After filing a fiery suit against Senegalese government officials over a building sale gone awry, a pair of developers has dropped its complaint. New York City developers Hotel 44th St. LLC and East 46th Street Development Co. had filed suit against the government of the Republic of Senegal Nov. 9, alleging that the defendant had agreed to purchase a building at 227-235 East 44th Street between Second and Third avenues but had failed to make payments. The angrily-worded suit, which referred to Senegal as a "deadbeat," was meant to dissuade "anyone thinking of doing business with Senegal," the plaintiffs said. But, just nine days after the suit was filed, the Senegalese government and the developers reportedly renegotiated the price to $24 million, down from the initially-agreed upon figure of $27 million, and closed the deal. The developers subsequently dropped the suit. The site will be used for the Maison du Senegal, the African nation's mission to the United Nations.
From left: Atlantic Yards, Mayor Bloomberg, College Point Police Academy
The city will invest more than $5 billion in public works projects even as the recession necessitates budget cuts elsewhere, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said yesterday in a broadcast on 1010 WINS News Radio. The projects, which he said would be made possible by agreements reached last week with the city's construction unions, are intended to create jobs and prevent labor strikes, saving $300 million in taxpayer funds over the next four years. "When there's a budget crunch, city governments all too often cut back on maintaining and upgrading essential infrastructure. That's what New York City did during the fiscal crisis of the 1970s -- and for years afterwards, we all paid a steep price in fixing bridges, sewers, and other facilities after they'd already broken down," Bloomberg said, citing the planned College Point Police Academy and renovations of public schools, and praising the recent court decision that gave Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards development the green light. TRD
NOHO—Last week we got a teaser of the wrappings coming off brick Bowery newcomer 2 Cooper Square, and our roving photo Will Femia dropped by for another look. A little more skin is showing, and we likey. [CurbedWire Staff]
FIDI—The office building to NYU dorm to luxury rental that is 200 Water Street made its debut on the rental market in August, and a press release from developer Rockrose states the 576-unit building is now 50% leased. What's the appeal? Two words: Rooftop. Shower. Or maybe competitive rental rates or something dumb like that. [CurbedWire Inbox]
"I actually saw the inside of this when it was still under construction. Lovely place, but no townhouse in Harlem has sold for even HALF this price, even in the boom/bubble years of 2006/2007. In this very area, you could buy four refurbished townhouses (2 facing, 2 others within half a block of) Marcus Garvey park for LESS than the price of this one. I mean it - FOUR."—jason10006 [Historic Harlem Townhouse Asking Nearly $8 Million]
As Manhattan commercial rents plummet, one retailer still reaping the benefits is convenience store giant 7-Eleven, which last summer announced its planned expansion in the city. At a time when many chains are contracting, Dallas-based 7-Eleven is taking advantage of low entry costs and aggressively taking on Manhattan, where the company, which is currently operating six stores, plans to tack on an additional 100 locations over the next five years.
The latest in its business conversion program will be at 535 Eighth Avenue at 36th Street, Margaret Chabris, a company spokesperson, told The Real Deal. The site is the former location of Arnold Hatters, one of the city's oldest hat stores, which went out of business last spring.
It took a heck of a long time for Williamsburg's The Metropolitan to replace an old steel shop and slap on its face of Jerusalem stone, but this 42-unit condo creation is already in need of an extreme makeover. A tipster passes along some fresh photos of the building at 349 Metropolitan Avenue, now sporting a style more in line with today's squatter-based Williamsburg economy. Our tipster adds: "Note how the glass is missing from the entranceway. I'm guessing they removed it to clean off the graffiti or someone smashed it." The Corcoran listings have long since vanished and we assumed the building was a total ghost town, but records show that one buyer closed in July 2008 on a first-floor unit for $339,700. Guess he didn't see the crane tipping as a bad omen.
