December 2008: Manhattan Office, Retail and Industrial Market Report

Rents drop and Landlords are nervous as more than 3.5 million square feet came back on the market, with negative absorption of 1.8 million square feet. Rents are likely to continue to fall as additional continues to come back on the market in the coming months, from the recent layoffs in banks and former investment banks.

New York City Market Overview:

Asking rents in Class A office buildings in Manhattan declined while vacancies rose to their highest level since March 2006. Rents were down 5.6 percent to $83.38 from the May 2008 high of $88.37. Total vacancies were up 29 percent from the start of the year to 8 percent, or 18.4 million square feet. The last time so much was available was March 2006 when vacancies hit 18.2 million square feet.

There was 4.4 million square feet of sublease available in Midtown Class A properties, which made up 28.2 percent of all available Class A in the area. As vacancy increases, more sublease will become available come to market next year.

Midtown saw the greatest amount of office returned to that submarket since January 2003, fueling an increase in vacancies and a decrease in asking rents throughout Manhattan. Midtown experienced a net absorption of negative 1.85 million square feet in October, driving up the overall Manhattan vacancy rate to 6.6 percent from 6.1 percent in September.

A number of hedge funds are trying to shed in the city's trophy buildings. Before the financial crisis, many hedge funds paid up to $200 per square foot in rent for offices in some of Midtown's trophy buildings. A record 70 percent of hedge funds reported losses in September, and now at least 300,000 square feet of these spaces in buildings like the General Motors Building and the new 30-story tower 510 Madison Avenue, are up for grabs.

Average asking rents for retail in Manhattan fell modestly in September compared to the same month last year. The reason the rent drops are not more severe is that landlords are giving more in concession packages, a trend which will likely continue.

Fifth Avenue remains the world's most expensive shopping street. Retailers can now expect to pay average annual rents of $1,850 per square foot, a 27 percent increase from 2007. Ground-level Fifth Avenue rents can go as high as $2,300 per square foot. Having a presence on a street like Fifth Avenue is important for a brand, regardless of how profitable the store is.

December 2008 Manhattan Office Market Vacancies

Total Manhattan Class A Office vacancies increased from 6.2 % vacant to 6.4 % vacant.
Total New York City Office vacancy increased from 6.1 % vacant to 6.3 % vacant.

December 2008 New York Retail Market Vacancies

Total Available Manhattan Retail Space increased from 0.99 million SF to 1.03 million SF.

New Developments

Recently, banks have begun lending to one another, signifying a slight thaw in credit markets. Yet, the commercial real estate market still seems limited in its ability to get financing. This inability to line up financing has scuttled some major building and lease sales in the past few months, one such example is 17 State Street in the Financial District.

About 150,000 jobs have been cut at major financial institutions, and more layoffs may be on the way. Some firms may shed an additional 5 percent of jobs this year if the market doesn't turn around. Citibank has cut 22,000 jobs over the past four quarters, and just last week, UBS fired 700 employees, the first phase of a plan to trim 2,000 jobs at the bank.

As the new stadium projects for the Mets and Yankees approach completion, the cost to taxpayers has risen beyond Mayor Bloomberg's original predictions. The cost to the city for infrastructure surrounding the stadiums is now about $458 million, compared to the $281 million predicted in 2005.

Circuit City Stores Inc. announced it is closing about 20 percent of its stores in the U.S. The retailer is shutting down 155 of more than 700 stores, including three locations in the city. Circuit City will reduce new store openings and plans to work with landlords to renegotiate leased, lower rent or terminate agreements.

In the first nine months of the year, $18.7 billion in buildings and building portfolios traded, compared to $42.2 billion during the same time last year,. Class A office made up for 55 percent of investment deals this year, a number that is expected to dwindle in 2009 because of the credit and foreign markets drying up.

The M.T.A. and Related Companies will not sign a contract this week for a $15 billion residential and commercial development above the M.T.A.'s West Side rail yards. The M.T.A. and Related, which is working with Goldman Sachs on the project, have agreed to a 90-day extension of the contract deadline.

