Citi Bike app goes live [Crain’s]

Huge Times Square Toys R Us space in limbo [Crain’s]

Union Square gets 5,000% return on Tumblr [Crain’s]

Weiner declares NY mayoral run on YouTube [Financial Times]

For U.S. Companies, Money ‘Offshore’ Means Manhattan [NY Times]

Bruce S. Fowle The 30-Minute Interview [NY Times]

Yahoo Will Plant Flag in Times Square [Globe Street]

BlackRock to Build $25B Fund [Globe Street]

Silverstein closes loan for $950M Four Seasons tower [Real Estate Weekly]

Who’s News [Real Estate Weekly]

ICSC: Victoria’s Secret takes 60K sf at 2 Herald Square [The Real Deal]

Crisis housing advances [New York Post]

NYC building owners fear lack of terror insurance when TRIA expires [New York Post]

Hitting a Wal: Walmart Still Quietly Searching in NYC [Commercial Observer]

Five Food Chains That Aren’t in NYC [Commercial Observer]

Bloomberg LP Leases Posh Penthouse As Mayor Fumes Over Reporting Scandal [Commercial Observer]

James Hotel Sold for $83.4 M. [Commercial Observer]

Orange Business Services Moves to Midtown [Commercial Observer]

RWN Pays $3.8 M. for Bowery Retail Condo, Appoints RKF to Market [Commercial Observer]

Yahoo Getting Space at Old Home of The Times [NY Times]

Financial Firms Said to Seek Alternative to Bloomberg Chat [NY Times]

SI Waterfront Plan Goes To Public Review [Globe Street]

Helmsley’s Park Lane Hotel to Go on Block [Globe Street]

WTC Properties can't bar 'act-of-war' defense [Crain’s]

Pulse of big retail conference upbeat [Crain’s]

Bloomberg adding space [New York Post]

What’s the Deal [Wall Street Journal]

Yogurt chain Orange Leaf set for NYC expansion [The Real Deal]

Shvo Revs Up Pace, Again [Wall Street Journal]

Helmsley Hotel on Central Park South Is Set for Condos [Wall Street Journal]

Courtesy of NYC Architecture

The global IT and communications services provider Orange Business Services will be leaving the Financial District, The Commercial Observer has learned.

The firm has been operating out of a suite at 2 World Financial Center but will be moving uptown to centralize their offices inside a 17,000-square-foot, full-floor space at 10 East 40th Street,.

"As a communications service provider that caters to a variety of international markets, it was important for Orange Business Services to find space in Midtown,” said Ted Rotante, an executive managing director of Colliers International, in a prepared statement. "This relocation will allow the company to provide its services to their clients from a more advantageous, central location."

Orange Business Services will take Blackboard Collaborate's remaining lease at 10 East 40th Street, otherwise known as the 10 Mercantile Building. The sublease will span the entire 11th floor, Mr. Rotante said.

Located between Fifth and Madison avenues, the building is steps away from Grand Central Terminal and a short distance to Penn Station, aligning to the company's desire for an accessible office.

Blackboard Collaborate was represented by a pair from Studley, Ken Ruderman and Nick Zarnin. Mr. Rotante was the only broker at Colliers International representing Orange Business Services.

Neither party returned calls for comment last week.

As a subsidiary of the French communications giant, France Telecom, Orange Business Solutions handles the information technology services and consulting of the company, employing more than 30,000 workers in approximately 150 countries. Recent reports out of Business Day, a South African newspaper, noted that the company has plans to double its profits and development in Africa over the next five years.

Sixth Avenue (Courtesy of Wikipedia)

The New York-based development and construction firm Wonder Works Construction will be leaving its offices in Flatiron to move to Herald Square.

The firm currently houses its main office in a 5,000-square-foot office on the fourth floor of  18 West 21st Street, but will move out in favor of a larger 8,000-square-foot suite at Sol Goldman Investments' 894 Sixth Avenue.

Founded by Joseph Klaynberg, Wonder Works Construction has an extensive portfolio across commercial, residential, and educational properties including the Ice House at 27 North Moore Street in Tribeca and the decadent lobbies in 18 West 86th Street and 440 East 79th Street.

"The space has forty windows, 270 degrees of views of Herald Square, Times Square, all the way up to Central Park on Sixth Avenue," said Christopher Okada, president of Okada & Company and a broker on the deal. "It is located at the mouth of Midtown South--31st and 32nd Street--the soon to be hottest neighborhood, NoMad, Penn Plaza, and East Chelsea."

"[The] Durst [Organization] is building a massive building across the street," added Mr. Okada, referring to 855 Avenue of the Americas. The lot was initially slated to become a 335,000-square-foot building, but financial hardship pushed the owners to sell the note to the Durst Organization in 2010 for $131 million.

The old plans were pushed aside as Durst brought in a new team to design a greener building. The new environmentally friendly project is a mixed-use 560,000-square-foot building that consists of a residential tower and a commercial base. The commercial base will include 114,000 square feet of office space and 56,000 of retail space.

