News

Cushman & Wakefield has been retained on an exclusive basis to sell a development site with approved plans at 1580 Nostrand Avenue, located between Albemarle Road and Tilden Avenue in Brooklyn’s Flatbush neighborhood. The asking price is $28,000,000.
 
The large-scale development site contains approximately 237,937 gross square feet with frontage on Nostrand Avenue, Albemarle Road, and East 29th Street. The plans for the site include 21 floors of market-rate residential apartments over a two-story community facility base, and a parking facility for 163 cars. The plans call for 153 residential apartments, comprised of 26 one-bedroom, 123 two-bedroom, and 4 three-bedroom units. The property qualifies for an as-of-right 421-a tax abatement as current ownership has already performed demolition and constructed footings. The R6 zoned development is designed as-of-right and in conformance with the New York City Zoning Resolution.
 
The property is located three short blocks from the 2 and 5 trains at both the Church Avenue and Beverly Road stations, providing express access to Downtown Brooklyn and Manhattan.
 
The site is being exclusively marketed by Cushman & Wakefield’s Stephen P. Palmese and Richard Velotta.

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Neighborhoods: East Flatbush/ Agents: Stephen Palmese

A mixed-use building at 1479 York Avenue, located between East 78th and East 79th Streets in the Yorkville neighborhood of Manhattan’s Upper East Side, was sold in an all-cash transaction valued at $7,000,000.
 
The five-story building contains approximately 7,500 square feet and sits on a 25’ x 75’ lot.  It consists of a ground floor restaurant and nine residential units, of which seven are free market, one is rent stabilized, and one is rent controlled.  Additionally, the property holds remaining development rights.  The sale price equates to approximately $933 per square foot.

The property is poised to benefit from the completion of the Second Avenue subway and there is upside in both the commercial and residential rents.

“This was a great transaction for both buyer and seller as the last time this building traded hands was over 40 years ago. The building was delivered mostly vacant and the sale signifies the bullish position investors have for the Upper East Side east of Second Avenue,” said Cushman & Wakefield’s Thomas D. Gammino, Jr., who exclusively handled this transaction with Brett Weisblum.

Neighborhoods: Upper East Side

July 29, 2015 | Real Estate Weekly

Cushman & Wakefield has closed on a $104 million land loan, collateralized by a development site just north of One Court Square in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens.

Long Island City is one of New York’s most vibrant, emerging neighborhoods, and Cushman & Wakefield said it is active raising capital with many sponsors in this area...

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Neighborhoods: Long Island City

Cushman & Wakefield has been retained on an exclusive basis to sell a waterfront property at 7-9 Bank Street. The property is located on the north side of Bank Street between Jersey Street and Westervelt Avenue in the St. George section of Staten Island. The asking price is $3,750,000.

The property consists of two lots that combine for approximately 46,950 square feet and measure 150’ x 313’.  They are situated at the tip of the Northshore Waterfront Esplanade, approximately a half-mile from the Staten Island Ferry Terminal and the new proposed New York Ferris Wheel and retail mall, which are expected to attract 4 million new visitors a year to the area.  

The New York Wheel promises to become one of New York City’s, and the world’s, great landmark attractions, alongside the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building.  The 630-foot tall attraction will be the tallest observation wheel in the world and the only one in New York City.  The new retail mall, Empire Outlets, is said to include 1 million square feet of mixed-use space anchored by an outlet shopping center with 80 high-end retailers.  

 The site holds up to approximately 46,950 buildable square feet, presenting an excellent opportunity for a developer to build out a waterfront hotel or commercial property.

This property is being marketed exclusively by Cushman & Wakefield’s James Nelson and David Shalom.

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Neighborhoods: Staten Island

Cushman & Wakefield is pleased to announce the closing of an $8.1 million construction/rehab refinancing, collateralized by an approximately 33,000-square foot corner retail property in Prospect Park South, Brooklyn.  The loan funded 100% of the project costs, and featured a 3-year term, with extensions, at an interest rate of LIBOR + 4.25 bps.  The project involves a significant renovation of an existing building in a prime location.

"We were able to leverage our deep bank relationships, substantial imputed equity, and some preleasing to get our lender to fund 100% of the project costs, with zero out-of-pocket equity. This structure would have been unheard of just a year or two ago,” said Cushman & Wakefield’s Preston Flammang, who exclusively handled this transaction.

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Agents: Preston Flammang

July 22, 2015 | Commercial Observer | Bob Knakal

To describe the investment sales market at the end of the first quarter of 2015 (1Q15), I used a musical analogy—the 1967 Sonny and Cher song, “The Beat Goes On.” At the end of the first half of the year (1H15), this time it is The Cars’ 1978 classic, “Good Times Roll.” And in New York City’s investment sales market, the good times are certainly rolling.

