News

March 18, 2016 | Commercial Observer | Liam LaGuerre

Dime Community Bancshares, the parent company of Dime Savings Bank of Williamsburgh, has completed the $80 million sale of its Williamsburg portfolio, Cushman & Wakefield announced in a release today.

Tavros Development Partners, Charney Construction & Development and 1 Oak Development purchased the properties, 263-277 South 5th Street, 262-272 South 4th Street and 205 Havemeyer Street. The site allows for 230,000 buildable square feet, according to C&W.

A C&W team of James Nelson, Brendan Maddigan and Matt Nickerson represented Dime in the transaction, while the buyers did not have a broker...

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Neighborhoods: Williamsburg/ Agents: Brendan Maddigan

Cushman & Wakefield, on behalf of Fresh Property I, LLC., has sold the FreshDirect facility at 23-30 Borden Avenue, located between 23rd and 25th Streets in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens. The facility was sold for $48,000,000 in an all-cash transaction.

Bob Knakal, Chairman, New York Investment Sales at Cushman & Wakefield exclusively represented the seller along with Jonathan Hageman and David Chkheidze. "We were thrilled to represent FreshDirect in the sale of this tremendous asset in Long Island City,” said Knakal.

Scott Rosen, Principal at Akron Trotter Property Group represented the buyer, Atlas Capital. “Atlas has acquired a best-in-class asset with tremendous future upside,” added Rosen.

The property totals approximately 276,705 square feet on a 654’ x 329’ irregular lot, 90% of which includes state-of-the-art material management and refrigeration/freezer systems. 

Since acquiring the property in 1999, FreshDirect has completed substantial capital improvements and upgrades to a majority of the building systems.  Due to the current zoning designation the maximum FAR is 2.0 which translates into a total buildable square footage of 406,552 or an additional 129,847 square feet of development rights.

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Neighborhoods: Long Island City

Cushman & Wakefield is pleased to announce the sale of a landmarked building at 126-128 East 13th Street and a mixed-use building at 123 East 12th Street in a transaction valued at $21,500,000. Cushman & Wakefield’s James Nelson and Matthew Nickerson were engaged by Ultimate Realty to handle the transaction.

This is the second transaction for Ultimate Realty that Cushman & Wakefield handled within the last year. James Nelson sold 28 East 14th Street for $29,500,000 or $2,484 per square foot in 2015, which was one of the most notable sales ever completed in the neighborhood. Ultimate Realty also recently picked up a trio of Lower East Side buildings in partnership with Caspi Development for $24,500,000.

126-128 East 13th Street, located between Third and Fourth Avenues, is a NNN leased, three-story, Beaux-Arts style loft building that contains approximately 15,600 square feet and sits on a 49.67’ x 103.25’ lot. It is currently leased by Peridance, a dance studio, until March 2028 with a five year option. The lease is guaranteed by Capezio Ballet Makers Inc. The building is the former Van Tassell & Kearney auction house and studio of renowned painter and printmaker, Frank Stella. The building features 15’ ceiling heights on the ground floor, 12’ ceiling heights on the lower level and soaring 30’ cathedral ceilings on the second floor magnified by multiple skylights.

123 East 12th Street, also located between Third and Fourth Avenues, is a newly renovated, three-story mixed-use building that contains approximately 4,804 square feet and sits on a 19.75’ x 103.25’ lot. The property consists of a ground floor retail unit with a lower level and a three-bedroom duplex apartment featuring a private rooftop above. The retail unit is leased to a Jiu Jitsu instruction school until August 2023. The duplex unit was gut renovated in 2012 and features 14’ ceiling heights, an eat-in chef’s kitchen, stone counter tops, and a private patio.

Both properties are located within two blocks from Union Square and enjoy convenient access via the 4, 5, 6, N, Q, R and L train lines at the 14th Street – Union Square station.

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Neighborhoods: East Village

A retail condominium at 95 Chambers Street (also known as 77 Reade Street), located between Broadway and Church Street in Manhattan’s TriBeCa neighborhood, was sold in an all-cash transaction valued at $17,750,000.

The property consists of a ground floor and basement space totaling approximately 12,638 square feet and features high 15’ ceilings. The unit sits within a newly renovated building that runs block through from Chambers Street to Reade Street. The building boasts 79’ and 49’ of frontage, respectively. The unit is currently occupied by European Wax Center and Reade Street Prep. The seller was Rob Kaliner in partnership with HP Investors of San Diego. The buyer was HUBB NYC.

