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FALL'S NEW COLOR; THE DEAL SHEET

New York
FALL'S NEW COLOR; THE DEAL SHEET
You can't wear white now, but Green is in style—well, SL Green. The firm is the first to kick off the post-holiday deals, announcing this morning that it has entered into a contract to sell 19 West 44th St. to Deka Immobilien for $123M.
19 W. 44th St., New York, NY
This marks a significant jump from the $67M the owner paid for the 292k SF building in '04—after the purchase, SL Green implemented a strategic repositioning plan, which included lobby and window renovations, HVAC improvements, and other upgrades designed to attract new tenants and enhance its profile. Occupancy in the building increased from 86% to 99%. The $118M in net proceeds generated by the sale will be reinvested in a tax-efficient manner in connection with its recently announced acquisition of 125 Park. CBRE's Darcy Stacom and William Shanahan repped SL Green, which will continue to manage and lease the property on behalf of the new owner.
Sales Transactions SHI International Corp. purchased the 420k SF 290 Davidson Ave in Somerset, NJ from LNR New Jersey Partners for its new HQ. The company will occupy 200k SF, and the rest of the building will be used for future growth needs and leasing opportunities for other tenants. JLL's Shawn Straka and Steve Fleming repped the buyer.***

Another LNR disposition: A KABR Group real estate investment fund purchased 2, 4, and 6 Brighton Rd. in Clifton, NJ, a 163k SF Class B multi-building office complex that was until recently owned and occupied by Linens-N-Things' corporate HQ. The sale price was $6M cash. Newmark Knight Frank's Matthew Schnurr, John Hoffman, Jackie Chesler, Richard Madison, and Richard Mirliss repped LNR.

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BCN Development is contracted to purchase the 50k SF 45 E. 33rd St., where it will add 43k SF over the existing six floors for a total of 18 floors, and convert the building to condos. The deal is expected to be completed in the fall, with construction beginning in January. Seller Workman Circle will deliver the asset vacant to the buyer.

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MaxLite purchased the 52k SF 12 York Ave. in West Caldwell, NJ from Triple W Realty Associates for an undisclosed price. Cushman & Wakefield's Noah Balanoff and Stephen Elman repped the buyer, while the seller was repped in-house. MaxLite will use the building for its new HQ.

Lease Transactions

Now you can get your discount designer fix uptown—Century 21 is leasing 61k SF at 1972 Broadway for its second Manhattan location, and will take possession in February ‘11, after current tenant Barnes & Noble closes. Cushman & Wakefield's Gene Spiegelman repped Millennium Partners in the deal, and was the sole broker.

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Enor Corp. signed a 52.1k SF lease at 10 Maple St. in Norwood, NJ. The building is owned by Alfred Sanzari Enterprises.

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A super(market) deal for the Upper East Side—Fairway Market inked a long-term, 45.3k deal for a new store at the base of luxury rental apartment building The Ventura, its first in the submarket and the eighth in the NY metro. Robert K. Futterman & Associates' Robert Futterman, Ariel Schuster, Gary Alterman, and Izzy Anthony repped the landlord, Ventura In Manhattan. The store plans to open in fall '11.

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IDB Communications Group renewed its 35k SF lease at 90 John St. Cushman & Wakefield's Jeffrey Heller repped the tenant, while Newmark Knight Frank's Adam Leshowitz, Jamie Jacobs, and Robert Sattler repped owner The Moinian Group.

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Total Freight Systems Corp. signed a 30.1k SF lease at 340 Stiles St. in Linden, NJ. NAI James E. Hanson's Barry Cohorsky repped the tenant, while Brittany Cantor repped owner The Cantor Cos. in-house.

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The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ signed a deposit slip for nine years and 24.6k SF at Harborside Financial Center in Jersey City, NJ, coterminous with the firm's existing 137k SF lease at Harborside Plaza 3. Cushman & Wakefield's Fred Smith and Curtis Foster repped the tenant, and the owner is Mack-Cali.

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Elmwood Park Plaza at 475 Market Street in Elmwood Park, NJ saw two leases: BioReference Laboratories' 17k SF expansion and Medhealth Management's 4.2k SF renewal. Newmark Knight Frank's Christopher Olsen repped the tenant and owner Alfred Sanzari Enterprises repped itself in both deals.

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Archimedes Pharma signed a long-term, 14k SF lease at One Crossroads Dr. in Bedminster, NJ. Cushman & Wakefield's Ron Ganter, Tom Giannone, and Chris Kinum repped the tenant, while C&W's Bill Brown and Josh Cohen repped owner Spear Street Capital.

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Taylor Management Co. inked a long-term, 11.5k SF relocation to 80 South Jefferson Rd. in Whippany, NJ. Colliers International's Doug Rowe and Leslie Meril repped the tenant, while Colliers' Jamie Drummond and Jim Fraser repped owner Whippany Office Park.

