In 2009 and 2010 “you could have rolled a bowling ball down the aisle” at the International Council of Shopping Centers’ RECon conference “and it wouldn’t have hit anybody,” Massey Knakal executive vice president of retail leasing Benjamin Fox told The Commercial Observer.
But when an estimated 33,000 real estate professionals converged upon one million Read More
Cohen Commercial Properties has acquired a 12,212-square-foot, two-tenant, retail property at 1800 Williamsbridge Road in the Bronx for $11.425 million, The Commercial Observer has learned.
“It is a conservative investment, but it’s in an area that currently and in the longer term is going to appreciate in value,” Andrew Cohen, chief executive officer at CCP, said of the acquisition. Read More
A 4,000-square-foot Bank of America branch location under construction at 6601 18th Avenue in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn has changed hands for $8.45 million, city records show.
The property sits on the corner of 66th Street and 18th Avenue, which is also known as Cristoforo Colombo Boulevard and is one of the neighborhood’s most heavily-trafficked thoroughfares.
Massey Knakal marketed the property, originally for $9.75 million, as offering “a high yield, management free investment opportunity in the heart of one of Brooklyn’s fastest growing middle-class neighborhoods.” Read More
A joint venture between Madison Capital and an institutional owner has purchased a portfolio of five Citibank retail bank branches across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx for $80.55 million.
A team from Newmark Grubb Knight Frank led by Kenneth Zakin arranged the sale and is exclusively marketing seller FGP West Street’s New York portfolio of 18 Citibank-leased properties purchased from Citibank in 2007.
“We are thrilled to complete the sale of this core group of properties, which consisted of the most valuable assets in the entire portfolio,” said Mr. Zakin, who brokered the transaction with Randall Liberman and Hymie Dweck, adding that Madison Capital solidified the deal following a competitive bidding process. “Madison Capital stepped up and submitted an aggressive bid for the five-property portfolio.” Read More
Pier One Imports has inked a deal in Staten Island.
The retailer that specialized in imported him furnishings and decor has grabbed a 12,000-square-foot location at 2385 Richmond Avenue in Staten Island.
The location will be its sixth in the city, following locations at 1110 Third Avenue and 71 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan and a Read More
Moving leases—real estate, equipment or otherwise—onto balance sheets has been kicked around for some time now, but an agreement recently reached by the International Accounting Standards Board and the Financial Accounting Standards Board could signal that change is actually coming.
Sources told The Commercial Observer that the initiative, which caught fire as “transparency” became a buzzword in the midst of the financial crisis, could have major implications for lessees of commercial real estate, particularly those that lease multiple or large blocks of space.
Stephanie Urbanski, a global real estate sector resident and assurance senior manager at Ernst & Young, pointed out several of these implications. They include changes in balance sheet metrics as leverage and capital ratios, decreased borrowing capacity and decisions by some lessees to buy rather than rent.
“Their current loan agreements may say that they must have a debt-to-asset value of some number,” Ms. Urbanski said. “If you’re increasing the debt balance, that gives them less borrowing capacity.” Read More
Chase Welles never needed a Manhattan office address to execute big deals. But now he has one, and a new firm too.
For years, Mr. Welles has been one of the city’s top retail brokers despite being based in White Plains—an unusual headquarters for such a prolific and successful deal-maker in Manhattan, well-known for its clubby retail industry.
Recently, however, Mr. Welles relocated to an office overlooking Columbus Circle. Meanwhile, the firm where he is a principal, Northwest Atlantic, merged with the Shopping Center Group, a national retail services company in Atlanta. Read More
The Winick Realty Group retail duo of Jeff Winick and Darrell Rubens has been brought on to handle retail leasing for 100 Broadway, a building previously represented by Cushman & Wakefield, The Commercial Observer has learned. Read More
C. Wonder, the preppy apparel and accessories retailer launched last year by designer Tory Burch’s ex husband, Christopher Burch, has signed on for a space at Time Warner Center, according to sources familiar with the deal.
The store, which opened another Manhattan store last October in Soho, will take about half of the roughly 15,000 square feet formerly occupied by the now-defunct bookstore chain Borders on the retail complex’s second floor. Read More
The marketplace bears some of the responsibility for turning Harlem into a barren wasteland of chips and cheap takeout. Could it also save it?
Walgreens, which along with many big chains has been accused of failing to sell decent produce and turning many areas of Manhattan into so-called “culinary deserts,” has launched a fresh Read More