The unit is located less than two blocks from the Chambers Street and City Hall subway stations, providing access to multiple subway lines.  It is also four blocks from the World Trade Center and WTC transportation hub.  Neighboring tenants include Dunkin’ Donuts, Starbucks, LePain Quotidien, GNC, Smyth Hotel, and Sophie’s.

“At the time we purchased the property, there was significant leasing risks due to the extensive construction along Chambers Street, but our long term vision paid off nicely,” said Kaliner.

“The in-place income along with the lease up value presented an excellent opportunity for the buyer. We’re glad we had the privilege to satisfy the needs of both the seller and buyer,” said Cushman & Wakefield’s James Nelson who exclusively handled this transaction with Will Suarez and David Shalom.


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Neighborhoods: TriBeCa/ Agents: Guillermo Suarez

A conversion opportunity at 136 North 8th Street, located between Berry Street and Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood, was sold in an all-cash transaction valued at $3,525,000.

The property currently consists of a four-story, approximately 4,000 square foot building on a 20’ x 50’ lot. Overlooking neighboring backyards, this semi-detached building is provided with tremendous amounts of natural light allowing for unique and varied layouts. The sale price equates to approximately $881 per square foot.

The property is in close proximity to Williamsburg’s premier commercial strips and is just steps from the L train at the Bedford Avenue station, offering easy access to Manhattan. Delivered vacant, this site offers a prime opportunity for buyers looking to create unique layouts.

“We were pleased to see many developers, in spite of the uncertainty in the market, who are still bullish on condo sellouts in great locations of Williamsburg. 136 North 8th Street highlights that fact clearly,” said Cushman & Wakefield’s Brendan Maddigan, who exclusively handled this transaction.

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Neighborhoods: Williamsburg/ Agents: Brendan Maddigan

A mixed-use and a multifamily building at 527 Carroll Street, located between 3rd and 4th Avenues on the border of Brooklyn’s Park Slope and Gowanus neighborhoods, were sold in an all-cash transaction valued at $3,400,000.

The 25’ x 100’ lot consists of two buildings, one mixed-use and one multifamily, that combine for approximately 3,750 square feet. The two buildings have undergone a full renovation. The mixed-use building, located in the front of the lot, contains one retail unit and two, two-bedroom residential units above. The multifamily building, located in the rear of the lot, contains two residential units, of which one is a two-bedroom duplex and one is a two-bedroom unit with a private roof deck above. All units feature brand new appliances, exposed brick, and individual boilers. There is a laundry room intended to be shared by all tenants located in the rear building. Additionally, there is a beautiful, landscaped interior courtyard. The sale price equates to approximately $907 per square foot.

The property is ideally located on the cusp of both the Park Slope and Gowanus neighborhoods. It is just two blocks from the Union Street subway station, where the R train is accessible. Some neighborhood attractions include Whole Foods, the Textile Arts Center, and multiple restaurants including Dinosaur BBQ, Little Neck, and Runner and Stove. Additionally, the property is located within the PS 321 school district and is across from PS 372, The Children’s School.

“The sellers did a beautiful job gut renovating the buildings.  The biggest challenge in this transaction was proving the retail rent. The sellers retained Cushman & Wakefield’s Nicole Liebman for the assignment, who was able to find the perfect tenant, proving the buildings full income potential. At this point the buyer, who had toured the building months earlier, increased his offer, ultimately transacting at $3,400,000, which equates to a 5.45% cap rate,” said Cushman & Wakefield’s Aaron Warkov, who exclusively handled this transaction along with Winfield Clifford.  “527 Carroll Street was purchased by a 1031 exchange buyer willing to pay over $900 per square foot to acquire the turn-key mixed-use investment property,” added Winfield Clifford.

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Neighborhoods: Gowanus, Park Slope/ Agents: Winfield Clifford

November 23, 2015 | Real Estate Business Online | Amy Works

Cushman & Wakefield has arranged the sale of two development sites, located at 181 Troutman St. and 303 Stockholm St. in Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood. The sites sold for $2.6 million, or $236 per buildable square foot, in an all-cash transaction...

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Neighborhoods: Bushwick

A mixed-use building at 20-22 Court Street, located at the intersection of Moore Street and Washington Place in Hackensack, New Jersey, was sold in an all-cash transaction valued at $2,300,000.

The four-story building contains approximately 12,052 square feet and features ground floor retail space, premier office space on floors two through four, and 42 surface parking spaces. The retail space is occupied by Valley National Bank, offering drive-through banking and a 24-hour ATM. The sale price equates to approximately $191 per square foot.

