By Gus Delaporte 5/08 1:00pm

Sales Beat

425 Lexington Avenue

Hines Properties to Be Sold in $1 Billion Deal

Hines has selected buyers for its properties at 499 Park Avenue and 425 Lexington Avenue, it was announced today. The properties, part of the Hines U.S. Core Office Fund, are set to be acquired by American Realty Advisors and institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management, respectively, for a combined total of over $1 billion.

“New York has demonstrated a capacity for large scale capital transactions,” Tommy Craig, senior managing director at Hines, told The Commercial Observer. “That has been validated [in these transactions.]” Read More

By Gus Delaporte 5/07 9:00am

The Sit-Down

DSCF5453

Catching Up With Hines

Hines has been busy on the investment and development side over the past few months. After breaking ground at 7 Bryant Park in February, officials at the 56-year-old firm announced in March that they would put up for sale its properties at 499 Park Avenue and 425 Lexington, both part of the Hines Core Fund. Read More

By Al Barbarino 1:02pm

Sales Beat

(Credit: Macklowe Properties)

125 West 55th Sells for $470 M. Amid Push to Unload Class A Towers

In another whopping example of large real estate owners seeking to capitalize on current market conditions by unloading top-shelf inventory, Boston Properties has reportedly sold its 23-story office building at 125 West 55th Street for $470 million to J.P. Morgan Asset Management.

The deal follows a string of other Class A building sales this year – 550 Madison Avenue, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, 237 Park Avenue and 75 Rockefeller Plaza – which accounted for $3.8 billion of the city’s first quarter dollar volume and created a 46% year-over-year jump, according to data from Avison Young. Read More

By Stephen Kleege 11/13/12 7:15am

Power Broker

Alex Chudnoff.

The Storm Chaser: Alexander Chudnoff on Post-Sandy NYC Recovery Efforts

Alexander Chudnoff, a commercial leasing broker who takes pride in strengthening relationships with clients through “impeccable service,” was especially busy in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

The Jones Lang LaSalle executive managing director was dividing his time last week between volunteer efforts in the Rockaways, where he provided hot pizza and coffee to storm victims, and getting on the phone to make sure his Downtown Manhattan clients could stay open. Though it was a difficult time, the activity of making connections was just what attracted Mr. Chudnoff to the business in the first place.

“I love to make calls. I love to canvass,” he said. “I like to develop the relationship.”

In some cases, the storm required short-term arrangements, such as lining up space with other clients or in Jones Lang’s own offices, he said. In others, clients were able to proceed with minimal disruption, as when Dentsu Holdings USA returned to work at 32 Avenue of the Americas when Rudin Management opened the building the Monday after the storm. Read More

By Daniel Edward Rosen 1/04/12 10:00am

Lease Beat

499 Park Avenue.

Home Goods Maker Inks on Park Ave.

French luxury home goods maker Daum Inc. and its sister dinnerware company Haviland will officially move out of its longtime Madison Avenue storefront to 4,500 square feet of office and retail space at 499 Park Avenue, where the business had been recently operating a temporary store for the holiday season. Read More