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Non-profit Fedcap is expanding to the South Bronx, signing a 10k SF lease at The BankNote, located at the intersection of Garrison Ave. and Lafayette Ave. in Hunt's Point. It will open this fall.

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Cichanowicz Callan Keane Vengrow & Textor inked a 9.5k SF lease renewal at 61 Broadway. Coldwell Banker Commercial Hunter Phoenix's Richard Gottlieb and Wayne Siegel repped the tenant, while David Israni repped owner Broad Street Development.

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Ideal Properties Group brokered four Brooklyn leases: MikNik's five-year, 3.6k SF lease for an unnamed bar at 200 Columbia St. in Carroll Gardens West (broker: Robert Caccomo); Red Daikini's two-year, 2.5k SF storefront at 115 Grand St. in Williamsburg (broker:Justin Dower); The Bagel Market's five-year, 1.6k SF storefront at 106 Seventh Ave. in Park Slope (broker: Shalhevet Deutch); and the Attorney General Sean Coffey campaign office's 1k SF storefront at 87 Fifth Ave. in Park Slope (broker: Kristina Hamlin).

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The search is over for international executive search firm Lucas Group, which is relocating to 6k at 500 Fifth Ave. for five years. CresaPartners' Richard Charkham and Justin Halpern repped the tenant, while Colliers International's Harry Blair and Sean Kearns repped the owner, L&B Realty Advisors.

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Bikini Editorial will be dressing up 64-68 Wooster St. with a 10-year, 5.8k SF lease. Tungsten Properties' James O'Reilly repped the tenant, while David Zar repped owner Zar Property NY in-house.

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Tender Creative inked a 10-year, 5.2k SF lease at 42-44 Greene St. Tungsten Properties' Elizabeth Juviler repped the tenant, while David Zar repped owner Zar Property NY in-house.

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A fishy deal—seafood distributor Aqua Best signed a five-year, 5k SF expansion at 23-25-27 Spencer St. in Brooklyn. Kalmon Dolgin Associates' Neil Dolgin repped both the tenant and owner, a private trust.

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Okapi Partners signed a 4.9k SF lease at 437 Madison. UGL Equis'Dirk Hrobsky, Gregg Espach, and Chris Sterling repped the tenant, while Sage Realty's Jessica Hodkinson and Michael Lenchner repped the landlord.

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Agnès B. is back in SoHo, taking 4.5k SF at 50 Howard St. Robert K. Futterman & Associates' Robert Cohen and Peter Whitenack repped the tenant, while RKF's Sal Ferrigno and Richard Gelber repped owner Roag.

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Mice and cockroaches, be very afraid: Abalon Exterminating just inked a 10-year, 3.5k SF lease at 261 Fifth Ave. The Kaufman Org.'s Elliott Warren and Daniel Lipton repped the tenant, while The Feil Org.'s Randy Briskin repped the landlord.

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We'll take some onions and pickles with this lease—Five Guys Burgers and Fries leased 1.8k SF at 2847 Broadway, the chain's sixth NYC location. Branded Concept Development repped the tenant, while Newmark Knight Frank's Jeffrey Roseman and Benjamin Birnbaum repped the landlord.

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Hats off to 740 Broadway, where Lids signed a long-term , 1.4k SF lease. Crown Retail Service's Stephanie Snyder repped the tenant, while Newmark Knight Frank's Paul Berkman repped the owner.

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Carbohydrates will be greeting you at 1400 Broadway, where Hello Pasta cooked up a 1.3k SF ground-floor retail deal. This will be the chain's fourth Manhattan restaurant upon its fall opening. Newmark Knight Frank's Amira Yunis and Jared Lack repped the tenant, while Amira and NKF's Zach Winkler repped owner W&H Properties.

Financing

Meridian Capital Group arranged $26.8M in financing, including a new package of mortgages totaling $8M for a portfolio of Upper East Side multifamily buildings (arranged by Cary Pollack); a $6M new mortgage on a 156-unit, six-story co-op on Brighton 12th St. in Brooklyn (arranged by Isaac Filler); and a $5.3M new mortgage on a 28.9k SF retail building on Pennsylvania Ave. in Brooklyn (arranged by David Hayum).

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GCP Capital Group arranged $14.6M in mortgage financing, including $7.7M for a six-story elevator apartment building with 78 units in Hartsdale, NY and $5.7M for a seven-story elevator apartment building with 65 units on Fulton St. in Brooklyn. The firm's Paul Greenbaum arranged both deals.

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The Community Preservation Corp., NYC Department of Housing Preservation & Development, and the NYC Pension Fund provided a $3.5M construction and pension fund permanent loan to fully rehabilitate a six-story vacant building at 2527 Adam Clayton Powell Blvd. in Harlem. The property will contain 18 rental units and two commercial units. The developer is Raymond Yu.