The Port Authority is moving along with plans to replace the central terminal at LaGuardia Airport. The PA authorized a $40 million study that will result in a new design for the 45-year-old terminal. The study should be completed in 2010, and construction is to begin in 2011.

The Hudson River Park Trust released three development proposals: one each by the Durst Organization, Related Companies and Youngwoo & Associates, for the park's 880-foot Pier 57, at the end of West 15th Street in Chelsea. Revenue from the project will be used to maintain Hudson River Park. The Cipriani Organization and Witkoff Group were chosen in 2005 to transform the pier, but withdrew after costs soared.

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

Private equity real estate investment funds are waiting rather than investing in commercial and residential real estate. The consensus of real estate leaders is to be cautious and wait until the dust settles before returning to investing in real estate.

The City Council approved the 111-block rezoning in the East Village and Lower East Side. The zone runs from Grand to 13th streets, bounded by the Bowery and Avenue D. The rezoning limits building heights to 80 feet on side streets and 120 feet on main streets.

Mercedes-Benz USA is planning to build a new flagship sales and service center under a 918-unit, $700 million condominium proposed by developer Two Trees Management. The dealership, which would cost $220 million, would take up the first two floors of the building and three underground levels on 11th Avenue between 53rd and 54th streets, and replace the current Mercedes dealership near the eastern entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel.

The city Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to landmark the I.M. Pei-designed Silver Towers and its central Pablo Picasso sculpture, "Portrait of Sylvette," in Greenwich Village at 100 and 110 Bleecker Street and 505 LaGuardia Place. New York University owns the buildings, and is planning on building a 40-story building within the complex.

SJP Properties' 11 Times Square recently topped off, which will bring 1.1 million square feet of commercial to the market. A glut of office is coming online like the commercial planned at Ground Zero, when vacancy and availability rates are high. 11 Times Square will not open for another year, and the Freedom Tower is not expected to open until 2013.

The outline of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center is taking shape near Fulton Street, with one corner of the north pool at the memorial completed. There will be two pools, with waterfalls streaming into them, marking the locations of the towers. The goal is to complete construction by Sept. 11, 2011.

Jonathan Rose Companies broke ground on the first affordable housing and mixed-income apartment building in East Harlem developed to be environmentally friendly LEED Silver standards. The 12-story, 185-unit rental building will rise at 124th Street and Second Avenue. The development will also have ground-floor retail space.

Trump Soho Property owners and residents living near the Trump Soho tower, under construction until 2009, are debating how they want development to proceed within an 18-block area around the 43-story hotel-condo. The area is currently a manufacturing zone that allows buildings as large as the Trump project to rise. Property owners and residents want a height limit on new developments, and a limit on air-rights transfers.

The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation has been looking at ways to make the buildings on the World Trade Center site greener. Each office tower plans to meet the standards needed to qualify for a LEED Gold rating, but the LMDC also hopes to make the 16-acre site sustainable by maximizing the amount of sunlight that hits the open spaces and filtering the sunlight below ground through vents.

Community members expressed strong support for renovations to the Battery Maritime Building at 11 South Street in Lower Manhattan. It is unclear whether developer Dermot Company will have enough money to complete the $150 million project.

Barclays bank will hold on to its $400 million naming rights for the planned Nets arena at the Atlantic Yards project. The deal had depended on developer Bruce Ratner's securing financing for the entire project which will not happen because there is still litigation pending against the project. Barclays agreed to an extension on the deal.

The city announced that Fiterman Hall, the damaged and abandoned building destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001, will be demolished, and a new classroom building for the CUNY Borough of Manhattan Community College will rise in its place. Decontamination and demolition of the building, at 30 West Broadway, is expected to be completed in 2009. The project is estimated to cost $325 million and ready for occupancy by 2012.

