Major Developments:
Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the LLC Transparency Act but made a critical change to keep information on limited liability companies out of public view. The owners behind these entities will have to disclose their names and business addresses to the state government, which will keep it confidential. The governor signed a bill that expands the definition of fraud in rent overcharge cases.Governor Hochul unveiled plans for more than 2,800 homes in Queens. The governor will tap industry to revamp 58 acres of underutilized land at Creedmoor Psychiatric Center. 1,633 homes will be for sale, as two-story homes and townhome triplexes. The first phase of the project will consist of co-op units reserved for shareholders earning up to 100% of the area median income. The remaining 1,240 homes will be rent units, with 808 of the apartments reserved as supportive and senior housing.
Mayor Adams launches a 421a rescue team. The task force will help up to 50 projects ahead of a real estate tax deadline.
NY State lawmakers are introducing legislation that would strip the property tax breaks from the Columbia and New York Universities. The bill seeks to address universities that have so blatantly gone beyond primarily operating as institutions of higher education and are instead acting as landlords and developers.
The amended language largely mirrors that of the state’s Clean Slate Act, which Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law in November that states that individuals who remain crime-free can have their misdemeanor and felony convictions sealed after three or eight years, respectively, of being sentenced or released from prison. Violent crimes are not automatically sealed.
Moody’s downgrades Vornado’s debt rating to junk citing increased financing costs and ability to pay off debt. Vornado’s senior unsecured debt rating dropped to Ba1 from Baa3.
Vici buys Chelsea Piers and leases the vast complex back to Betts. The deal replaces Vici’s $72 million loan facility secured by West Side property. Vici packaged it with two other transactions and released a combined figure of $550 million. The triple-net lease is for 32 years, plus a 10-year extension that the tenant must exercise if certain conditions are met.
ASAP Holdings plans to replace the 410 parking spaces at the New York LaGuardia Airport Marriott with a mixed-use building containing 437 apartments and a separate structure with 98 affordable residences for seniors. One building would contain 375,000 square feet The 2nd senior housing building would contain nearly 83,000 square feet. Currently, the site is restricted to being used as a hotel and parking lot.
Innovation QNS reached a deal with The City Council and has approved the 3,200-unit housing project, touting that about 45% of the apartments would be affordable. Larry Silverstein, the 92-year-old developer, laments the lack of 421a.
Santander’s $1.1billion bid nabs stake in Signature’s rent-stabilized debt, winning 20% equity interest in the venture that holds the $9 billion loan portfolio. The FDIC will maintain an 80% stake.
Related Fund Management is in partnership with nonprofits Community Preservation Corporation and Neighborhood Restore. The groups won a 5% stake in the joint venture that holds $15 billion in rent-stabilized loans.
The FDIC awarded Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies and BREIT a 20% stake in a joint venture holding Signature’s $17 billion non-regulated commercial real estate debt. The groups partnered with Rialto Capital and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
Community Preservation Corporation will partner with the FDIC to capitalize an approximately $550 million fund to pay for repairs and loan workouts in rent-regulated buildings. Landlords of about 35,000 apartments could benefit from the strategy.
Brookfield, in partnership with local affordable housing developer Tredway, bid more than 80 cents on the dollar on a $4.4 billion pile of rent-stabilized loans, Those loans were part of the $5.8 billion pool awarded to the Related-led group.
RFR landed a $1.1 billion recapitalization of 375 Park Avenue that will replace a $789 million senior commercial mortgage-backed securities loan and about $350 million and $360 million of fresh equity from JVP Management, which is also the mezzanine lender on the property.
Related Companies and Sterling Equities are set to break ground on their Willets Point project which will be done in phases. The project will contain a Major League Soccer stadium. The Queens development is being done in phases; one is ready to go, and the other is still in the public review process.
The first phase will deliver 1,100 affordable housing units. Some will be reserved for formerly homeless people. More than half of the units will be priced for households earning 80% of the area median income and 20% of the first batch of apartments will be reserved for seniors and will also contain 22,000 square feet of retail, 5,000 square feet of community space and a 650-seat school.
The 2nd phase will include a 25,000-seat soccer stadium for the New York City Football Club and 1,400 more affordable housing units. There’s also a 250-room hotel in the phase.
Charles Cohen is looking to surrender 135 East 57th Street to the owner of the land beneath it.
Cohen Brothers Realty defaulted on his ground lease for failing to pay rent. William Wallace the landlord sued to evict the building owner, citing $9 million in rent arrears and $4.2 million in overdue property taxes.
Crown Merchandise sued Schwartz and his firm Nightingale Properties for refusing to hand over the books and records for 20 East 46th Street building and is now seeking to foreclose and appoint a temporary receiver.
Savanna is the latest office owner to hand keys back to a lender. They signed over its 135,000-square-foot building at 1825 Park Avenue to its lender TPG Real Estate Finance Trust for a deed in lieu of foreclosure.
Moody downgraded a security holding the mortgage at 420 Park Avenue South for the Royalton Park Avenue Hotel to deep junk status, for the 249-key hotel that Highgate Hotels and BentallGreenOak own.
South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation leased 138,000 SF at 131 Walnut Avenue in the Bronx which it subleases to Transcon International, a fine art storage company.
Community High School is leasing 35,000 square feet at 250 Jay Street in Brooklyn. The asking rents were $50/ SF.
Ember Charter Schools leased 25,000 square feet at 295 Front Street for $38 per SF, which will serve as a high school.
HeartShare Human Services of New York rented 12,866 SF at 4507 Fourth Avenue.
Marlow Events signed a 15-year lease for 12,500 SF at 295 Front Street in Brooklyn for a top-floor event space.
Weill Cornell Medicine, the medical school, signed a lease for 200,000 sf for a medical center in Sotheby’s soon-to-be-vacated headquarters at 1334 York Avenue.
Office to Residential Conversions:
5,812 Residential units are coming from commercial-to-residential conversions, 69% is in Manhattan but many of the 63 conversion projects are spread across Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. Nearly 42% of all upcoming conversion units are in the Financial District.Three massive office conversions are underway there, slated to create 2,426 apartments. More than half are in 25 Water Street, with 1,263 residential units.
Pearl House, an office-to-residential conversion construction on the 588-unit project at 160 Water Street, is expected to finish by the middle of 2024 The conversion of the 24-story, 533,000-square-foot office building.
Vanbarton debuts 600 units in FiDi office-to-resi conversion. Developer nears construction finish line on latest luxury project at 160 Water Street. VConstruction on the 588-unit project at 160 Water Street is expected to finish by the middle of next year.