At the beginning of the year, our forecast for 2015 included a record achieved in dollar volume and a reduction in the number of properties sold. Thus far, the market has been performing almost exactly as expected. In 1H15, there was a two-quarter record of $37.8 billion of investment sales transactions closed in the city. On an annualized basis, we are on pace for $75.6 billion, 30 percent higher than last year and 21 percent higher than the previous record of $62.2 billion achieved in 2007. This is great news for New York City as transfer tax revenue will be much higher than anticipated. On top of this, there were 2,586 properties sold, which puts the market on pace for 5,172, a 7 percent drop from the 5,533 properties sold last year...

July 21, 2015 | The Real Deal | Rey Mashayekhi

Manhattan office vacancy rates have dipped below 9 percent for the first time since 2009, according to commercial brokerage Cushman & Wakefield, which also found that a robust Midtown market has propelled overall asking rents to a seven-year high.

Cushman & Wakefield has been retained on an exclusive basis to sell a development site at 41-05 29th Street, located on the corner of 29th Street and 41st Avenue in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens. The asking price is $6,900,000.

The property consists of a two-story building on an approximately 75’ x 51’ lot. Situated within M1-6/R10/LIC zoning districts, it features a total development potential of approximately 27,000 buildable square feet, as of right.

“This residential development site offers a tremendous opportunity right in the heart of Long Island City. Its proximity to Queens Plaza and many of the neighborhoods biggest developments put this site at the center of much of the action happening in the neighborhood,” said Cushman & Wakefield’s David Chkheidze, who is exclusively marketing the site with Conrad Martin.  “The favorable R10 zoning allows for 12.0 FAR, that alone will garner tremendous activity on this site,” David continued.

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Neighborhoods: Long Island City

Cushman & Wakefield is pleased to announce the closing of a $104.0 million land loan, collateralized by a development site just north of One Court Square in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens.  Long Island City is one of New York’s most vibrant, emerging neighborhoods, and Cushman & Wakefield is active raising capital with many sponsors in this area.

The site consists of nine parcels and holds up to approximately 780,000 square feet of development potential for residential, office, retail, and hotel use.

“Our client has a keen eye for undervalued development sites and was able to tie this up at a great basis.  We found a great lender who also recognized the upside in the Long Island City submarket, and closed the loan within five weeks,” said Cushman & Wakefield’s Morris Betesh, who exclusively handled this transaction.  “We are excited about the future potential for this site and the creative development we know our client will deliver,” he continued.

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Neighborhoods: Long Island City

A mixed-use building at 23 East 17th Street, located between Fifth Avenue and Broadway in Manhattan’s Ladies’ Mile Historic District, was sold in an all-cash transaction valued at $13,250,000.

The six-story, elevator-serviced building contains approximately 10,998 square feet and sits on an irregularly shaped 25’ x 76.17’ lot.  Built in 1902 in the neo-renaissance style, it consists of two retail stores on the ground floor, one commercial/retail space on the second floor occupied by Paragon Sports, and four floor-through apartments above that were all delivered vacant.  The sale price equates to approximately $1,205 per square foot.

The property is ideally located right off of Broadway and just steps from Union Square, one of New York City’s most iconic gathering points.  The area boasts high resident, employee, and student populations, creating a thriving cultural, business, and education hub.

“This sale represents the strong appetite for investment properties in prime locations throughout New York City. We were very pleased with the overwhelming response and demand for this quality asset that doesn’t become available very often near Union Square,” said Cushman & Wakefield’s Thomas D. Gammino, Jr., who exclusively handled this transaction with John Ciraulo and Craig Waggner. “The main driver here was the strong retail corridor where values have skyrocketed for retail space in and around Union Square. Specifically, 17th Street provides that major pedestrian artery from Fifth Avenue and every major subway line to Union Square where numerous eateries and bars have opened recently,” added John Ciraulo.

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Neighborhoods: Union Square/ Agents: John Ciraulo

Cushman & Wakefield has been retained on an exclusive basis to sell a multifamily building at 63 Montague Street. The property is located between Pierrepont Place and Hicks Street in Brooklyn Heights. The asking price is $11,250,000.
 
The six-story, elevator building contains approximately 10,472 gross square feet and sits on a 25’ x 100’ lot. The unit mix consists of eight, one-bedroom and five, two-bedroom apartments. All of the units underwent high-end gut renovations and all of the building’s mechanicals and common areas have been upgraded within the past year.
 
The property is conveniently located near the 2, 3, 4, and 5 express trains at Borough Hall and Clark Street, providing a five-minute commute to the Financial District and connectivity throughout all of New York City. The property has direct access to the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and is just a short walk from the heart of Downtown Brooklyn and its bustling business district. This offering presents a great opportunity to invest in one of Brooklyn’s most affluent neighborhoods, where residential demand continues to grow.
 
“63 Montague Street is an ideal turnkey opportunity for a 1031 buyer to establish a foothold in one of Brooklyn’s most coveted residential neighborhoods,” said Cushman & Wakefield’s Stephen P. Palmese, who is exclusively marketing this property.

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Neighborhoods: Brooklyn Heights/ Agents: Stephen Palmese

July 21, 2015
Capital New York
Sally Goldenberg

New York City's real estate market is on pace to break a record this year with a projected $75 billion in land and building sales by the end of 2015, new data from brokerage firm Cushman & Wakefield shows.