Mr. Okada and Danny Figotin represented Wonder Works Construction. Sol Goldman Investments' manager of commercial leasing, Brett Weinblatt, represented the landlord.

Courtesy of Google

The mixed-use building at 137 East 47th Street between Third and Lexington Avenues has been sold for $8 million dollars. The owners, undisclosed local investors, sold the building for nearly four times the price they paid less than a decade ago.

"The sellers bought in 7-8 years ago for $2.4 million dollars and today exited at $8 million," said Christopher Okada, president of Okada & Company. "It was a huge run."

Mr. Okada was the exclusive broker on both deals - this one and the initial purchase in 2005 - for the building. The property is relatively simple, spanning 4,000 square feet across four stories with zoning for residential and retail space on the ground level. Donburiya, a Japanese restaurant raved on Yelp, occupies the base now.

Sources close to the deal have noted that renovations are unlikely as the building makes a solid income.

Silverstein Secures Financing for 926-Foot Lower Manhattan Hotel, Condo [Commercial Observer]

ASA College Inks 160,000 SF at Herald Center [Commercial Observer]

Trading Up: Boutique Financial Services Firms Flock to 540 Madison Avenue [Commercial Observer]

Lenox Hill Hospital/North Shore-LIJ Renews at 110 East 59th Street [Commercial Observer]

Nonprofit Relocates to 120 Wall Street [Commercial Observer]

Retail sales plummet in Q1 but rents rise [The Real Deal]

CWCapital delays Stuyvesant Town rent hikes, following tenant press conference [The Real Deal]

Retail condos back in fashion [Real Estate Weekly]

Sydell Group Looks to Develop Hotel in Williamsburg [Globe Street]

Manhattan’s 10 most valuable office leases of Q1 [The Real Deal]

City partners with experts to re-imagine midtown [Crain’s]

Donald Trump on stand at Chicago trial [Crain’s]

LIPA privatization moves closer [Crain’s]

Jay-Z-backed wing eatery to open third spot [Crain’s]

Schorsch: ‘Boring’ Predictability Equals Success [Globe Street]

CCRE Beefs Up Credit Effort [Globe Street]

Experts Believe 1 World Trade Center Will Lease Up [Globe Street]

Everything getting bigger in Brooklyn, say upbeat builders [Real Estate Weekly]

Hotels hitting hipster ‘hood [New York Post]

Condo-Hotel Tower Aims for Superluxury [Wall Street Journal]

Courtesy of Crain's

Insignia National Title Agency, a boutique provider of title insurance, will nearly triple its office space in an expansion and relocation uptown, officials told The Commercial Observer.

The company will move to a new 5,600-square-foot office space on the seventh floor of 6 East 39th Street, otherwise known as the Craftsman Building, between Madison and Fifth Avenue in Midtown.

“Insignia quickly grew out of its 1,786-square-foot space at 207 West 25th Street," said Jeff Nissani, owner of JSN Properties and a tenant broker on the transaction. "The company sought a high-end, open and airy space that could also accommodate private offices and plentiful meeting space for client interactions."

“Proximity to Grand Central and Penn Station was also key," Mr. Nissani added.

Given that the space was fully built-out and move-in ready, Insignia moved into the building shortly after signing the deal. Unless the firm continues to grow at its pace, the firm is expecting to remain in the building for seven years.

“We designed the build out of our 25th Street space ourselves, and just two years later, we have grown to the point where we need a much larger space," said Craig de Thomas, founding partner of the firm. "Jeff was right on the money when he found us 6 East 39th Street. The quality of the space and building location are perfect for our needs."

Elissa Patterson of EJMB represented the landlord, Marc Bengualid. Neither the landlord nor Ms. Patterson could be reached for contact.  Asking rents for the building clocked in around $40 per square foot.

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Retailer Demand, Tourists Help Boost NYC Retail Sector: REBNY [The Real Deal]

Verizon to Lease or Sell Space in its Manhattan Headquarters [Bloomberg]

Hedge Funds Rush into Debt Trading with $108 Billion [Bloomberg]

SoHo Nonprofit’s Expansion Upsets Some Neighbors [NY Times]

Boyce Technologies Leases 6,200 Square Feet at Trump’s 40 Wall Street [Commercial Observer]

New Hotel Slated for the NoMad District [Commercial Observer]

Shake Shack Finally Steps to Grand Central [Crain’s]

Bloomberg Eyes Cause for Shifting Garden [Crain’s]

Verizon to put Half of Headquarters on the Market [Crain’s]

Times Sq: You can Bed on It [New York Post]

Tesla Site Powers Ahead [Wall Street Journal]

Chuck Eyes Re-Zone Bonds  [New York Post]

A Long Road to New Library Space [Wall Street Journal]

App-etite for Expansion [Wall Street Journal]

"Back to the Drawing Board” at 254 West 31st Street After Social Media Company Reconsiders [Commercial Observer]

Catching Up With Hines [Commercial Observer]

C&W Eyes Tenants New and Old at 199 Water Street [Commercial Observer]

NYC Tallest Condo Corridor Gets New Entrant with Steinway [Bloomberg]

City proposes limiting Garden to 15 more years [Crain’s]

Number of Fortune 500s Grow in NY [Crain’s]

JPMorgan Unit said to Buy 425 Lexington [Crain’s]

New Park to Blossom on Greenpoint Waterfront [Crain’s]

AG says Banks Violated Mortgage Accord [Crain’s]

Courtesy of the Real Deal

The Luxembourg-based facility manager and business support system Regus will open a new location downtown. The company operates more than 1,400 locations around the world with nearly 60  in the city.

