News

In the latest KNN, Bob Knakal and Jon Hageman discuss where the market will be in 2016.

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October 28, 2015 | Real Estate Weekly

Cushman & Wakefield has been retained on an exclusive basis to sell a package of condominium units located in BridgeView Tower at 189 Bridge Street.

The property is located between Nassau and Concord Streets on the border of Downtown Brooklyn and DUMBO. The asking price is $32 million...

Neighborhoods: DUMBO, Downtown Brooklyn/ Agents: Stephen Palmese

Cushman & Wakefield has been retained on an exclusive basis to sell a retail cooperative leasehold at 143 West 19th Street. The property is located between Sixth and Seventh Avenues in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood. The asking price is $11,350,000.

The 62-year leasehold is for three ground floor units measuring approximately 8,500 square feet. The units benefit from approximately 12’ high ceilings and 120’ of frontage on West 19th Street. Additionally, there is basement storage space.

“This retail property presents an opportunity that is unheard of in this market – a potential 5.5% cap rate once leased out at market rate,” said Cushman & Wakefield’s Brock Emmetsberger, who is exclusively marketing this property.

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Neighborhoods: Chelsea

Cushman & Wakefield has been retained on exclusive basis to sell a development site at 67-02 Queens Boulevard. The property is located on the southeast corner of Queens Boulevard and 67th Street in the Woodside neighborhood of Queens. Ownership is requesting proposals.

The site consists of an approximately 87’ x 112’ irregular lot. Situated within an R7X/C2-3 zoning district, it holds approximately 54,075 buildable square feet as of right. The site currently consists of an approximately 1,800 square foot garage building.

“With its proximity to Manhattan, along with existing short-term tenancy, this site provides an ideal cash flowing development opportunity in an emerging submarket,” said Cushman & Wakefield’s Thomas A. Donovan, who is exclusively marketing this property with Tommy Lin, Eugene Kim, and Robert Rappa.

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Neighborhoods: Woodside

October 28, 2015 | Commercial Observer | Bob Knakal

Last week, I wrote about how the investment sales market is performing on a citywide basis (2015 will undoubtedly set a new all-time record), but if we disaggregate the citywide information, here is what is happening in each geographic submarket.

Manhattan: South of 110th Street on the West Side and south of 96th Street on the East Side there has been $42.1 billion in sales in 1-3Q15, which, if annualized, is on pace for $56.17 billion. Notably, the $42.13 total already eclipses last year’s annual total. The present pace, if realized, would be 33.4 percent above 2014, and would establish a new all-time record by 6.9 percent over 2007’s $52.5 billion. Eight hundred and eleven properties have traded hands in Manhattan thus far in 2015, which is on pace for 1,081 for the year, 6.4 percent above last year’s 1,016, but will fall short of 2012’s record of 1,200 properties sold...

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

Cushman & Wakefield has been retained on an exclusive basis to sell a package of condominium units located in BridgeView Tower at 189 Bridge Street. The property is located between Nassau and Concord Streets on the border of Downtown Brooklyn and DUMBO. The asking price is $32,000,000.

Built in 2008, the 18-story, 58-unit luxury building features a 24-hour doorman, a lobby with approximately 20’ ceilings, a fitness center, and two private outdoor areas with tables and grills. The package consists of one retail unit, a two-level parking garage with 30 spaces, and 29 residential units, of which one is an expansive two-story penthouse. The retail unit is leased to Amarachi Lounge, a popular restaurant and bar, until March 2026. All of the residential units are leased and feature approximately 10’ ceilings, stainless steel and glass kitchen cabinetry, and granite countertops. Additionally, they benefit from in-unit washer and dryers, built-in wine coolers, maple hardwood floors, and private terraces.

“This offering presents a rare opportunity to acquire a low-maintenance, high cash flowing asset with tremendous upside,” said Cushman & Wakefield’s James Nelson, who is exclusively marketing this property with Stephen Palmese.  “The asset is ideally located in the center of the thriving Brooklyn Tech Triangle, straddling Downtown Brooklyn and DUMBO,” added Palmese.