Top architects, including Jean Nouvel, Frank Gehry, Annabelle Selldorf and Shigeru Ban, are working on structures next to the new $170 million public park in a part of the city where there were previously only elevated rail tracks. These architects have recently designed residential and commercial buildings along the High Line, a one-and-a-half-mile stretch of elevated rail tracks along 10th and 11th avenues between 34th and Gansevoort streets in Chelsea and the Meatpacking District.

Nearly 100 commercial mortgage-backed securities loans are coming due over the next two years, forcing those real estate borrowers to find financing in a far more difficult lending environment than when the notes were written. In the city, there are 52 such commercial real estate loans expiring in 2009 and 43 in 2010. Such loans are typically held for five years, but neither the terms nor the additional information on the 95 securities was immediately available.

As part of budget cuts, the state will close the East River State Park in Williamsburg from January to March. The waterfront green is between North Sixth and North Ninth streets, and it first opened this year.

Developer Sam Chang owns 10 hotels in the city, and has 23 more under construction, of the 28 Sam Chang hotels that were expected to come online in 2008, with 4,648 rooms, only about 14 hotels, with 2,514 rooms, will have opened this year.

Entertainment giant Viacom has renewed its lease there for more than one million square feet. The lease will keep Viacom in the Times Square building at 1515 Broadway through mid-2015.

The East River Science Park, with 1.1 million square feet of laboratory and office space, is most likely to become a popular spot for small bioscience firms and the law firms and investment banks that work with them. The first of the park's three towers, all between 28th and 29th streets near the FDR Drive, is to open in early 2010. Rents are expected to range from $50 to $75 per square foot.

The British architect Richard Rogers has won the contest to design the planned tower on top of the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Vornado Realty Trust is developing the proposed 42-story office building, and Rogers beat out designs by architect firms Pelli Clark Pelli and KPF. Vornado currently has no tenants signed to take in the tower, which will go up across the street from 11 Times Square.

1095 Sixth Avenue just underwent a two-year, $250 million renovation, and now firms who signed leased in 2006 and 2007 say they can no longer afford to move in. Real estate finance company iStar Financial, Metropolitan Life Insurance and Centerline Capital Group, all said they won't be moving in. The companies signed leased for as much as $132 a square foot, and now would be lucky to get $95 a square foot.

The Department of Design and Construction has put a planned 911 call center in the Bronx on hold after project costs rose from the $670 million originally projected to $957 million. The city had hoped to finish the building by the end of next year.

The Yankees have to pay the city $11 million in back rent for underpaying the city between 2003 and 2006. Under the team's rental agreement, the Yankees pay the city a percentage of all revenue from tickets, parking and cable television. Between 2003 and 2006, the Yankees took in more than $1 billion, and paid the city $17 million. The Yankees have already paid $7.3 million, plus $635,132 in interest, and the remaining $4 million plus interest will be paid on March 10, 2009.

Manhattan Buildings sold

The Rockefeller Group Development Corporation paid $62.5 million for a six-story garage at 148 West 48th Street. The approximately 48,700-square-foot garage, on a 75-foot by 100-foot lot, is next to a building that Rockefeller Group controls through a 99-year lease executed in April. The garage site has a development potential of 90,373 square feet.

Sam Chang sold their newly opened Wyndham Garden Hotel Manhattan Chelsea West, for $39.06 million.

Developer Harry Macklowe ceded the General Motors Building to lenders after defaulting on a loan for a $7 billion purchase secured with just $50 million down.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is to become the new landlord of some of the 148 Washington Mutual branches in New York that were recently handed over to JPMorgan Chase. According to a clause in Chase's contract to purchase WaMu's assets, the buyer gets 90 days to decide which storefronts it wants, after which the FDIC can take the remainder, and either reject the leased or sell them off to another tenant.

NYC Buildings For Sale

The site of the former Drake Hotel on Park Avenue between 56th and 57th streets 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. 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.