Located in the heart of Downtown Hackensack, the property is at the center of a well-developed transportation network, which connects it to boroughs in New Jersey, New York City, and Newark International Airport. It is in close proximity to I-80, Route 17, and Route 4 and is served by two train stations on the NJ Pascack Valley Line, providing access to Secaucus Junction and Hoboken Terminal. Additionally, the property is located in the city’s designated redevelopment zone, with several new developments currently in the planning and construction phases.

“After our extensive marketing process that drew interest from investors across the Tri-State area, we were able to identify the perfect buyer from out-of-state for our client, who was thrilled with the 4.6 % cap rate we achieved,” said Cushman & Wakefield’s Dmitry Shaplyka, who exclusively represented the seller in this transaction.

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Neighborhoods: Bergen County/ Agents: Dmitry Shaplyka

Two development sites, located at 181 Troutman Street and 303 Stockholm Street in Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood, were sold in an all-cash transaction valued at $2,600,000.

The residential development sites combine for approximately 11,000 buildable square feet. The properties were delivered vacant and the sale price equates to approximately $236 per buildable square foot.

181 Troutman Street, located between Wilson and Central Avenues, is currently improved by a two-story, two-unit building that contains approximately 2,025 square feet and was gut-renovated in 2009. It benefits from approximately 3,475 square feet of additional air rights. 303 Stockholm Street, located between Wyckoff and Irving Avenues, is currently vacant land on an approximately 25’ x 100’ lot.

The properties are ideally located near multiple public transportation options, including the L, J, M, and Z trains, offering access to Manhattan and Williamsburg within 20 minutes. Additionally, the properties benefit from close proximity to many of Bushwick’s already flourishing art galleries, night life, and dining options.

This transaction was exclusively handled by Cushman & Wakefield’s Michael Amirkhanian.

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Neighborhoods: Bushwick

A mixed-use building at 1481 York Avenue, located between East 78th and East 79th Streets on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, was sold in an all-cash transaction valued at $7,350,000.

The five-story building contains approximately 7,500 square feet and sits on a 25’ x 75’ lot. The unit mix consists of one commercial unit and eight apartments, of which five are free market and three are rent stabilized. The five free market units were delivered vacant. Additionally, there are approximately 11,250 square feet of air rights remaining. The sale price equates to approximately $980 per square foot.

“This transaction was a win for both the buyer and seller as the last time this building was sold was 35 years ago. The sales price indicates how strong the market continues to be east of Second Avenue on the Upper East Side,” said Cushman & Wakefield’s Thomas D. Gammino Jr., who exclusively handled this transaction with Brett Weisblum.

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Neighborhoods: Upper East Side

The Duke Properties Brooklyn Portfolio, consisting of four multifamily and one mixed-use building in Brooklyn, was sold in an all-cash transaction valued at $16,700,000. 

The five brick and limestone walkup buildings are located at 29 Brooklyn Avenue, 137 MacDonough Street, and 235 Malcolm X Boulevard in Bedford-Stuyvesant, 1509 Pacific Avenue in Crown Heights and 300 Palmetto Street in Bushwick.  The buildings total approximately 43,750 square feet across 49 apartments and two stores – 8 of the residential units were delivered renovated and 29 others are to be vacant.  The sales price equates to approximately $382 per square foot, or $327,000 per unit.

“The scale provided by packaging these properties together, along with the dynamic location of the portfolio, attracted substantial institutional interest,” said Cushman & Wakefield’s Michael Amirkhanian, who exclusively handled this transaction.  “The purchaser has plans to reposition vacant units with quality finishes to match growing neighborhood demand,” Amirkhanian continued.

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Neighborhoods: Bushwick, Bedford Stuyvesant, Crown Heights

A development site at 70 Bushwick Avenue, located on the northwest corner of Powers Street and Bushwick Avenue in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood, was sold in an all-cash transaction valued at $2,800,000.

Located within an R7A zoning district, the corner site holds approximately 7,493 buildable square feet as of right and sits on a 25.75’ x 82.33’ irregular lot. It is currently improved by a single-story commercial building. The sale price equates to approximately $378 per buildable square foot.

The property is ideally located just one block from the L train at the Grand Street station, providing direct access to Manhattan.

“We received several solid offers within just two weeks of bringing the property to market. In less than 30 days, the site was in contract for an all-cash, full-ask offer,” said Cushman & Wakefield’s Brendan Maddigan, who exclusively handled this transaction. “We are thrilled to see these numbers and such a strong market response for the neighborhood,” continued Maddigan.