Cushman & Wakefield has now been exclusively retained to sell these two contiguous loft buildings at 125-127 Grand Street, which are presently located in one of the most desirable retail neighborhoods in the city, and in turn, the world. Neighboring retailers include Alexander Wang, Ted Baker, MUJI, Dolce and Gabbana, Jill Sander, Starbucks, Wells Fargo, and Topshop.

127 Grand Street was built between 1820 and 1840 making it one of the original cast iron district buildings in SoHo.  Around 1850, because of its prominence in the area, the building became one of the famous meeting places of the notorious 5 Points section of lower Manhattan.  Christened “Grand Street Hall,” it was a renowned meeting hall and tavern, once with 1,500 people in attendance.  Its rich history, as documented in the newspapers of its day, includes sword fights, a conscription point of Civil War soldiers (1860s), a meeting hall for the first assembly of African-American waiters seeking wage increases in New York (1850s), meetings regarding the Irish riots in the Ninth Ward by The Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Friendly Club of Irish Confederates (1850s), union meetings (1850s-100s), and even hosted Charles Fairbanks, the 26th Vice President of the United States (1908).  The adjacent building at 125 Grand Street was built shortly thereafter in the same style.

Dorothy and Emanuel Korn purchased these buildings in1961.  The Korns were in the military surplus business and required a warehouse to house army surplus bunk beds, emergency water, military survival rations and dummy WWII issue 50-caliber training bullets. They stuffed the buildings with these hard-to-find surplus items.  As their business evolved, the Korns no longer used the buildings as a warehouse and over the intervening decades they lovingly maintained and restored the property.  The buildings are still owned by the Korn family.

“The buildings represent a rare opportunity to own a piece of history, and make a dramatic retail statement,” said Cushman & Wakefield’s James Nelson, who is exclusively marketing these properties with Mitchell Levine and Robert Burton.  “The ground floor column free space is spectacular; as are the spacious lofts above,” added Robert Burton.

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Neighborhoods: SoHo/ Agents: Robert Burton

July 21, 2015
Crain's New York Business
Erik Ipsen

Financial-services firms stepped back into the driver's seat in the Manhattan office market in a big way during the first half of the year.

July 21, 2015
New York Daily News
Katherine Clarke

The soaring New York City real estate market is showing little sign of coming back down to earth.

Communication is important to any trade, but in real estate it’s vital. In a training session last week, Brock Emmetsberger emphasized that the tried and true way of presenting to clients is not about telling them our value but about showing them our value.

Cushman & Wakefield has been retained on an exclusive basis to sell three commercial buildings at 41-45 Graham Avenue.  The properties are located on the southwest corner of Graham Avenue and Varet Street in Brooklyn’s East Williamsburg neighborhood.  The asking price is $13,250,000.  

The owner, Ken Lustbader, is pursuing the sale to allow the property to reach its full potential of a 30,000-square foot new development.  The three adjoining commercial buildings combine for approximately 175’ of frontage on one of the strongest retail corridors in East Williamsburg.  They will be delivered vacant and can be leased at market or developed.

These properties are located in close proximity of the Montrose Avenue L station, the Broadway G station, and the Flushing Avenue and Lorimer Street J & M stations.

“Graham Avenue is a core Brooklyn retail corridor, established with numerous national tenants and some new startup companies and restaurants. The residential component here, given the transforming East Williamsburg and Bushwick landscape which surrounds the site, just adds to the exciting possibility,” said Cushman & Wakefield’s Brendan Maddigan, who is exclusively marketing this property.

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Neighborhoods: Williamsburg/ Agents: Brendan Maddigan

July 15, 2015
Commercial Observer
Bob Knakal

In what could not have been a surprise to anyone, last month, the New York Legislature passed the Rent Act of 2015, a rent bill with significant alterations to the law. While this renewal makes tangible changes that strengthen a tenant’s positions, it does not address several critical uncertainties for owners.

A mixed-use building at 19 Howard Street, located between Lafayette Street and Broadway in Manhattan’s SoHo Cast Iron Historic District, was sold by Silvershore Properties in an all-cash transaction valued at $9,600,000.
 
The three-story elevator-serviced building contains approximately 4,415 square feet and sits on a 24’ x 72.67’ lot.  It is surrounded by national retail tenants, new hotels, and up-scale restaurants which continue to drive demand in the area and public transportation is easily accessible.  The property benefits additional air rights and was delivered vacant.  The sale price equates to approximately $2,174 per square foot.

“It is extremely rare to find an entirely vacant building in the SoHo neighborhood. This exceptional gem was perfect for the buyer who was an end user,” said Cushman & Wakefield’s Robert Burton, who exclusively represented Silvershore Properties in this transaction. 

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Neighborhoods: SoHo/ Agents: Robert Burton

Yesterday, Rob Shapiro took front stage among a crowd of Cushman & Wakefield employees.  Interns, staff, and brokers alike gathered to attend the first Initial Success training event of the second quarter. The trainings are part of a company-wide education program where employees can improve their professional skills and learn how colleagues have reached their goals.  

Agents: Robert Shapiro