Real estate firm George Comfort & Sons has agreed to purchase 1540 Broadway, between 45th and 46th streets, and Worldwide Plaza, at 825 Eighth Avenue between 49th and 50th streets, from Harry Macklowe for $2 billion. The deal was contingent upon TV network NBC leasing in Worldwide Plaza, which has not yet happened. The buildings are still for sale for about $1.2 billion. Macklowe was forced to unload several properties when he could not pay back some short-term debt to Deutsche Bank.

The sale of Starrett City has been put on hold because the owner of the Brooklyn complex, Starrett City Associates, and federal housing officials have been unable to agree on the fair market value of future rents.

The first properties to be sold when troubled banks or real estate companies put their assets on the block are likely to be cash-generating holdings such as multi-family housing and industrial sites, predicted that the sale of real estate during the current financial crisis will be similar to what occurred under the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC), which was created to dispose of assets following the 1980s savings and loan crisis.

New York Office Leases:

Total Manhattan Office Class A vacancies increased from 15.4 million RSF to 16.33 million RSF.
Total Manhattan Office Market vacancies increased from 26.52 million RSF to 27.87 million RSF.
Total Manhattan Office direct lease vacancy increased from 21.58 million RSF to 22.5 million RSF.
Manhattan Office Sublease vacancy increased from 4.94 million RSF to 5.37 million RSF.
Total Midtown Office vacancy increased from 14.82 million RSF to 16.01 million RSF.
Total Midtown South Office vacancy increased from 5.62 million RSF to 5.75 million RSF.
Total Downtown Office vacancy increased from 6.09 million RSF to 6.11 million RSF.
Total vacant Office Direct Space in Midtown Manhattan increased from 12.09 million RSF to 12.96 million RSF.
Total vacant Office Sublease Space in Midtown Manhattan increased from 2.73 million RSF to 3.05 million RSF.
Total vacant Office Direct Space in Midtown South Manhattan increased from 5.04 million RSF to 5.07 million RSF.
Midtown South Manhattan Sublease vacancies increased from 0.58 million RSF to 0.68 million RSF.
Total Downtown Manhattan Office Direct Lease Space increased from 4.45 million RSF to 4.48 million RSF.
Total Downtown Manhattan Office Sublease Vacancies decreased from 1.64 million RSF to 1.63 million RSF.

NYC Retail Leases:

Total Available Manhattan Retail Space increased from 0.99 million SF to 1.03 million SF.
Midtown South Retail vacancies increased from 0.58 million SF to 0.61 million SF.
Midtown Retail Vacancy stayed at 0.28 million SF.
In Downtown, Retail vacancy stayed at 0.14 million SF.

New York Industrial Leases:

Total Vacant Manhattan Industrial Space decreased from 0.55 million RSF to 0.37 million RSF.
Midtown vacancy decreased from 0.19 million RSF to 0.02 million RSF.
Midtown South Industrial Space vacancies stayed at 0.35 million RSF.

Manhattan Office Rentals:

Macquarie Group leases 260,000 RSF at 125 West 55th Street.
The financial services firm renewed its lease for 100,000 square feet and leased an additional six floors and portions of the eighth and ground floors. The reported asking rent was in the $90s per square foot.
Rosenthal & Rosenthal leases 57,625 RSF at 1370 Broadway.
The bank inked a 10-year lease renewal. The reported asking rent was in the mid-$50s per square foot.
AFTRA Health and Retirement Fund leases 47,514 RSF at 261 Madison Avenue.
The health insurance and retirement fund provider renewed its lease and took additional space for a 15-year term.
The Mandell School leases 45,000 RSF at 795 Columbus Avenue.
The early childhood education center signed a 20-year lease.
Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. leases 44,250 RSF at 115 Fifth Avenue.
The fashion company signed a lease.
The Borough of Manhattan Community College leases 40,000 RSF at 25 Broadway.
The college inked a lease for space on the eighth floor. The new location will be home to the school's Center for Continuing Education and Workforce Development, which is moving from 70 Murray Streetreet.
MKP Capital Management leases 25,995 sf at 600 Lexington Avenue.
The investment management firm inked a lease.
Fiserv Inc. leases 25,000 sf at 116 West 32nd Street.
The IT services provider for the financial industry signed a five-year lease renewal for the entire ninth and 10th floors.
First Solar Inc. leases 24,376 sf at 620 Eighth Avenue (New York Times Building).
The solar technology manufacturer signed a lease for space on the 44th floor.
SecondMarket leases 23,538 sf at 26 Broadway.
The online securities firm signed a four-year sublease for part of the 12th floor. The reported asking rent was $50 per square foot. The company is relocating from 17 Battery Place.
The Regus Group leases 22,400 sf at 100 Church Street.
The business center operator inked a 15-year lease for a portion of the eighth floor. The reported asking rent was $48 per square foot. This will be the London-based firm's 20th Manhattan location.
Morgans Hotel Group leases 18,500 sf at 475 10th Avenue.
The hotel management firm renewed its lease.
Heritage Bank leases 18,500 sf at 623 Fifth Avenue.
The bank signed a 10-year lease for space on the 11th and 12th floors. The reported asking rent was in the $90s per square foot. The company planned to occupy its new space last month.
Association of National Advertisers leases 18,300 sf at 708 Third Avenue.
The advertising trade organization renewed its lease for the second, 32nd and 33rd floors, and expanded into floors 23 and 34.
Bevmax Office Centers leases 18,000 sf at 880 Third Avenue.
The business center operator inked a lease for space on two floors.
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited leases 14,256 sf at 725 Fifth Avenue (Trump Tower).
The international bank signed a 10-year lease for the entire 20th floor. This will be the tenant's first New York branch.
What If leases 14,100 sf at 137 Second Avenue.
The marketing firm signed a 10-year triple-net lease with a five-year option for the entire three-story building.
KGB leases 13,400 sf at 655 Madison Avenue.
The directory assistance provider signed a 10-year lease for the entire third floor. The reported asking rent was $99 per square foot. The company is moving out of the 5,330 square feet it occupies on the 21st floor.
Jenner & Block LLP leases 13,288 sf at 919 Third Avenue.
The law firm signed a lease.
Atrium Staffing Services leases 13,000 sf at 71 Fifth Avenue.
The staffing agency signed a 10-year lease for the entire third floor. The reported asking rent was $50 per square foot. The company plans to move from its current offices at 420 Lexington Avenue this month.
Microstrategy leases 12,837 sf at 5 Penn Plaza.
The software vendor signed a five-and-a-half-year lease to relocate its offices to the ninth floor of the building from the 14th floor. The reported asking rent was $55 per square foot. The new space is nearly five times as large as the company's current offices.
Dabroes Management leases 12,202 sf at 1095 Sixth Avenue.
The hedge fund signed a five-year lease for part of the 24th floor. The reported asking rent was $135 per square foot. The company plans to move in to its new space in December.
The New York Foundation for the Arts leases 11,835 sf at 20 Jay Street (Dumbo).
The arts organization inked a lease.
Classroom Inc. leases 11,677 sf at 245 Fifth Avenue.
The nonprofit renewed its lease.
The Office & Professional Employees International Union leases 11,500 sf at 256 West 14th Street.
The trade union renewed its lease for the full sixth floor for 10 years. The reported asking rent was $50 per square foot.
Horizon Asset Management leases 9,555 sf at 470 Park Avenue South.
The investment advisory firm inked an expansion lease for the entire eighth floor, increasing its occupancy in the building to 27,555 square feet. The company already occupies the third and fourth floors.
Garrigues leases 9,500 sf at 780 Third Avenue.
The law firm inked a 10-year lease for the entire 35th floor.
SimplexGrinnell leases 9,300 sf at 519 Eighth Avenue.
The provider of security and communications systems signed a six-year lease for a portion of the 17th floor. The reported asking rent was $45 per square foot.
JC Flowers & Co. leases 8,350 sf at 717 Fifth Avenue.
The investment firm signed a 10-year expansion lease for the entire 21st floor. The reported asking rent was $150 per square foot. The company already occupies the entire 26th floor.
American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities leases 7,800 sf at 14 Penn Plaza.
The healthcare charity signed a seven-year lease for space on the 16th floor. The reported asking rent was $58 per square foot. The organization, currently located at 363 Seventh Avenue, plans to move in to its new space by January 2009.
Jones Apparel Group leases 7,200 sf at 148 West 37th Street.
The fashion company inked a five-year lease. The reported asking rent was $36 per square foot.
Moskowitz & Book leases 6,500 sf at 345 Seventh Avenue.
The law firm inked a lease to relocate its offices to the building's 21st floor. The reported asking rent was $40 per square foot. The company is moving from 1372 Broadway.
Autumn Entertainment Partners leases 6,000 sf at 54 Thompson Street.
The entertainment firm signed a five-year lease.
Morgan Creek Capital Management leases 5,479 sf at 100 Park Avenue.
The investment adviser signed a five-year lease for a portion of the 28th floor.
Adveq Management leases 5,175 sf at 100 Park Avenue.
The Swiss private equity firm inked a 10-year lease for part of the 28th floor. The reported asking rent was $100 per square foot. The company, which currently occupies a temporary space in the building, plans to move in to its permanent home this month.
Rajco International leases 5,000 sf at 42 West 39th Street.
The international fashion company signed a 10-year lease. The reported asking rent was $42 per square foot.
Universal Attractions leases 5,000 sf at 135 West 26th Street.
The entertainment agency signed a lease for penthouse space.

