By Gus Delaporte 5/02 9:00am

Postings

CO POSTINGS 4-30

Power 100 Heat Map

From a Taconic Investment Partners project in Hunts Point to the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan, power in New York real estate circles has increasingly expanded from the comfortable confines of Midtown Manhattan to the fringes of all five boroughs. While large developments such as the Related Company’s Hudson Yards often dominate the conversation, Brooklyn, Queens and even the Bronx continue to grow in stature.

Long Island City is fast becoming a focal point for the real estate industry as Rockrose and other residential developers tap into the growing Queens neighborhood. In the Bronx, Taconic Investment Partners, formerly the owners of 111 Eighth Avenue, is in the process of a significant capital improvement plan at the BankNote Building on Lafayette Avenue in Hunt’s Point.

Below, a sampling of where power thrives in New York City in 2013. Read More

By Al Barbarino 4/18 7:30am

Lease Beat

780 Third Avenue

EverBank Inks Valley National Sublease at TIAA-CREF’s 780 Third Avenue

Jacksonville, Florida-based EverBank has inked a 5,118 square feet sublease at its first New York location at 780 Third Avenue in Midtown East, The Commercial Observer has learned.

The sublease from Valley National Bank is for part of the 16th floor, which was already built out and designed for the needs of a bank, making for a perfect match.

“We acted immediately when we found out that Valley National was offering space at this location,” said CBRE’s Arkady Smolyansky, who represented EverBank with Gerry Miovski and Oliver Barakat, who works out of CBRE’s Florida offices.  “The space at 780 Third Avenue was already built and furnished, allowing us to get EverBank a great space quickly and with minimum up-front capital expenses.  It made a lot of sense.” Read More

By Gus Delaporte 2/26 9:00am

Feature

8SpruceStreet

Head of the Class: Teachers Retirement Fund TIAA-CREF Making Waves in New York

Though not a traditional owner-operator, TIAA-CREF has begun to draw the attention of the real estate industry in recent months for a bevy of deals, including its acquisition of a stake in the Frank Gehry-designed building at 8 Spruce Street and a joint venture with Norges Bank Investment Management.

The asset management firm’s steady persistence in the real estate market during the downturn has led to a realization of gains, and recent deals could lead to the redeployment of capital in key markets going forward, said analysts familiar with the firm’s strategy going into 2013.

“TIAA is one of the investors that was pretty active in the depths of the market in 2009 and 2010, and some of those investments have turned into significant home runs,” said Dan Fasulo, managing director and head of research at Real Capital Analytics. Read More

By Al Barbarino 1/03 12:00pm

Sales Beat

1511 Third Avenue

TIAA-CREF Pays $60M for 1511 Third Avenue

TIAA-CREF has purchased 1511 Third Avenue on the Upper East Side from Related Companies for $60 million, sources tell The Commercial Observer.

The 60,000-square-foot property is a four-story landmarked building, one block south of East 86th Street, the main retail artery in the neighborhood. Read More

By Al Barbarino 12/27/12 7:30am

Lease Beat

685 Third Ave_opt

Epiq Systems to Ink 100,000 SF Deal

Technology firm Epiq Systems is on the brink of signing a lease for roughly 100,000 square feet of office space at 685 Third Avenue, The Commercial Observer has learned.

A source familiar with the deal said it was slated to close towards the end of last week, but the deal had not closed by press time.

“A couple more days,” the source said. Read More

By Al Barbarino 12/07/12 12:53pm

Lease Beat

17 State Street

BATS Global Markets takes 7,234 Square Feet at 17 State Street

BATS Global Markets – a developer and operator of electronic platforms for securities trading in the United States and globally – has signed a 7,234-square-foot office lease at 17 State Street, in the heart of the Financial District, The Commercial Observer has learned.

The space makes up roughly half of the 32nd floor in the 42-story skyscraper, known for its distinct, curved facade, built in 1988 and designed by Emery Roth and Sons.  BATS Global Markets will be relocating from their 14 Wall Street location and will build out two sections of raw space on the floor. Read More

By Daniel Edward Rosen 8/14/12 10:51am

Lease Beat

685 Third Avenue (photo courtesy of CoStar)

Salesforce.com Swaps Grand Central Spaces, Takes New Office at 685 Third Avenue

Salesforce.com has inked a 10-year lease for 74,349 square feet at 685 Third Avenue, the TIAA-CREF-owned office building in the Grand Central area.

The tech company, which offers cloud-computing services, will be taking a much larger office than the 16,350 square foot office space it currently has at 2 Grand Central, which it will be vacating in favor of 685 Third Avenue.

Cushman & Wakefield’s Gus Field represented Salesforce.com in the deal.  Read More

By Daniel Geiger 5/03/12 1:30pm

Lease Beat

The Network Mary Ann Tighe Built.

A&E Commits to 222K Swing Space

A&E Television Network has renewed its 222,000-square-foot temporary office lease at 685 Third Avenue, but only until the end of the year, when the large network is planning to relocate back to space it has on East 45th Street. Read More