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Neighborhoods: Williamsburg/ Agents: Brendan Maddigan

On behalf of Mount Sinai St. Luke’s, Cushman & Wakefield arranged the sale of the fee position of 1080 Amsterdam Avenue for $29,100,000. The property, located on the corner of Amsterdam Avenue and West 113th Street on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, is subject to a 99-year net lease that commenced in 2012. 

The 20-story pre-war apartment building contains approximately 82,250 square feet and was leased in 2012 to a partnership of SL Green and Stonehenge, who have since completed a full gut-renovation of the entire property.  Constructed circa 1932, the building features approximately 140’ of combined frontage and stands at nearly 200’ tall making it the tallest multifamily building in the area.  It receives excellent light due to its southern exposure and offers stunning views of Midtown Manhattan, the Hudson River, and points east overlooking Morningside and Central Parks.

“As the fee owners of 1080 Amsterdam Avenue, Mount Sinai was pleased to work with Cushman & Wakefield on this transaction, the proceeds of which we plan to use to further enhance the quality health care services offered by and the comprehensive transformation of Mount Sinai St. Luke’s,” said Arthur A. Gianelli, President of Mount Sinai St. Luke's Hospital.

As fee owner, the purchaser will reap the long-term benefits of the property’s ideal location, adjacent to Columbia University, Morningside Park, St. Luke’s Hospital, and The Cathedral of St. John the Divine.  The offering presented an excellent opportunity for investors to place long-term capital into one of the safest real estate investments available in the marketplace, a fee position secured by a fully-renovated and well-operated luxury apartment building. Features of the lease include ongoing capital improvement requirements, well defined use and assignment provisions, and frequent and substantial escalations inclusive of regular fair market value resets. The sale price represented a 00.86% capitalization rate on the in-place rent at the time of sale.

“Long term investors were very excited by the rapid escalation of rent to the fee position over the course of the next 18 years followed by three substantial fair market resets at 25 year intervals. The structure of the lease provides a rare investment vehicle with the safety of a long term bond and the potential yield of a value-add investment,” said Cushman & Wakefield’s Hall Oster, who exclusively marketed the fee position with President, New York Investment Sales, Paul J. Massey Jr., Teddy Galligan, and Andrew Berry. Massey added, “The marketing of this long-term, stable asset led to a bidding frenzy from a variety of deep-pocketed investors, which ultimately resulted in achieving the highest possible price for our client.” The same Cushman & Wakefield team structured the lease on behalf of Mt. Sinai St. Luke’s in 2011-2012. 

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Neighborhoods: Upper West Side/ Agents: Paul Massey Jr.

October 28, 2015 | Real Estate Business Online | Jaime Lackey

Cushman & Wakefield has arranged $43.5 million in financing for a pair of adjacent residential and mixed-use properties located at 141 and 315 South Harrison Street in East Orange, on behalf of Blackstone 360, the properties’ owner. George Gnad, Jessica Ke and Michael Winters of Cushman & Wakefield secured the financing from Amboy Bank...

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Neighborhoods: Essex County/ Agents: Jessica Ke

A mixed-use building at 213 Seventh Avenue, located between West 22nd and West 23rd Streets in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood, was sold in an all-cash transaction valued at $6,700,000.
 
The five-story building contains approximately 4,687 square feet and sits on a 17’ x 60’ lot, with retail on the ground floor, community facility use on the second floor, and five residential units above. The building benefits from a tremendous amount of foot traffic on Seventh Avenue and the entire property was recently renovated. The sale price equates to approximately $1,429 per square foot. 
 
“Over a ten year average, fewer than two mixed-use buildings trade per year on the avenues in Chelsea. These rare offerings are always in high demand,” said Cushman & Wakefield’s Brock Emmetsberger, who exclusively represented the seller in this transaction. The buyer was represented by Greg Parassio from Lincoln Property Company.

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Neighborhoods: Chelsea

October 23, 2015 | CoStar Group | Mark Heschmeyer

Kaufu Properties, a Chinese developer, purchased a development site at 143-161 E. 60th St., between Lexington and Third avenues bordering Midtown’s Plaza District and the Upper East Side. The parcels sold in an all-cash transaction valued at $300 million...

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Neighborhoods: Upper East Side

October 23, 2015 | New York Real Estate Journal | Kristine Wolf

 A residential building at 2 Pierrepont St., located on the southeast corner of Pierrepont St. and Pierrepont Place in Brooklyn Heights, was sold in an all-cash transaction. The 12-story building contains 40,178 s/f on a 42’ x 100’ lot. It consists of 39 residential units, totaling 26,700 rentable s/f. The unit mix consists of 13 studios, 4 one-bedrooms, 18 two-bedrooms, 3 three-bedrooms, and 1 four-bedroom...

