The $200 Club: Triple Digit Leasing Activity Shifts into High Gear
Fate of F.M. Ring, Extell-Owned 251 Park Ave So to Be Decided at Auction in August
Subway Squeeze: No End in Sight for Sandwich Spot’s Expansion
Normally, Jared Fogle would be the biggest in-store distraction for Subway customers hungry for a hero. But the larger commotion during Thursday’s lunch rush involved Elmo and the Cookie Monster.
Mr. Fogle, the improbable Subway spokesman for 15 years, turned a few heads at the sandwich chain’s 126 West 41st Street branch last week during a press meet and greet. He even posed for a quick picture with the Times Square Sesame Street mascots before the unflappable people beneath those full-body suits removed their masks and chowed down at a corner table.
“Only in New York!” squealed one Subway representative. Read More
The Negotiator: Colliers International’s Howard Grufferman
In the late 1990s, international law firm Weil Gotshal & Manges was eyeing a reconfiguration of its office space at the General Motors Building. With a significant portion of the lease remaining, the building’s then-landlord, Corporate Property Investors, was not compelled to negotiate a new deal.
With the landlord’s unwillingness to negotiate in mind, Howard Grufferman—then with Studley, now vice chairman at Colliers International—took his client to the market. Weil Gotshal, which at the time did not have a primary reception floor, was looking for something different, and the firm looked “everywhere,” according to Mr. Grufferman. Read More
What About Bob: CBRE’s Robert Alexander on Hudson Yards
In 2005, CBRE broker Mary Ann Tighe told The New York Times that there had never been a “phenomenon quite like Bob Alexander.” What’s more phenomenal is that the 58-year-old chairman of the firm’s tristate region still ranks among its top brokers, having landed some of the city’s highest-profile deals this year as a lead broker representing Read More
Historic Front Street Retail Spaces Hit the Market Post-Sandy
The Durst Organization is marketing four vacant retail spaces at its Historic Front Street property at Downtown’s South Street Seaport, which will be rebuilt in the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy.
The retail spaces were gutted after floods over seven feet high ravaged the spaces during the storm, according to Read More
Leasing Activity Up in May as Tech Firms Dominate
Manhattan leasing activity was up 24 percent year-over-year in May to 2.08 million square feet, up from 1.68 million square feet in May 2012, according to CBRE’s latest Manhattan Marketview Snapshot. The three largest new leases were from tech firms, including Facebook’s new lease at 770 Broadway, the report noted.
Tech leasing was led by Yahoo!, which snapped up 176,201 square feet at 229 West 43rd Street, the former headquarters of The New York Times. Yahoo!’s lease led the Midtown market, where leasing was up 26 percent over the five-year average of 1.17 million square feet. Read More
UES Landlord and Preservation Group to Meet Before LPC Over Apartment Demolitions
An Upper East Side landlord seeking to demolish two landmark buildings under a hardship application claiming that the properties cannot fetch rents of $600 a month is gearing up for a fight with Friends of the Upper East Side Historic District.
A hearing today before the Landmarks Preservation Commission could end the dispute between Stahl York Avenue and the neighborhood preservation group. Read More
Murray Hill Properties Promotes Three Brokers to Partner in Hierarchical Shift
Murray Hill Properties is turning over its brokerage to its brokers by promoting three veteran agents to partnership roles, The Commercial Observer has learned.
The move, spearheaded by principal and president of the firm David Greene, changes the hierarchical structure of the firm and evens the playing field for brokers who want a bigger role in the future of the Read More
Alan Friedman Jumps to ABS Partners from CBRE In Firm’s Latest Personnel Change
Alan Friedman has joined ABS Partners Real Estate as senior managing director of the brokerage division. Mr. Friedman comes to the firm from CBRE, where he spent 12 years as an office tenant representative.
The new hire comes two months after ABS merged with PBS Real Estate. Read More
Bowery Mixed-Use Portfolio, Home to Keith McNally’s Pulino’s, Sells for $62 Million
A family trust sold 11 mixed-use buildings on a newly fashionable strip of the Bowery between Houston and Canal Streets. An investment group led by hip-hop clothier Joseph Betesh bought the portfolio–including the home of Keith McNally‘s Pulino’s–for $62 million in what could be the latest whisper of trouble in Mr. McNally’s restaurant empire. Read More
Hudson Companies Closes on Residential ‘Game Changer’ for Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn
Ariel Property Advisors arranged the $11 million sale of the development site, which the buyer entered into contract on last year, and brokers who arranged the sale are calling it a “game changer” for the neighborhood.
“Prospect Lefferts Gardens is one of the lesser-developed areas that has the most potential because there is a Read More
Rufrano Departing as C&W CEO, Interim Replacement Named
Carlo Barel di Sant’Albano has been named interim CEO of Cushman & Wakefield, replacing Glenn Rufrano, the company announced today. In addition to his interim role, Mr. Sant’Albano will remain as Chairman of C&W’s Board of Directors and CEO of the company’s EMEA operations.
“[Glenn] has done a great job over the past three years,” Mr. Sant’Albano told The Commercial Observer. “We’ve had discussions and have worked together on a strategy and decided it was the right time to part ways, for us to look for a new leader.” Read More
Morning links
Movie Theaters Roll Out Marquee Architecture [Wall Street Journal]
Mainetti Family’s Building Blocks in Manhattan [Wall Street Journal]
High Line Offers a Walk on the Wild Side [NY Times]
Work to Begin Soon on Failed Meadowlands Mall [NY Times]
Living in the Clouds [NY Times]
Brooklyn Bridge Park sows seeds Read More
Planet Fitness Inks Two Gyms in Effort of New York Expansion
Planet Fitness, the New Hampshire-based fitness center that operates approximately 30 locations in the tristate area, will expand its presence below 95th Street with a 29,500-square-foot space at 423 West 55th Street and the signing of a 28,576-square-foot space at 25 Broadway.
The gym on 55th Street will have a 24,500-square-foot ground floor base and a 5,000-square-foot mezzanine. The slightly smaller lease will consist of a 832-square-foot entrance and two lower levels of about 14,000 square feet each. Read More
Condo Board Files $10M Suit to Block Denny’s
A lawsuit for up to $10 million was filed yesterday by the condominium board of 150 Nassau Street in an attempt to block a Denny’s restaurant from operating out of the property’s commercial space, The Real Deal reported.
The condo board is requesting the New York Supreme Court block the restaurant from operating out of the building. The board argues the restaurant will attract disruptive crowds and violate the structural integrity of the property, according to the report. Read More
Big Smoke Burger Bringing Poutine to NYC
Toronto-based fast casual chain Big Smoke Burger will soon be offering poutine–with real Ontario cheese curds and gravy–to New Yorkers after signing a lease at 70 Seventh Avenue.
“This is a great location to launch Big Smoke Burger in the New York market,” said Alexander Hill of Winick Realty Group, who represented the landlord, Group 868 Inc., in a prepared statement. “This area of Chelsea is growing rapidly with the 1, 2, 3 subway stop right nearby, the storefront is going to get seven-day foot traffic.” Read More