New York Retail Leases:

Victoria's Secret leases 24,000 sf at 591-593 Broadway.
The lingerie retailer signed a 15-year lease for duplex retail space. The space is currently being built to suit.
Eastern Mountain Sports leases 18,000 sf at 530 Broadway.
The outdoor sports retailer signed a 15-year lease for multi-level space. The reported asking rent for the 2,500-square-foot, ground-level space was $750 per square foot. The space also includes 15,000 square feet on the second floor and a storage basemen
Yoga Works leases 13,000 sf at 459 Broadway.
The yoga studio signed a 15-year lease for its flagship New York City location.
Duane Reade leases 8,700 sf at 200 Water Street.
The drugstore renewed its lease for 15 years.
The Princeton Running Company leases 6,870 sf at 1059 Third Avenue.
The footwear retailer signed a 10-year lease. The company's flagship store opened in the Time Warner Center in 2004.
Ricky's NYC leases 6,000 sf at 201 East 57th Street.
The beauty supplies and accessories retailer signed a lease.
Duane Reade leases 5,500 sf at 625 Madison Avenue.
The drugstore renewed its lease for 15 years.
Duane Reade leases 4,414 sf at 41 East 58th Street.
The drugstore renewed its lease for 15 years.
Sovereign Bank leases 4,000 sf at 1350 Broadway.
The bank inked a lease for a new branch; it will open in February.
Grimaldi's Pizzeria leases 3,300 sf at 135 John Street.
The Brooklyn-based pizzeria signed a 15-year lease for its first Manhattan location.
AT&T leases 2,773 sf at 590 Fifth Avenue.
The mobile telecommunications retailer signed a lease.
AT&T leases 2,733 sf at 350 Fifth Avenue (Empire State Building).
The mobile telecommunications retailer signed a lease.
Solange Azagury-Partridge leases 2,500 sf at 809 Madison Avenue.
The London-based jeweler signed a 10-year lease to open its American flagship store. The reported asking rent for the ground-level space was $1,000 per square foot.
Ricky's NYC leases 2,500 sf at 576 Third Avenue.
The beauty supplies and accessories retailer subleased space.
Tipsy Parson leases 1,500 sf at 156 Ninth Avenue.
Restaurateurs Julie Taras Wallach and Tasha Garcia Gibson signed a 15-year lease to open a new eatery. The reported asking rent was $120 per square foot. The space includes a 1,500-square-foot basement.
Pearl Media leases 1,400 sf at 455 West Broadway.
The advertising firm signed a one-month lease with a one-month option for ground-level retail space. The company plans to primarily use the window display space.
Gallery 33 leases 1,400 sf at 302 West 37th Street.
The gallery signed a lease.
Ritz Asia leases 1,100 sf at 189 Bleecker Street.
The Asian eatery signed a 12-year lease for another location. The reported asking rent for the space, which includes 950 square feet in the basement, was $196 per square foot. The company has branches throughout the New York area.
Bath Junkie leases 1,100 sf at 227 Mulberry Street.
The retailer of bath and body products signed a 10-year lease with a five-year option. The company will assume the two years and three months remaining on the current tenant's lease before the new lease begins. The reported asking rent was $120 per square
Java Detour leases 748 sf at 600 Third Avenue.
The California-based coffee chain signed a lease for its first New York location.
Golden Paradise leases 700 sf at 589 Eighth Avenue.
The tenant signed a 10-year lease.

