Trio Of Bankruptcies Lead To $140M In Sales: The N.Y. Deal Sheet
Not one, not two, but three of the highest-dollar property sales in New York City over the past week have come via the bankruptcy process as distress continues to work its way through the commercial real estate sector.
TOP SALES
Turnbridge Equities has acquired the 103K SF industrial outdoor storage property at 20-25 130th St. in College Point, Queens, the Manhattan real estate investment firm announced. It paid $20M as the stalking horse bidder during the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings of the site's previous owner, trucking company Zano Industries. The IOS site is the 10th industrial property in the region for Turnbridge, which plans to pave it, add new fencing and lighting and lease it to a long-term tenant, according to a release. DY Realty's Mathew Diana ran the sales process.
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CIM Group also made an addition to its portfolio through the Chapter 11 asset sales process. The Los Angeles-based developer paid $55.7M to acquire six buildings in Williamsburg from the bankrupt Israeli real estate company Leny Group, Crain's New York Business reports. Leny had acquired the buildings at the corner of North Third and Berry streets, which it converted from a century-old brick warehouse into retail spaces and 40 rental units, for $92.2M in 2015. It defaulted on a $70M mortgage and dodged a foreclosure auction last year by filing for Chapter 11 protection, Crain's reported.
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An Upper West Side storage facility could be the subject of a renovation or redevelopment following its acquisition for $60M. An affiliate of Atlanta-based Storage Post acquired 473 Amsterdam Ave. from Sofia Storage, financing the purchase with a $71.2M loan from Heitman Capital Management, according to deed records first reported by PincusCo. The loan matures July 15, 2028, but includes two one-year extension options. The 97K SF property was also the subject of a bankruptcy case filed in January following a 2024 money judgment by the Estate of Frank Sofia against John Sofia, Leonard Sofia and Amy Rosina Sofia, according to Pincus. The building also has ground-floor retail that is partially occupied by a barber shop.
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Maddd Equities has acquired the Bronx General Post Office in Concourse Village for $44M, PincusCo reports. It acquired the 175K SF landmarked property at 558 Grand Concourse from the Bristol Group and financed the deal with a $31M loan from LibreMax Capital.
TOP LEASES
Fintech firm Clear Street expanded and extended its lease at 4 World Trade Center. The company will occupy 88K SF across the 45th and 46th floors in the 2.3M SF skyscraper in a 10-year lease with Silverstein Properties. It moved into the building in 2021 via a sublease with MediaMath before converting its deal into a 44K SF direct lease. Clear Street doubling its space brings 4 WTC to 97% leased. Silverstein's Keith Cody and Gordon Hough repped the landlord in-house, while Clear Street was represented by Josh Berger of Norman Bobrow & Co.
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SL Green has landed another tech company at its One Madison development, bringing the REIT's latest office project to 78% leased. Sigma Computing signed a 64K SF lease for the third floor of One Madison Ave., the landlord announced last week. The lease is a major expansion for the artificial intelligence firm, which occupies 16K SF at Zero Irving. It joins IBM and Palo Alto Networks in the tech-heavy tenant roster of the 1.4M SF tower, with an asking rent for the space of $115 per SF, Crain's reported. Newmark's Brent Ozarowski represented Sigma Computing, while JLL's Paul Glickman, Alex Chudnoff, Ben Bass and Diana Biasotti negotiated the deal for SL Green.
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The Empire State Building has another new occupant. Elsberg Baker & Maruri signed a 39K SF lease to take a full floor and part of another at the Fifth Avenue skyscraper. The law firm will be moving its office from Vornado's One Penn Plaza in the deal with Empire State Realty Trust. Newmark's Brian Goldman, Nicholas Lucia and Jason Perla did the deal for Elsberg Baker & Maruri, while their colleagues Scott Klau, Erik Harris and Neil Rubin represented ESRT alongside in-house leasing agent Jordan Berger.
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A nonprofit dedicated to empowering boys and young men has signed a 25-year net lease for 565 Morris Ave. in the Bronx. The Boys' Club of New York plans to turn the 33K SF building in the South Bronx into a new clubhouse with classrooms, computer labs, athletic facilities, a gaming center and a “hydroponics area.” Open Impact Real Estate's Stephen Powers, Lindsay Ornstein, Alexander Smith and Chloe Holder represented BCNY, while CBRE's Jordan Kaplan, Dean Rosenzweig, Jeremy Scholder, Jojo Lewis and Cervini Law Group's Joseph Cervini Jr. represented the landlord, Bronx Realty Group.
TOP FINANCING DEALS
The Beitel Group has secured a $305M bridge loan to complete its 755-unit, two-tower multifamily development in Mott Haven. Scale Lending provided the 18-month term loan with two six-month extensions to the project, which commenced construction in December and is expected to deliver in June 2026. The Ben Beitel-led development firm tapped Prestige Construction NY to build the 515K SF project, which spans interconnected 40- and 26-story towers atop nearly 12K SF of retail and 194 parking spaces. Landstone Capital Group arranged the debt for the development, which was grandfathered into the 421-a tax abatement.
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Vornado Realty Trust paid $50M to refinance the 1.2M SF Penn 11 office tower. The REIT secured a $450M, five-year, interest-only CMBS loan tied to the Midtown South building at a fixed interest rate of 6.35%. The loan, combined with the payment, will retire a $500M loan tied to the building that was set to mature in October. The new loan was originated by Citi Real Estate Funding, Bank of Montreal and Societe Generale Financial Corp.
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Maxim Capital Group has provided Montperia Group and JLS Construction with a $115M construction loan at 24-02 Queens Plaza South in Long Island City, PincusCo reports. The developers acquired the site, formerly the home of Apex Technical School, in 2023 from Carlyle Group for $49M. Maxim provided a $25M acquisition loan for that purchase. A 195K SF development plan was submitted for the site in 2021, but nothing has been permitted, according to Pincus.