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Neighborhoods: Brooklyn Heights/ Agents: Stephen Palmese

A mixed-use conversion/redevelopment site at 337-345 Lafayette Street (aka 51-53 Bleecker Street), located on the northeast corner of Lafayette and Bleecker Streets in Manhattan’s NoHo neighborhood, was sold in an all-cash transaction valued at $20,750,000.

This prime corner site features over 100’ of frontage on Lafayette Street and 29’ on Bleecker Street.  It currently consists of a three-story building containing approximately 9,789 square feet.  The sale price equates to approximately $2,120 per square foot, a record for NoHo.

The site holds a base buildable square footage of approximately 16,275 at a 5.0 FAR and a buildable square footage of approximately 21,158 at a 6.50 FAR for community facility.   It is zoned M1-5B, allowing for commercial, hotel and live-work as-of right.  Although located in an M1-5B district, a developer could seek a special permit for residential, as multiple nearby projects have obtained a variance in order to construct residential condominiums.

“After first marketing the property in 2010 for substantially less, the sellers ultimately took the property off the market.  We brought the property to market early this year and contracted for almost three times the previous asking price.  The new owner plans to bring this sleepy corner back to life, taking advantage of the buildings tremendous location and proximity to SoHo,” said Cushman & Wakefield’s James Nelson, who exclusively handled this transaction with Mitchell Levine.  

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Neighborhoods: NoHo

A development site at 143-161 East 60th Street, between Lexington and Third Avenues bordering Midtown's Plaza District and the Upper East Side, was sold in an all-cash transaction valued at $300,000,000.

The assemblage, consisting of six contiguous low-rise buildings that sit on approximately 19,685 square feet of land, features 200 feet of street frontage directly across from the world-renowned Bloomingdale's flagship store and contains roughly 282,925 buildable square feet above grade.  Zoning allows for a base FAR of 10.0 on a residential or commercial basis with an additional 2.0 FAR of strictly residential rights permitted through the Inclusionary Housing Program, which have already been transferred to the site and were included in the sale. The sale price equates to approximately $1,060 per buildable square foot.

The seller of 143-161 East 60th Street is New York City-based developer, The World Wide Group, which completed the property assemblage in 2014. Kuafu Properties, a Chinese developer, purchased the assemblage.

Adjacent to Billionaire's Row, the site provides the opportunity to construct a global icon that will undoubtedly attract elite residential purchasers and draw top retail and commercial tenants from around the globe.  Flexible zoning offers a first-class residential and commercial development opportunity in one of Manhattan's most prominent zip codes.  Due to the unlimited height potential, expansive lot size, and desirable location, development of this property will alter the Manhattan skyline and become one of the city's tallest structures that will offer panoramic views of Central Park, Manhattan, and beyond.

"World Wide did an amazing job of assembling this site over a ten year period which created tremendous value in the property. And they were great folks to work with," said Cushman & Wakefield's Bob Knakal, Chairman, New York Investment Sales, who exclusively handled this transaction with Clint Olsen. "Kuafu was also an extreme pleasure to deal with. I have rarely seen a foreign buyer move so swiftly, yet carefully, to acquire such a major site. They were totally professional every step of the way," added Knakal. 

The seller was represented by Laurie Grasso, Esq. and Douglas Hoffmann, Esq. of Hunton & Williams LLP. The buyer was represented by Daniel Dwyer, Esq. of Dai & Associates, PC.

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Neighborhoods: Upper East Side, Midtown East

A retail building at 160-04-06 Northern Boulevard, located between 159th Street and 162nd Street in the Flushing neighborhood of Queens, was sold in an all-cash transaction valued at $18,200,000.

The parcel consists of two tax lots and currently holds a building containing approximately 16,454 square feet on an approximately 42,763 square foot lot, with 97 parking spots. The site benefits from approximately 200 feet of frontage on Northern Boulevard. The property is currently leased on a NNN basis to a supermarket through September 2027 with a 5-year option, and the sale price equates to approximately $1,106 per square foot and a 5.0% cap rate.

“Northern Boulevard in Flushing has been seeing a tremendous amount of attention recently. There is a lack of real estate available in Flushing, therefore foreign and local investors are purchasing existing retail at magnified prices due to the favorable zoning and development upside in the future,” said Cushman & Wakefield’s Stephen R. Preuss, who exclusively represented the seller in this transaction with James Nelson and Thomas A. Donovan. The buyer was represented by Franklin In of ReMax Frontier.

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Neighborhoods: Flushing/ Agents: Stephen Preuss