New York City Buildings Sold:

200 East 66th Street (Manhattan House) a 102842 sf retail condo was sold to Madison Capital for $86 million.
The commercial portion of the property sold for $86 million. The purchase includes seven ground-level stores, four professional office spaces and a parking garage. Manhattan House is undergoing a $1.1 billion conversion to condos.
210 West 76th Street a Development site was sold to 2148 Broadway Holdings LLC; 210 West 76th Street Continental LLC for $36.5 million.
The garage sold for $36.5 million. The developers acquired an adjacent site at 2148 Broadway with plans for a 24-story, 260,000-square-foot residential tower.
7 West 51st Street a 9-story 43,000 sf office building was sold to Parkoff Organization for $28 million.
The commercial property sold for $28 million, or $651 per square foot. The seller, a division of Puerto Rico's largest bank, Popular, originally acquired the building in 1971. It operates a retail bank on the property's first floor.
11 West 51st Street a 4-story 18,598 sf retail building was sold to 11 West 51 Realty for $28 million.
The property sold for $28 million. The buyer applied for permits to build a 14-story hotel at the site with first-floor commercial space, but the plans were disapproved September 19, according to public records.
406 East 91st Street an 81,828 buildable sf development site was sold to The Convent of the Sacred Heart for $23 million.
The property sold for $23 million, or $280 per buildable square foot. The lot has a footprint of 12,500 square feet. The buyer, a Catholic school, plans to build offices, a gym and a pool on the site.
261 West 47th Street (The Biltmore) a 4-story theater was sold to The Manhattan Theater Club for $21.9 million.
The Manhattan Theater Club','n/a','Biltmore Theater LLC','n/a','$21.9M','The 650-seat theater sold for $21.9 million.
124 West 23rd Street a Development site was sold to Anbau Enterprises affiliate for $19.3 million.
The property sold for $19.3 million. The buyer plans a 16-story residential building with 34 units. Franpearl Equities acquired the site, which currently has a five-story building, in 2004 for $10.6 million.
3247 Broadway a 10-story 62,200 sf warehouse building was sold to Columbia University for $14.8 million.
The industrial property sold for $14.8 million, or $235 per square foot.
31-33 Oliver Street a 6-story 15,729 sf mixed-use building was sold to a Local investors for $6.7 million.
The corner property went into contract for $6.7 million, or $426 per square foot. The building has 25 residential units and four commercial units.
301 East 69th Street a 6-story 18,750 sf garage was sold for $5.4 million.
The parking garage sold for $5.4 million, or $288 per square foot. The garage has 40 parking spaces and a net monthly income of $32,000.
221-25 West 116th Street a 3-story 8,500 sf office building was sold for $3.65 million.
The property sold for $3.65 million, or $429 per square foot. The previous owner had been cleared to develop a 23,000-square-foot mixed-use building on the site, but the buyer plans to use the property for his commercial lighting business.