August is a notoriously slow month for New York City real estate, but while there were few investment sales to close, major leases and financing deals were still announced in the last week, including SL Green reeling in another tenant for One Vanderbilt in Midtown East.
TOP LEASES
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Law firm White & Case is expanding its lease at 1221 Sixth Ave. to a total of 489K SF, landlord Rockefeller Group announced Tuesday. The firm is adding 49K SF, and will now occupy the top 10 floors of the building. White & Case was represented by JLL’s Ken Siegel, Tom Doughty and Lisa Kiell, and Rockefeller was represented by an in-house team led by Ed Guiltinan, as well as Cushman & Wakefield’s Rob Lowe.
White & Case first moved into the building four years ago. Rockefeller Group spent $50M on improvements there, and it is now 97% leased.
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The Carlyle Group is taking 94K SF at SL Green’s One Vanderbilt. The lease is for 15 years, the company announced last week, and will see the firm taking space on the 36th through 38th floors. The asking rents were not made public. The under-construction, 1,410-foot-tall building is now 37% leased.
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Providence Equity Partners is taking 21K SF at 31 West 52nd St., The Real Deal reports. The move means the private equity firm is leaving Sheldon Solow’s 9 West 57th St. Newmark Knight Frank’s Neil Goldmacher and Brian Goldman brokered the deal on behalf of the tenants.
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Law firm Warshaw Burnstein inked a deal to take 40K SF at George Comfort & Sons’ 575 Lexington Ave. It will move into the building next year, leaving its home of the last five decades at 555 Fifth Ave. Michael Burgio of Cushman & Wakefield represented Warshaw Burstein, and the landlord was represented by David Falk, Ben Shapiro, Kyle Ciminelli and Michael Shenfeld of Newmark Knight Frank.
TOP FINANCING DEALS
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Wells Fargo lent $530M to Brookfield Property Partners for the construction of One Manhattan West. The financing has a $450M building loan and an $80M project loan, Commercial Observer reports. The building is part of Brookfield’s six-building complex on Manhattan's Far West Side, and is due for completion in 2019. It is over 80% leased, with EY signing on for 675K SF there.
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Douglaston Development scored $380M from Natixis Capital, The Real Deal reports, to refinance its rental at 2 North Sixth St. in Williamsburg. The financing includes a $103M mortgage and absorbs a $276.7M loan from Capital One.
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Arbor Realty Trust has provided a $97M loan to Toby Moskovits and Michael Lichtenstein’s 564 St. John’s Place in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, allowing it to dodge foreclosure. The financing comes in the form of a senior loan only, Commercial Observer reports, and pays off Benefit Street Partners. A foreclosure auction due to take place yesterday was reportedly canceled.
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Greystone Servicing Corp. provided $54.9M to All Year Management for its rental at 1040 Dean St., The Real Deal reports. The Crown Heights property is an eight-story building with 120 apartments, and the loan includes a $9.9M gap mortgage.
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Natixis Real Estate Capital provided $95M for Acuity Capital to refinance its rental building at 212 West 91st St., The Real Deal reports. The loan includes a new, $14.6M mortgage and replaces previous financing of $88.4M from Santander Bank.
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Boston Properties loaned $80M for 3 Hudson Blvd., the building it is developing with Moinian Group, The Real Deal reports. The money refinances a land loan. Boston Properties announced in April that it was making a $500M equity investment in the building, which has yet to sign a tenant despite already breaking ground.
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Benefit Street Partners Realty Trust loaned Bushwick Realty Holdings $110M for its residential development in Bushwick, The Real Deal reports. The firm, run by Moshe Braver, is constructing a multi-building development at 340 Evergreen Ave., according to the publication, which will feature more than 200 units.
TOP SALES
Isaac Kassirer closed on his $64.5M purchase of Thor Equities’ and Rockwood Capital’s 12-story rental at 838 West End Ave., records filed with the city show. Thor paid $64.7M for the property back in 2014, according to The Real Deal. The deal comes as Thor is shedding much of its investments in Manhattan, and not necessarily for profits.
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Rockfarmer Properties and RWN Real Estate Partners paid $56M for a 128K SF, nine-story building at 82-11 37th Ave. in Jackson Heights, Queens, the companies announced. The seller was Carlo Cinganelli, The Real Deal reports. The new owners are planning a repositioning and rebranding of the building, which features retail, indoor parking and office space.
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Silvera Properties closed on its $24.5M purchase of three lots in Tribeca, according to records filed with the city last week. The properties are at 29-31 Leonard St. and 198 West Broadway. The seller was a spice importer, according to earlier reports.
