New Developments
The average Manhattan commercial building sale was smaller year-over-year, though the number of sales so far is on pace to break a 2007 record high. Manhattan saw 328 commercial deals worth $30 billion through September. That marks a 47 percent jump from the 223 sales worth $30.2 billion recorded for all of last year. In 2007, there were 346 deals valued at roughly $48.5 billion.
The 40,000-square-foot retail component at TF Cornerstone's 22-story office building in Midtown East is being marketed. The retail space spans several floors and sits at the base of the 164,000-square-foot building at East 60th Street. Women's clothing store Ann Taylor occupied the retail space until it closed earlier this year.
JPMorgan Chase refused subsidies for it'sproposed Hudson Yard $6.5 billion corporate campus, including two skyscrapers and as a result passed on the site.
A Midtown East-based development firm plans to transform the Holiday Inn Soho into a boutique similar to other properties owned by the real estate mogul. The hotel at 138 Lafayette Street will close for roughly a yearlong renovation starting in January. The hotel was bought for $89.7 million from a Rhode Island-based Group.
New York University received the green light to launch its $6 billion expansion plan. NYU's plans will add academic buildings, faculty housing and community space by 2031.
The Department of Education has yet to obtain the green light for funding of a new public school on Bleeker Street that the NY University promised the community as part of its development plan. The DOE has until Dec. 31 to approve the funding for the seven-story school. After that, the university could reclaim the site for its own use. The agency's 2015-2019 capital plan has no money allocated for the school, but if the DOE does decide it's a necessity for the neighborhood, an amendment to the plan could make the funds available.
High-end retailer Restoration Hardware signed a 15 year lease in the Meatpacking Districtat9-19 Ninth Avenue.
The planned conversion of 346 Broadway in Tribeca hit a roadblock when the community Board 1 heard that the ground-floor community space will be smaller than expected. The media centerwhich Downtown Community Television would occupy would be 10,000 square feet instead of the promised 15,700 square feet.
The U.S. government is investigating an insurance Group's $1.95 billion purchase of the Waldorf Astoria hotel last week, noting security concerns.
Crumbs Bake Shop will start reopening stores after closing in July.A store located on Broadway and 37th streets in Manhattan will be the first to reopen. Customers can expect a new, modern experience at the renovated facility.Same owner who purchased Crumbs owns dip and dots and plans of housing both concepts in each store.
Despite high-profile restaurant closures like Union Square Cafe, the restaurant business is doing well. Despiterising rentsand a growing number of layers of red tape, the number of permits issued for restaurants, bars and cafes in New York City rose over 27 percent to 23,075 at the start of the fiscal year 2015, this July from 18,606 in fiscal year 2006.
A real estate investment trust that owns the Empire State Building is among several prospective buyers in talks to acquire New York REIT, which is valued at $1.75 billion. New York REIT, founded in 2010 and formerly known as American Realty Capital's New York Recovery REIT, hired Realty Capital Securities and Barclays Capital to serve as advisers. The REIT went public in April, in a first for a real estate firm that specializes solely on New York City properties.
Following the news that Saks Fifth Avenuewill anchor Brookfield Place's Downtown shopping complex, Nordstrom may be the latest retailer looking south for new space in Manhattan.