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Neighborhoods: DUMBO, Downtown Brooklyn/ Agents: Stephen Palmese

October 23, 2015 | Bisnow | Scott Klocksin

This year’s on track to smash commercial real estate records in NYC. Panelists at Bisnow’s NY State of the Market event Thursday at 4 Times Square broke down where things are, how we got here and what to expect. Hightower CEO Brandon Weber says what’s unique about the current wave of commercial real estate tech is a lot of it’s being developed by practitioners who know where the pain points are in curating and using mountains of data. Before doing tenant and landlord rep at CBRE, Brandon helped build Excel for Microsoft. But he says it’s ridiculous that so much of the industry still relies on non-collaborative platforms like Excel, which aren’t designed for crunching commercial real estate numbers or allowing for collaboration. With $1.4B projected investment this year (up from about $1B last year), Reonomy CEO Richard Sarkis says tech’s having its moment but that a wave of consolidation and companies that don’t work dropping off the scene is likely in store. Snapped: Onyx Equities managing principal Jonathan Schultz, CompStak CEO Michael Mandel, Brandon, Rich, and Honest Buildings Geoffrey Lewis...

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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

October 19, 2015 | Bisnow | Scott Klocksin

Cushman & Wakefield chairman of NY investment sales Bob Knakal says right now is simply the best market he’s seen in his 32 years in the business. It’s among the reasons we’re excited to host our NY State of the Market event this Thursday at 4 Times Square, starting at 7am.

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

October 21, 2015 | Commercial Observer | Bob Knakal

Frequent readers of this column know that I’ve often said 2014 was the best investment sales market I have seen in 32 years. Thus far, 2015 has been putting up a valiant challenge to that title. In some ways. it is not quite measuring up and, in others, it is well on the way to making history.

If we look at the dollar volume of sales in the New York City market, 2015 will undoubtedly set a new all-time record. In the third quarter of 2015, there was $17.9 billion in sales, bringing the year’s total to $55.43 billion...

October 20, 2015 | New York Post | Lois Weiss

No matter how you count ‘em, commercial sales are on track to surpass the 2007 records and end 2015 with anywhere from $75 billion to as much as $90 billion in closed deals.

Cushman & Wakefield has been retained on an exclusive basis to sell a retail condominium at 170 Mercer Street. The property is located between West Houston and Prince Streets in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood. The asking price is $12,000,000.

The condominium contains approximately 2,030 square feet and features 23’ of frontage. It benefits from a dedicated entrance on Mercer Street and features a mezzanine level with floor-to-ceiling windows, creating high visibility. The condominium will be delivered vacant.

“This is a great opportunity for a retailer or an investor to benefit from the strength of this high-end retail corridor on Mercer Street,” said Cushman & Wakefield’s Guthrie Garvin, who is exclusively marketing this property with Robert Burton.  “This completely renovated and unique retail space offers a great opportunity for a user looking to enter the SoHo market,” added Robert Burton.

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Neighborhoods: SoHo/ Agents: Robert Burton

October 19, 2015 | Globe St. | Paul Bubny

The Rent Guidelines Board’s unprecedented vote this past June for a freeze on rates for one-year leases in rent-stabilized apartments hasn’t exactly put a freeze on multifamily investment sales here.  Yet the vote, coupled with mixed signals from Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration on the city’s affordable housing policy, has created uncertainty among investors and developers alike, according to experts at last week’s RealShare New York conference...

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October 14, 2015 | Commercial Observer | Bob Knakal

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

October 14, 2015 | Globe St. | Rayna Katz

Whether one looks to office leasing or investment sales, the current market’s good health is undeniable. Two industry professionals—both of whom will speak at RealShare New York Wednesday—marveled at the city’s success and discussed the future with GlobeSt.com...

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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