that uber-designer Kelly Wearster and hotelier Brad Korzen quietly put their Beverly Hills mansion on the market, the 11,300-square-foot pad is officially listed for $46M. Called Hillcrest Estate, the Georgian/Hollywood Regency-style home was originally built for actor William Powell and his wife at the time, a li'l actress by the name of Carole Lombard. Wearstler and Korzen hired architect Brian Tichenor to preserve much of the home's Art Moderne details, and the space was profiled in the October 2009 issue of Vogue: "horn-legged tables, black-lacquer-and-brass furnishings and objets, ebony leather Chesterfield sofas, and an alarmingly overscaled nude sculpture (torsos, busts, and other statuary abound in the house." Which translates, of course, to more statuary than Recoleta. Consider it Wearstler maximalism at its finest.
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