The last gasps of summer did not provide much oxygen to the New York commercial real estate market, which ground to a halt the week before Labor Day. Here are the few deals that got done.
TOP LEASES
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Vanguard Construction & Development is moving into the world's most famous building. The company has signed a 15K SF sublease for a section of the 55th floor of the Empire State Building, where it will take over a piece of Yahoo's lease in the skyscraper. MHP Real Estate Services' Howard Rosenblum represented Vanguard, and JLL's Reid Longley, Martin Horner and T.J. Hochanadel represented Yahoo. Asking rent was $41/SF, and Vanguard plans to build its own offices from space Yahoo never occupied.
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A theater program formerly associated with New York University secured new digs in the Financial District. Molloy College's CAP21 B.F.A. musical theater program will occupy 17K SF at 50 Broadway, a 300K SF office building owned by the United Federation of Teachers. The program will supplement the college's main campus on Long Island. Molloy was represented in the 15-year lease deal by Newmark Knight Frank's Fred Smith, Omar Farooq and Elizabeth Ughetta, while Cushman & Wakefield's Mark Boisi and Stephen Bellwood represented the landlord.
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While almost no office leases crossed the wires last week, an industrial deal in Brooklyn did break through. American Tool & Equipment Rental has agreed to lease the full 15K SF building at 185 Second Ave. in the Gowanus neighborhood of Brooklyn. F. Ranieri + Sons Corp. has owned and occupied the building for more than 100 years, and the mason and building materials provider will continue to own the building while the rental business occupies it. James Dario of Kalmon Dolgin Affiliates brokered the lease on behalf of Frank Ranieri, who is retiring, and the new tenant.
TOP SALES
In a jaw-dropping deal announced Friday, Mitsui Fudosan agreed to pay the Related Cos. and Oxford Property Group $3.6B for a 90% share of 50 Hudson Yards, the most expensive office building in New York City history. The deal gives Mitsui a controlling interest in another Hudson Yards office building after previously buying 92.7% of 55 Hudson Yards.
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Swedish investor Akelius paid $100M to acquire two apartment buildings in Chelsea last week. The investor, active in East Coast multifamily markets, bought 225 West 23rd St. and 220 West 24th St. for $100M from Atlas Capital Group. The buildings have 245 units between them, a mix of rent-stabilized and market-rate units. A Darcy Stacom-led CBRE team brokered the sale.
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While everyone else was on vacation, Akelius closed not one, but two major multifamily acquisitions last week. In addition to its Chelsea acquisition, Akelius paid $60.9M to buy 321 East 22nd St., a 117-unit, six-story rental building in Gramercy. HFF brokered the deal on behalf of the seller, Benedict Realty Group.
TOP FINANCING DEALS
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In conjunction with the aforementioned $3.6B equity investment, the team of Related, Oxford and Mitsui Fudosan secured a $1.5B loan package to fund construction of a 2.9M SF office supertall, 50 Hudson Yards. The debt comes from a group of Bank of China, Deutsche Bank, Wells Fargo and Mitsui Banking Corp.
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HUB Realty, a New Jersey-based owner-developer, has secured a $17M refinancing for its newly built apartments at 185 Ave. B in the East Village. The building has 40 studio and one-bedroom apartments. Allianz Real Estate of America provided the fixed-rate, 15-year loan, and HFF brokered the financing.
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Kushner Cos., active in the lending space as it tries to get out from its own debt, has agreed to loan Somerset Partners $24M on a pair of Bronx projects. Somerset will use the debt to fund its construction of 9 Bruckner Blvd. into a food hall and 2413 Third Ave. as part of its larger Mott Haven project with Chetrit Group.
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