With a lease duration of 10 years, Regus' latest office boasts 32,000 square feet at 101 Sixth Avenue, an Edward J. Minskoff Equities asset north of Canal Street with steep asking rents of $75 per square foot.

The new office comes following a huge expansion push by Regus and shortly after several other recent deals.

A team from Jones Lang LaSalle represented both parties in the transaction.

JLL has remained as the exclusive leasing agent for the building since Edward Minskoff bought his partners and took over the building in late 2011. Mr. Minskoff bought out the Andalex Group for an undisclosed amount for the 425,000-square-foot building.

Its only tenant, SEIU Local 32BJ, left the building and Minskoff brought in a team from JLL to bring the building back into the market.

The team targeted entertainment, media, and technology companies that are typically drawn to the area.

In related news, Mr. Minskoff's 51 Astor Place is near completion. The scaffolding was removed earlier this week and the plaza is slated to open soon, Mr. Minskoff told the Commercial Observer's earlier this month.

The glass-facade 51 Astor Place, a 430,000-square-foot building, will target young New Yorkers between 22 and 35 who want to live and work below 14th Street.

Another team from JLL consisting of Peter Riguardi, Paul Glickman, Mitchell Konsker, and Cynthia Wasserberger will be exclusively leasing the building.

Stringer Unveils East River Waterfront Plan [GlobeSt.com]

Resnick Taps C&W to Lease Downtown Tower [GlobeSt.com]

Metropolitan Real Estate Signs 11-Year Lease at 650 Fifth Ave.[National Real Estate Investor]

Lalezarian Properties Pays $21.3M for Hudson Yards Development Site [National Real Estate Investor]

Judge Will Approve $55 M. Class-Action Empire State Building IPO Settlement [Commercial Observer]

Currently operating out of a 12,147-square-foot space spanning the entire sixth and seventh floors at 126 East 56th Street, otherwise known as Tower 56, the firm will occupy the eighth floor and increase its foothold to 18,223 square feet.

Though the firm is based out of Houston with another location in Los Angeles, the New York office focuses on intellectual property cases and high-stakes courtroom litigation, namely within the pharmaceutical industry.

“Tower 56 is a great fit for Lanier, evidenced by the law firm’s interest to expand for the second time in the building in nearly 10 years,” said Harry Blair, a senior director of Cushman & Wakefield.

“The building continues to retain top-quality tenants such as Lanier and attract new tenants that are in search of high-quality space with a Plaza District address,” Mr. Blair added.

The new lease will mark its second expansion in the building since it initially took space in 2004.

Mr. Blair was joined by his colleague Sean Kearns as the exclusive leasing agent for Pearlmark Real Estate Partners's building. Lanier Law Firm brought on a team from CBRE consisting of Silvio Petrillo, Ben Friedland, and Sam Seiler to represent them.

Spanning 30 stories, the building at 126 East 56th Street recently underwent a capital improvement program designed by architecture firm Moed de Armas & Shannon. The program streamlined the lobby and updated the elevators.

The building still has some availability with offices ranging from partial 1,200 square foot spaces to full floor 5,600 square foot spaces.

As East Midtown Girds for Taller Buildings, Squat Relics Endure [New York Times]

Crown's jewel: big Brooklyn deal [New York Post]

Technically, Brooklyn's booming [New York Post]

Empire State Building IPO opponents lose challenge [Crain's New York]

Regus locks up another suite deal [Crain's New York]

Chelsea Park complex to pump iron in basement [Crain's New York]

Focus pays off for childrenswear building [Crain's New York]

Incentives drawing Smart Assets downtown [Real Estate Weekly]

CVS signs 21,000 s/f retail lease at 3 Columbus Circle [Real Estate Weekly]

EDF, Madison Logic Renew, Expand Footprint at Gramercy Park Building [National Real Estate Investor]

Collaborative Master Lease Deal at 400 Park Avenue [Commercial Observer]

DHA Capital Signs 4,450-Square-Foot Lease at 330 Seventh Avenue [Commercial Observer]

A Nasty, Epic Real Estate Battle With Stakes 102 Stories High [New York Times]

Proposal for a Sixth Avenue BID gains support [Crain's New York]

Marathon Ventures Renews at 655 Third Avenue [Commercial Observer]

Savanna Welcomes Mobotix to 80 Broad Street [Commercial Observer]

Promontory Financial Group Jumps to 50K at SL Green and Vornado's 280 Park Avenue [Commercial Observer]