· Checking In: Burg's 349 Metropolitan Finally Shows Itself [Curbed]
1. Four architectural firms unite to open a pop-up store in the West Village [Crain’s] 2. Angry tenants at run-down Bronx buildings protest outside Dime Savings bank [NYDN] 3. Demolition worker at Deutsche Bank building cast aside after exposing controversial safety concerns [NYT] 4. Long-time storefronts in the Mitchell-Linden section of Queens may close to make room for rental development [Queens Crap] 5. New school will open in Jackson Heights [Queens Chronicle via Indie Journo] 6. Three NYC neighborhoods with an abundance of holiday gift stores [NY Mag] 7. Community Board 1 rejects plans for 800-unit Williamsburg apartment complex on water [Brooklyn Paper] 11. Landlords no longer offering discounts on rents as leasing activity picks up [Crain’s] 11. Hunter’s Point merchants looking to grow business in local greenmarket [Queens Uncovered] 13. Taking a look inside the soon-to-open Andaz Wall Street hotel [Hotel Chatter] 14. Glut of hotel lounges have opened across the city [Post] 15. Units at 75 Grand Avenue in Clinton Hill now available for sale [Brownstoner] 16. Editorials on Atlantic Yards [WSJ] and [NYDN] 17. The Carlton Group has begun marketing about $381 million worth of loans [GlobeSt] 18. Three downtown post offices will not be closing after politicians and residents protest [Downtown Express] 19. How the developer is marketing units at 311 East 11th Street [NYT] 20. Retired New York Giants player Michael Strahan selling Tribeca loft for $1.8 million [WSJ]
While most of the country was in transit for Thanksgiving last week, the sellers of apartment #2504/5/7/3 at the Pierre Hotel tried to sneak in a price cut under the radar. The 3BR, 3BA apartment, listed by Sotheby's fantastically named Royce Pinkwater, hit the market at the beginning of the month asking $17 million. The ask is already an 18-percent-lower $14 million. For those who like their savings broken out, that's $150,000 off for each day the apartment has spent on the market. If our hasty abacus calculations are correct, at that rate, the sellers will be paying us to take the apartment off their hands by the first week of March. Even with the brokerbabble warning that "this superb home needs some renovation to achieve absolute perfection," that's a green shoot we can nurture!
· Listing: Pierre Hotel [Sotheby's]
· 795 Fifth Avenue #2504/5/7/3 [StreetEasy]
The LibertyPointe Bank,
whose chairman is troubled developer Shaya Boymelgreen, is in danger of
being seized by regulators after failing to raise the $25 million
ordered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. After issuing the
New York-based bank a cease and desist order
in July, reports showed that the bank's total risk-based capital ratio
was only 3.7 percent as of Sept. 30, well below the minimum threshold
of 8 percent for an “adequately capitalized” bank. On Oct. 20, the FDIC
decided to give the bank 30 days to raise additional capital. However,
the bank failed to raise the cash by the deadline and chief executive
Meron Corn said it is “unclear what will happen next.” The failure of
LibertyPointe Bank would be added to the list of difficulties recently encountered by Boymelgreen, who is also dealing with stalled downtown office building conversions and various lawsuits
from lenders and creditors. Also, if LibertyPointe Bank goes under, it
would be the first failure of a New York bank since the financial
crisis started two years ago. [Crain's]
Times Square office buildings, which saw tremendous growth before the real estate bust, are now struggling to maintain their clientele as companies flock to take advantage of steep rent discounts in more traditional -- and less congested -- Midtown locations further east. Besides its crowd control problem, Times Square buildings suffer from the wrong layout for this new real estate era, said David Goldstein, a tenant broker and executive vice president and director at Studley. “The area's biggest envelopes are raw space, where major build-outs are required. That's a tough sell these days, with so much prebuilt space on the market at [relatively] low prices,” Goldstein said. Meanwhile, the 1.1 million square feet at speculative office tower 11 Times Square, which is slated for completion early next year, is still tenant-less. It may join the ranks of the former New York Times building at 229 West 43rd Street, whose 767,000 square feet is also currently vacant. [Crain's]
It has come to the attention of many in Brooklyn that the grand entrance of the soon-to-open Pier 1 portion of Brooklyn Bridge Park is nothing more than a dead-end strip of asphalt leading to a path. A touching metaphor about persevering once the easy road ends? Nah, to most it's just an ugly letdown. The Brooklyn Paper reports that the recently released rendering from the Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation has many critics arguing the park should have a "monumental element that would honor the harbor or the bridge that gives the park its name." Or, as one resident put it, GEORGE WASHINGTON IS CRYING:
At this spot, at the end of Old Fulton Street, is where George Washington saved our army and fled from the British on boats to Manhattan. But this design looks like a driveway to any old corporate park in any old suburb in any old city in the United States.
Burn! But forget the drawings for now. What's up with Pier 1's progress?
[Photo via Julienne Schaer/EDC.]
Slated for a winter opening, the lawns of the six-acre Pier 1 section of the park are sure as heck coming along. There will also be a waterfront promenade, playground and the mysterious "Granite Prospect." Another photo!
As the Federal Housing Administration plays an increasingly central role in home loans -- approximately half of new home loans are insured by the group -- some industry experts are growing concerned that FHA is ill-equipped to handle the burden. Currently 5.5 million homes are insured under FHA, with 8.5 percent of those 90 days delinquent or in foreclosure. CBS via the Mess that Greenspan Made reported that the FHA has just 172 staff members to review applications and potential lenders. This, coupled with the massive number of loans FHA insures, has many industry experts concerned over its longevity.