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Hudson Realty Capital closed on a $2.8M first mortgage loan secured by an roughly 9-acre industrial park between Lake Ave. and Granite Ave. in Staten Island. The loan was utilized to effectuate the purchase of the existing first mortgage on the property.

Executive Moves

David Pope and Christopher Romney joined JLL's project and development services division in NJ as senior project managers, providing project management services to both owners and tenants. David will be responsible for executing due diligence, project management and development services in NJ and the NY metro, while Christopher will be responsible for managing the development and construction of commercial, corporate, technical, and industrial facilities in NJ.

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Steven LaBold joined Newmark Knight Frank Capital Group as managing director, specializing in institutional capital markets transactions in the Tri State. He was previously with Monday Properties, and also at Prudential Real Estate Investors. He's a Rutgers and University of Delaware grad.

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Heddings Property Group's Upper West Side office added: Maria Pascal, David Schorr, and Thomas Hays as SVPs, and Ingrid Alvarez-Desai and David Ogden as VPs. Maria joins from Prudential Douglas Elliman, and is a Fordham graduate. David Schorr joins from aptsandlofts.com, and previously held a position at The Developers Group. He's a graduate of NYU and Boston University. Thomas Hays joins from Thomas Hays Interiors and its affiliated firm, Emerald Development Group. Ingrid also joins from PDE, and David Odgen comes from Mark David & Co.

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James Angoff joined Paramount Realty USA as director, responsible for analyzing and originating new properties for auction. He was previously with Merrill Lynch Mortgage Lending, and also worked for Morgan Stanley Mortgage Capital. He's a Columbia and University of Michigan graduate.

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Cassidy Turley's NJ office promoted six to associate VPs: Robert Casagrande, Adam Citron, James Costanzo, Frank Kobola, Scott Lawliss, and Matthew Turse. Robert joined the firm in '07, and specializes in industrial. He's a University of Bridgeport grad. Adam joined in '00, and specializes in industrial. He's a Skidmore College grad. James reps corporations in expansions, relocations, JVs, and property sales, and is a Villanova grad. Frank specializes in the sale and leasing of land and commercial property, and is a Fairleigh Dickinson grad. Scott joined the firm in '05, and focuses on office tenant and landlord rep. He's a Colorado Springs University and Indiana University grad. And Matthew has specialized in sales, leasing, and consultation for industrial and commercial properties since '95, and is a Rutgers grad.

Related Topics: Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, Meridian Capital Group, Bill Brown, Monday Properties, Millennium Partners, Ideal Properties Group, Morgan Stanley, Boston University, Zar Property NY, David Zar, The Community Preservation Corp, Staten Island, Hudson Realty Capital, Broad Street Development, Coldwell Banker, Spear Street Capital, The Moinian Group, FINANCINGMeridian Capital Group, Robert Futterman, The Feil Org, Jeffrey Roseman, Ariel Schuster, Housing Preservation, David Hayum, Harry Blair, Sean Kearns, Cary Pollack, The Bank, Realty Advisors, Curtis Foster, South Bronx, Indiana University, Alfred Sanzari Enterprises, Five Guys, Adam Leshowitz, Gene Spiegelman, Isaac Filler, Justin Halpern, Jamie Drummond, Josh Cohen, Elmwood Park, Dirk Hrobsky, Stephen Elman, Wayne Siegel, Harborside Financial Center, David Israni, Zach Winkler, Justin Dower, Gary Alterman, Jared Lack, Paul Berkman, Neil Dolgin, Robert Cohen, Leslie Meril, Fairleigh Dickinson, Richard Mirliss, Barry Cohorsky, Richard Madison, Lucas Group, Richard Gottlieb, Gregg Espach, Sal Ferrigno, Noah Balanoff, Paramount Realty USA, Izzy Anthony, Peter Whitenack, Jeffrey Heller, Doug Rowe, Benjamin Birnbaum, Richard Gelber, Mark David, Realty Associates, Mitsubishi UFJ, Tom Giannone, Steve Fleming, Richard Charkham, The BankNote, Michael Lenchner, Daniel Lipton, Tungsten Properties, Fred Smith, Christopher Olsen, West Caldwell, Shawn Straka, John Hoffman, Ron Ganter, LNR New Jersey Partners, Matthew Schnurr, Sage Realty, BCN Development, The Developers Group, Matthew Turse, KABR Group, Robert Caccomo, Stephanie Snyder, Elizabeth Juviler, Randy Briskin, Robert Sattler, Jackie Chesler, Crown Retail Service, David Schorr, Thomas Hays, Merrill Lynch Mortgage Lending, Robert Casagrande, Kristina Hamlin, Chris Sterling, Fairway Market, Harborside Plaza, South Jefferson Rd