last updated today at 12:40PM
Justin Timberlake buys in Tribeca
Nov 19, 2008 12:40 PM
Justin_timberlake_frontbox Justin Timberlake Actor and musician Justin Timberlake has closed on a three-bedroom condo unit at the condo conversion Pearline Soap Factory in Tribeca, at 414 Washington Street, between Laight and Vestry streets. The unit's original asking price was $5.25 million, but Timberlake paid $4.689 million for it, according to property records. The 3,000-square-foot loft has a 52-foot-long living room and 14 floor-to-ceiling windows, according to Prudential Douglas Elliman, who had the listing.

Southern end of Park Slope park completed
Nov 19, 2008 12:12 PM
The renovations to the southern part of city-owned J.J. Byrne Park, between Third and Fourth streets and Fourth and Fifth avenues, have been completed. The $1.6 million Park Slope project was funded by developer Shaya Boymelgreen, who paid for the upgrades in exchange for using the space as a staging area for his Novo condo tower on Fourth Avenue between Fourth and Fifth streets, where occupancy began in June. The park now features restored handball courts, new basketball courts, a dog run, a garden and a skate park. A $3 million city-funded renovation of the northern end of the park is in progress.

Half a Fifth Avenue duplex up for sale
Nov 19, 2008 11:40 AM
1030_fifth_ave_frontbox 1030 Fifth Avenue Hedge fund manager Karen Fleiss and husband David, a surgeon, are selling the bottom half of their Upper East Side duplex at 1030 Fifth Avenue for $15 million. The entire 16-room, eight-bedroom duplex was originally put on the market in June for $47.5 million -- which, if it had sold, would have been the city's most expensive co-op sale ever. But the price was dropped to $39.9 million in August and to $34.5 million in October, before the bottom floor was listed by itself. The bottom floor has three bedrooms, a kitchen, gallery, laundry room, library, drawing room and dining room. The couple is living on the second floor of the apartment.

Research organization moves to Brooklyn Heights
Nov 19, 2008 11:15 AM
One_pierrepont_plaza_frontbox One Pierrepont Plaza The not-for-profit research organization Social Science Research Council has signed a lease for 25,000 square feet at One Pierrepont Plaza in Brooklyn Heights. The organization is moving its headquarters, and more than 80 employees, from its space at 810 Seventh Avenue at West 53rd Street in Manhattan to One Pierrepont Plaza, which is owned by Forest City Ratner. Forest City was represented in the negotiations by Keith Caggiano and Evan Haskell of CB Richard Ellis. The research council was represented by Sarah Eisinger and Richard Peterson of Denham Wolf. The rent for the space was not immediately available. TRD

Chelsea Enclave makes a deal with soul
Nov 19, 2008 10:44 AM
Chelsea_envlave_articlebox_frontbox Rendering of Chelsea Enclave From the November issue: For many of the churches in New York City that grabbed the opportunity to get solvent by selling their air rights or even parts of their property during the real estate boom, the day of reckoning is at hand. Now, many a religious building is finding that the towering new glass-and-steel condo appendage to their once peaceful little retreat blocks the sun and sky, attracting the ire of the community. Some churches might wonder if they've sold their souls in their real estate dealings. The Chelsea Enclave, a luxury apartment building under construction on the edge of property owned by the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church in West Chelsea, might be one exception. The seminary negotiated long and hard to make sure the new construction on their land would be something it could live with.
more By Steve Cutler

City plans to expand Albee Square
Nov 19, 2008 09:30 AM
Albee_frontbox Albee Square The city plans to close a one-block stretch of DeKalb Avenue in order to nearly triple the Albee Square pedestrian plaza in Downtown Brooklyn, at the triangular intersection of Fulton Mall, DeKalb Avenue and Bond Street. The city's $12.5 million design for the park will include public seating, bicycle racks, lighting and trees, and the city hopes to start construction this winter and finish by 2011. The area will soon be part of a revived residential and commercial district, that includes a Target store and City Point, a 65-story residential and retail tower that will be the tallest building in the borough.

More sublease space to come
Nov 19, 2008 09:00 AM

In October, there was 4.4 million square feet of sublease space available in Midtown Class A properties, which made up 28.2 percent of all available Class A space in the area. In 2007, sublease space in Midtown made up 29 percent of available space. James Delmonte, a vice president and director of research at Jones Lang LaSalle, said as vacancy increases, more sublease space will become available and more sublease space will come to market next year.


Drake Hotel site now has six bidders
Nov 19, 2008 08:30 AM
Drake_hotel_frontbox Drake Hotel

The site of the former Drake Hotel, on Park Avenue between 56th and 57th streets, now has six bidders, down from more than 20 bidders, including Larry Silverstein, the Related Companies and Apollo Real Estate Partners. Macklowe Properties has been assembling the site over the last decade, but now is facing foreclosure on the property. Cushman & Wakefield is selling the property for the lender, iStar Financial. At the height of the market, the land, which can support up to 600,000 square feet, could have been purchased for $1,300 a buildable foot, but now will probably sell for less than half of that price.


