This Week’s N.Y. Deal Sheet

New York City got its biggest snowfall in three years on Tuesday morning. But this week’s sales and financing markets were closer to a flurry than a blizzard, while the leasing market saw some bigger flakes fall.

TOP LEASES

Burlington Stores is expanding at Empire State Realty Trust’s 1400 Broadway, Commercial Observer reported. The company, previously known as Burlington Coat Factory, signed for an additional 68K SF across two floors in the building, where it has been a tenant since 2010. The expansion brings Burlington’s office space in the property to 171K SF, Crain’s New York Business reported. Asking rents were $69 per SF. The company turns 100 later this year and was repped by Colliers’ Alan Desino. The landlord had in-house representation from Shanae Ursini, as well as from Scott Klau, Neil Rubin and Erik Harris of Newmark.

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Rudin landed two headquarters relocations at One Battery Park Plaza, according to a release. Insurance litigation firm Barry McTiernan & Moore took 18K SF on the top floor for 16 years, relocating from a few blocks north at 101 Greenwich St. The second lease was by nonprofit Partnership with Children, which signed for 8K SF for 11 years on part of the second floor and plans to move in during the second quarter. Partnership with Children is relocating from 299 Broadway and expanding at Rudin’s 870K SF, 35-story One Battery Park Plaza. Other tenants in the 1971-built tower include Meridian Capital, the Partnership for New York City, the New York City Fire Pension Fund and CetraRuddy. Cushman & Wakefield’s Jonathan Schindler and Mark Weiss repped Barry McTiernan & Moore, while CBRE’s Ramneek Rikhy, Zachary Price and Marlee Teplitzky repped Partnership with Children. Rudin’s Kevin Daly repped ownership in-house on both deals.

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China Merchants Bank is staying put at Park Tower Group’s 535 Madison Ave., according to a release. The bank signed a 15-year extension for its 43K SF in the 37-story tower, taking up the full 17th, 18th and 23rd floors. CBRE’s Brian Gell and Laurence Briody repped building ownership, while Cresa’s Michael Goldman, Barry Spagna and Erik Sznip represented the tenant. The circa 1981 444K SF building also has law firm Fried Frank, investment firm Bain Capital and investment adviser Electrum Group as tenants, Commercial Observer reported. 

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Video production company CF Entertainment has signed a 16K SF renewal at 1330 Sixth Ave., Commercial Observer reported. The property is owned by a joint venture of Creed Equities, Hakimian Capital, CH Capital Group and Nassimi Realty, which acquired the boutique 52K SF Midtown tower in November 2022. CF Entertainment was founded in 1993 and moved into the property in 2016. Mitchell Konsker, Simon Landmann, Carlee Palmer and Lance Yasinsk of JLL repped the landlord, while Cushman & Wakefield’s Paige Engeldrum and Daniel Organ repped the tenant.

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GFP Real Estate has signed a 16K SF lease with Rooftop Hospitality Group LLC at 520 Eighth Ave., according to a release. The 20-year lease will see the team behind the 230 Fifth Ave. Rooftop Bar create a new rooftop restaurant and lounge on top of 520 Eighth Ave. that is expected to open in 2025. The 1926-built, 26-story office tower in the Garment District is also home to a roster of acting and dancing studios, according to Google Maps. GFP Real Estate’s David Kaye and Matthew Mandell repped both the tenant and the landlord in the deal.

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The Feil Organization has signed luxury tequila-maker Casa Komos Brands Group to 10K SF at 853 Broadway, according to a release. The lease covers the entire second floor and part of the ninth floor for 10 years. The 157K SF, 21-story office tower is undergoing a multimillion-dollar renovation that includes a new glass facade, new lobby and elevator modernization. CBRE’s Ryan Alexander, Ross Zimbalist, Jared Isaacson and Jeff Frenkel repped Casa Komos, while Andrew Wiener, Rob Fisher and Henry Korzec repped The Feil Organization in-house.

TOP FINANCING

The Urban Resource Institute scored a $32.1M refinancing for two Harlem properties, PincusCo reported. The cash came from UMB Bank and comes just a few months after Urban Resource Institute’s most recent loan on the properties, which was $26.4M from KeyBank in October. The properties are 2332 Powell Blvd., a residential building that also serves as a homeless shelter, and 2250 Powell Blvd., a 35-unit residential building that also recently had a contract with the city to serve as a homeless shelter.

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K2 Real Estate Partners notched a $75M refinancing for a 165-unit apartment building in Brooklyn’s East Flatbush neighborhood, PincusCo reported. The loan, which comes from New York-based lender Dwight Mortgage Trust, will pay off the previous $68.2M construction loan on the property. The prior loan came from Slate Property Group’s lending arm, Scale Lending. The property, located at 210 Clarkson Ave., is an eight-story apartment complex that started leasing in August. Its amenities include a roof terrace and on-site laundry, and rents start at a little over $3K per month, Commercial Observer reported. 

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JPMorgan Chase and the Community Preservation Corp. agreed to lend $91M to developer Artimus for a Gowanus residential project, PincusCo reported. The building, which will eventually span 114K SF, will add 140 units to the Brooklyn neighborhood. Gowanus has been the beneficiary of a pilot extension of the 421-a tax subsidy, leading to thousands of proposed housing units in the neighborhood that was once a Superfund site but has recently undergone a renaissance. The CPC provided $16.2M, while JPMorgan provided $74.6M.

TOP SALES

The New York City School Construction Authority acquired a 68K SF site in Flushing, Queens, for a new primary school, Commercial Observer reported. The SCA spent $81.8M for the site at 137-31 45th Ave. from a group of three companies tied to Eastone Equities and Chinese investor Xuan Cheng, the executive director of Sansheng Group.

The site previously housed the former New York Armenian Home but will be repurposed as a 696-seat public school in District 25 by September 2028. The purchase gets the SCA a step closer to its goal of adding 32 new buildings and a total of 18,700 new seats to Queens. The Flushing school, on which the SCA plans to spend $179M in construction, will feature a 30K SF play yard between Colden Street and Kissena Boulevard.

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The site of the principal apartment in the sitcom Friends has sold to Wharton Properties, Crain’s New York Business reported. Frederic Rudd’s Rudd Realty nabbed $18.3M in exchange for the 90 Bedford St. property, which is a residential walk-up building in the West Village with 22 residential units, PincusCo reported. Wharton acquired the building not long after selling three buildings he owned on Fifth Avenue for more than $1.7B combined.