Todd Korren joined Massey Knakal Realty Services yesterday, stepping out from the transaction-based roles that made him one of the city’s elite brokers and into a managerial role as Managing Director of Manhattan.
Mr. Korren, who spoke exclusively with The Commercial Observer about his new role, will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Read More
Grubb & Ellis was purchased out of bankruptcy by BGC Partners last week and merged with another brokerage firm, Newmark Knight Frank. The integrated entity, which many industry experts say will become a new power in the real estate services industry, is being called Newmark Grubb Knight Frank.
Although from a branding standpoint brokers at Grubb & Ellis said they appreciate BGC’s decision to retain some portion of the company’s identity in the new moniker, they claim it is an ode to a partner long forgotten. Read More
The owners of 10 East 53rd Street have tapped CB Richard Ellis‘ “Queen of the Skyscrapers” to find a buyer for the “hidden gem” of a midtown office building, which already counts HarperCollins Publishers as a tenant.
Owner New Millenium Estates will rely on Darcy Stacom, a vice chairman at CBRE, to sell the building.
Ms. Stacom thinks she can find a new owner who will transform the 37-story, 388,000-square-foot asset into “the jewel box it can be.” Read More
Right from the gate, the Invesco Real Estate-Kaufman Organization partnership behind 100-104 Fifth Avenue followed a simple motto: Go big on tech or go home.
Since acquiring the building in January 2011, the Kaufman Organization has leased 100,000 square feet to new tech tenants, including 45,000 square feet to Apple’s iAd mobile advertising unit.
“We’ve been on a tear,” said Grant Greenspan, a principal at the Kaufman Organization. Read More
Since joining Jones Lang LaSalle in 2002 as president of New York operations, Peter Riguardi has spearheaded a rapid expansion drive that has culminated in the hiring of no fewer than 100 new brokers over the past nine years. Mr. Riguardi, 50, spoke to The Commercial Observer last week about that ambitious hiring phase, the firm’s leasing assignment at 85 Broad Street and, for the first time, his plans to move the firm to 330 Madison Avenue.
For an emerging—albeit press-shy—wealth management firm like Forty North Capital LLC, snagging a prime block of office space on the 30th floor of a building that features stupefying views of Central Park and an intimidating list of titanic private equity tenants like Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Silver Lake Partners is indeed a bold move.
In August, Forty North signed a 10-year lease to take 17,000 square feet at 9 West 57th Street, a gleaming, 50-story skyscraper owned by real estate titan Sheldon Solow with an address that a business of any shape or size would kill to have on its business card. Read More
Soon Times Square may be known for its iconic signage, its assortment of apparel shops like Forever 21 and American Eagle Outfitters, and, erm, Google?!
The vaunted tourist trap may be the perfect location for the web giant to test out a “brick and mortar” entity, said David LaPierre, executive vice president of CB Richard Ellis,.
“Theoretically at some point I envision brands like Google or like Amazon… finding a way to manage and spread, I think, their customer base beyond just the internet,” said Mr. LaPierre during CBRE’s third-quarter Manhattan retail media breakfast Monday.
“Time Square is a classic, great place to make that be your flagship.” Read More
Location-based social network Foursquare will say goodbye to its longtime office mates at 36 Cooper Square. The startup, which raised a $50 million round of funding this summer, has vastly outgrown the 7,600 square feet at the East Village digs it shares with Curbed and web design shop Hard Candy Shell, and is negotiating a sublease for the top two floors at 568 Broadway. Read More
Four deals at 950 Third Avenue leave the elegant office tower 95 percent leased, sources told the Commercial Observer.
Three tenants renewed leases, and a fourth tenant, Palatine Capital, inked a deal for 2,100 square feet at the slender 32-story tower, sources said. The leases accounted for more than 30,000 square feet.
The Michael J. Fox Foundation to Fight Parkinson’s Disease is moving up in the world—uptown, that is, to West 37th Street and Seventh Avenue. Read More
Real Estate equity fund Multi-Employer Property Trust made New Jersey history yesterday when it announced it had purchased the Newport Tower in Jersey City, New Jersey for $377.5 million. Read More
Last month, CB Richard Ellis Investors sold its remaining 51 percent stake in 1540 Broadway, the iconic, 42-story property also known as the Bertelsmann Building. For the buyers—Edge Fund Advisors and HSBC Alternative Investments Limited—the deal marks the final chapter in an acquisition grab that began last year when the joint venture took a 49 percent nonmanaging member stake. Mark Keller, Edge’s chief executive and chairman, spoke to The Commercial Observer about the investment strategy and plans to expand his company’s reach from the nation’s capital to the Big Apple.
It was a dramatic growth spurt that prompted Aegis Media to reconsider its commercial real estate options in New York 18 months ago. But it was a commitment by the group’s landlord that ultimately convinced the London-based digital media company to renew its lease at 150 East 42nd Street. Read More
Hulu
Hulu.com has expanded its space at 276 Fifth Avenue, adding 4,710 square feet on the fifth floor, the Commercial Observer has learned. Read More
Three transactions valued at 17,000 square feet were inked at 60 Bay Street in Staten Island, it was announced Monday. The 10-story Class-A office building is located across the street from the $220 million new Staten Island courthouse set to open in 2012. Read More