Symbolic properties of the 2008 market listed
Nov 19, 2008 08:00 AM
Yankee_frontbox The new Yankee Stadium The New York Observer created a map of 28 properties that are emblematic of this year's real estate market. Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village are on the map as Tishman Speyer's purchase of the complex was heralded in 2006, but the company is now struggling to pay back its lenders. Also on the map are the new Yankee Stadium and CitiField. They are both privately financed, but lenders have received controversial tax-exempt bonds in addition to public funds for parking lots and green space. Citigroup also has to pay $400 million over the next 20 years for naming rights. Other properties that made it onto the map include 15 Central Park West, Trump Soho and the Edge in Williamsburg.

Fifth Avenue sales start early, General Growth saddled with debt ... and more
Nov 19, 2008 07:30 AM
  • 1. General Growth saddled with debt [NYO]
  • 2. Fifth Avenue retailers start sales early [NYT]
  • 3. Two chain restaurant locations in Manhattan closing, along with a Cobble Hill restaurant [Eater]
  • 4. Five new landmarks in the city [Curbed]
  • 5. Staten Island developments on schedule, despite MTA's deficit [SI Advance]
  • 6. Investor buys in 2007, but closes in 2008 as his stocks plunge [NYO]
  • 7. Firms forming distressed asset groups [NYO]

Current Issue
Cover

From The November Issue

The downward plunge

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This month, in a series of stories, The Real Deal examines the next chapter in New York City real estate. Wall Street's wild volatility last month froze the city's residential market. Brokers said the economic seesawing is paralyzing buyers and sellers. Mortgage lenders have also clamped down further on buyers, though more buyers are heading to all-cash deals. Many are wondering: Could the dark days of the late 1980s and early 1990s return? More

Ominous signs for new condos

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Despite buyers' desire to purchase, banks are increasingly unwilling to write mortgages for some new buildings, especially those that have sold only a small percentage of their units. More

High-end U.S. markets show cracks in the foundation

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This month, The Real Deal looks at the nation's most exclusive zip codes to see how high-end markets besides Manhattan are faring. While these areas are more insulated than their less affluent counterparts, many markets are beginning to see big cracks in their foundations with prices and sales volume declining. More

Will Tishman Speyer buckle?

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Few companies have looked down from as lofty a perch as Tishman Speyer, the venerable blue-chip firm that holds stakes in several New York landmarks such as Rockefeller Center and the Chrysler Building. Tishman expanded its empire even wider during the boom, but now it appears that even this company is paying a price for success. More

Fourth Avenue on slippery Slope

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Park Slope's Fourth Avenue has been billed as the next frontier of gentrification in Brooklyn. However, because of the credit crunch, a number of buildings that were initially planned as condos will now come to market as rentals. The frenzied pace of construction of new projects should also slow. More

Holding up funds for construction

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A growing number of developers with projects under way in Manhattan are being confronted by lenders who are either unwilling or unable to continue funding. The Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, which was filed in mid-September, has -- not surprisingly -- put several construction projects in the city on hold. But other lenders are also putting pressure on developers to provide more equity in projects as a way to improve the financial profile of their struggling banks, real estate attorneys said. More

Residential market halts in its tracks

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Wall Street's recent wild volatility has caused the New York City real estate market to freeze in its tracks, with sales volume screeching to a halt and deals falling apart as potential buyers have watched their net worth evaporate. More

Chelsea Enclave makes a deal with soul

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The Chelsea Enclave, a luxury apartment building under construction on the edge of property owned by the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church in West Chelsea negotiated long and hard to make sure the new construction on their land would be something it could live with. More

City coffers shrink as deals slow

The slump in commercial building sales is threatening to take a sizable bite out of New York City tax revenues this year, which could force Mayor Michael Bloomberg to make even more drastic choices than he already has to keep the city budget balanced. More

Crisis may spawn building sales rise

Real estate analysts believe developer Harry Macklowe won't be the last to lose a Manhattan trophy tower purchased in the heady days of 2006 and 2007. More

Brokers advise tenants to sit tight as rents drop

Lease valuations were unpredictable and deals were few last month while brokers cautioned tenants to hold off on signing any unnecessary rental contracts as prices continued to drop, real estate experts said.
More


Special Reports

Who got crunched -- and who didn't
A look at where players landed one year after the credit market debacle
Hailing other holiday spots
While Hamptons hurting, other locales draw interest
The biggest problems in New York City real estate
Experts weigh in on how to fix industry crises
Developers falling into a Catch-22
Residential developers in bind with slow sales
In Hamptons, it's no vacation
Building permits drop, spec homes sit and restaurateurs grow wary amid slowdown
Condos on the chopping block
Prices come down to help move new projects
Adding it all up
A tally of numbers that matter: construction costs, the high-end market, and foreign buyer migration
Manhattan's biggest firms
Our annual survey of the top Manhattan firms



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