After seeing one rather mellow rendering in mid-2008, we didn't hear much from South Williamsburg's proposed Rose Plaza on the River development...until now. Brownstoner brings the news that Community Board 1's land-use committee voted 8-1 last week against a zoning change needed for the project. Board members criticized the 801-unit, three-tower complex for being composed mostly of studios and one-bedrooms, with only 20 percent of the units designated as affordable. The developers' response: the project will bring construction jobs to the neighborhood, the market will rebound, and the units will be an easy sell. Okay then! The architect's website originally projected Rose Plaza's completion in 2009, which is -- like the developers' sales predictions -- perhaps a tad optimistic, but 2009 has at least brought the project a more fearsome rendering.
· CB 1 Committee Not Digging Plans for Huge Burg Project [Brownstoner]
· Proposed Burg Rose Plaza On the River Rendered [Curbed]
The Treasury Department and Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced a plan to help borrowers convert to permanent loan modifications. As expected, the announcement emphasized the importance of ushering borrowers currently in trial modifications into permanent modifications. Phyllis Caldwell, chief of the Treasury Department’s Homeownership Preservation Office, said in a press release that with the success of the trial modification program, agency officials will aim to augment the permanent modification plans. “We now must refocus our efforts on the conversion phase to ensure that borrowers and servicers know what their responsibilities are in converting trial modifications to permanent ones,” Caldwell said. The plan would involve applying more pressure on banks to convert trial modifications into permanent ones. It’s a task that has proved tricky -- while over 650,000 borrowers have qualified for trial modifications under the Treasury’s program Making Home Affordable only 375,000 of those are expected to transition to permanent modifications by the end of 2009. The Treasury plans to disclose how many permanent modifications each bank implements, according to Michael Barr, assistant secretary for financial institutions, a move intended to call out those banks that aren’t performing adequately. “We’re going to be quite focused and direct on particular institutions that are not doing a good job,” Barr said. “Some firms ought to be embarrassed, and they will be.” TRD
In light of the current concern over Dubais debt, the inevitable questions are beginning. Might the market have seen this coming?
Sure, looking back on it, it seems like there were probably some red flags.
For example, that indoor ski slope, in hindsight, looks a bit, shall we say, frothy. And yes, a particularly prescient observer might have cited the creation of that string of palm-shaped islands off Dubais coast, as a manifestation of irrational exuberance.
But if you were looking for a reason to get worried about Dubai over the past few years, you needed only look at the Burj Dubai the worlds tallest skyscraper according to the ’skyscraper index’…
The soap opera continues at One Madison Park, where, following a brokerage switch, the sides are now arguing over who fired whom. But this is perhaps the most minor of controversies at the new 60-story titan of East 23rd Street, whose recent troubles have been well documented. Other tidbits unearthed by The Real Deal: the building was only 70% sold during the height of the market and before buyers started backing out, not everything-but-the-penthouse like initially thought. And about that $45 million, triplex penthouse: It's now being left as raw space for a buyer to customize, and the developers may finally be willing to come down on the price. Alright, now that we've dealt with that boring stuff, let's move on to the gossip!
Eight condos have now closed in the 70+ unit glasstravaganza, the latest of which was #16A, a 3BR, 3.5BA unit that sold for $5 million and was once listed for much, much more. What gives? Well, it's perhaps a case of One Madison Park speculation gone terribly wrong, a well-informed building tipster writes:
16A was shown in the Attorney General filings as sold to a third party on 10/12/2007 for $6 Million (with a $600,000 downpayment).
The actual sale shows up to a party with a different name (presumably resold or the contract was assigned), but for only $5 Million.
Brown Harris Stevens had kept this listing active through much of the last two years. Asking prices started at $8.25M in 2007 and dropped steadily, with the latest listing showing at $6.9M (which was probably the old buyer’s last shot at getting out and breaking even).
Following the brokerage switch, some One Mad Park listings have started showing up with ace Elliman broker Tamir Shemesh, but with a big difference: Higher common charges. How much higher? Let's let our tipster explain:
One of the huge problems with the condo documents was the fact that they apparently made a mistake that resulted in a huge understatement of condo fees. It wasn't until the 16th amendment (issued just before closings started) that the mistake was corrected. That meant that the real condo fees for every unit were significantly higher than those in the offering plan and all 15 previous amendments (60% more in most cases).
The online paper trail lends support to that theory. Take a look at the listing for #9A, which puts the monthly maintenance at $1,378 (and also mentions the developer is waving the common charges for the first six months). The old listing for the same unit, preserved by StreetEasy, has the fee at $868. Likewise, the new listing for #9B has the monthly fee at $1,589. The old one? $1,019. Some fairly harsh adjustments, but the zebra wood in the wine tasting room ain't gonna pay for itself, folks.
· Who fired whom at One Madison Park? [Real Deal]
· One Madison Park coverage [Curbed]
The City Planning Commission is planning a proposal for an area within the Greenwich Village Historic District that would limit the height of any new construction and do away with a development bonus currently offered for commercial projects there, the city said last week. Last year, developer Charles Blaichman submitted plans for a new seven-and-a-half-story hotel at the corner of Perry and Washington streets, and the Landmarks Preservation Commission gave him the go-ahead. If City Planning's rezoning is passed before Blaichman breaks ground -- via a review and hearing by Community Board 2 and final approval by the City Council -- his hotel will have to be scrapped. As it stands, the six-block section, between Greenwich and Washington streets and West 10th and 12th streets, is a C6-1 zone, which means there is no height limit for new projects. The Commission's plan to change the area to a C1-6A district will be welcomed by the Greenwich Village Society of Historic Preservation and by Community Board 2. Both groups have lobbied for stricter zoning regulations like the one proposed. [The Villager]
A subsidiary of China’s largest contracting company has just inked a deal to complete a $100 million Manhattan subway ventilation project, according to China Daily. The project is the third U.S. infrastructure assignment that the company has been assigned this year. China State Construction Engineering has been aggressively pursuing the U.S. infrastructure market, according to Li Zhirui, an analyst with First Capital Securities, and is finding lucrative development opportunities. “The new project… signals China State Construction’s ambition to tap the American construction market,” Zhirui said.
From left: Jumeirah Essex House, the Mandarin Oriental hotel, the Knickerbocker Hotel
The news of Dubai's debt crisis, which has put already-teetering global commercial real estate markets on edge, stands to shake up New York City real estate as the state unloads its noncore assets in attempts to raise cash and pay off creditors. Dubai World, the government-controlled holding company, which last week announced that it would seek to delay payments on $59 billion worth of debt, owns iconic city properties like the Jumeirah Essex House, the New York W, the Mandarin Oriental hotels and the Knickerbocker Hotel. Deloitte, the accounting firm hired by Dubai World to restructure its liabilities, plans to ready a list of valuable, non-strategic assets that can be sold off quickly, the Post reported. Sources said high-profile hotels like the New York W and the Oriental would be likely to top such a list. [Post]
The news of Dubai's debt crisis, which has put already-teetering global commercial real estate markets on edge, stands to shake up New York City real estate as the state unloads its noncore assets in attempts to raise cash and pay off creditors. Dubai World, the government-controlled holding company, which last week announced that it would seek to delay payments on $59 billion worth of debt, owns iconic city properties like the Jumeirah Essex House, the New York W, the Mandarin Oriental hotels and the Knickerbocker Hotel. Deloitte, the accounting firm hired by Dubai World to restructure its liabilities, plans to ready a list of valuable, non-strategic assets that can be sold off quickly, the Post reported. Sources said high-profile hotels like the New York W and the Oriental would be likely to top such a list. [Post]
Location: 471 Keap Street, Williamsburg Size: 13 lofts configured as one- and two-bedrooms Prices: $349,000 to $539,000 Architects:Bricolage Designs (conversion) Developer: Treetop Development Sales & Marketing:Aptsandlofts.com Lowdown: Williamsburg's Keap Street Lofts at 471 Keap Street -- which began life in 1910 as an industrial building -- hit the market earlier this month with a DJ'd party featuring white wine, cheese, and burgers. The highbrow-lowbrow combo seems to have done the trick, because according to the folks at Aptsandlofts.com, offers have been accepted for six of the 13 units, which we guess means the building won't have to go to auction like that other TreeTop property. The apartments range from 654 to 926 square feet. But those are just numbers. What do the lofts actually look like? The interior fixtures are done in a "rustic industrial vernacular," which apparently means oak floors, glossy white tile, and bright orange kitchen cabinets, "referencing construction barriers." In case you want a memento of the neighborhood's stalled development days.
· Listings: 471 Keap Street [Aptsandlofts.com]
From left: Atlantic Yards, Mayor Bloomberg, College Point Police Academy
The soap opera continues at One Madison Park, where, following a brokerage switch, the sides are now arguing over 
From left: Jumeirah Essex House, the Mandarin Oriental hotel, the Knickerbocker Hotel 