News/Events
ESRT Faces New Activist Investor Following Stake Acquisition
An activist shareholder has arrived at Empire State Building Trust (ESRT). Erez Asset Management, a New Rochelle, N.Y.-based activist investment firm and hedge fund manager, has disclosed its acquisition of 10 million shares, or a 5.8 percent stake, in ESRT, Bisnow first reported. Erez has already begun putting pressure on ESRT leadership to sell some…
Citigroup Supplies $28M Refi for Revived Office Building in Arlington, Va.
A Washington, D.C., developer has secured fresh capital to continue engineering the turnaround of a once-struggling office building just across the Potomac River. Jemal Equities, which is run by Douglas Development Managing Principal Matthew Jemal, has landed a $28 million commercial mortgage-backed securities loan to refinance its 10-story office property at 1530 Wilson Boulevard, in…
Three Fashion Tenants Ink Deals at 231 West 39th Street
Three women’s apparel brands have taken office and showroom space at 231 West 39th Street in Manhattan’s Garment District, landlord broker and building manager Adams & Company announced Wednesday. Rino & Pelle, a Netherlands-based women’s fashion and accessories brand, has inked a 3,332-square-foot lease at the 12-story building, while luxury women’s wear and fine jewelry…
Financial Services Firm Rothera Signs Lease at 242 West 38th Street
Cohen Capital and Solomon Acquisitions have signed three new office deals totaling 10,266 square feet at their Garment District office property at 242 West 38th Street, Commercial Observer has learned. The largest of the three deals was signed by Rothera, a derivatives exchange and clearinghouse that took 3,915 square feet on the property’s eighth floor.…
Tishman Speyer Retakes Chrysler Building, Plans $235M Renovation
Tishman Speyer signed a ground lease for the Chrysler Building and has plans to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in the iconic skyscraper.
The Interest Rate Hike Shifts the Calculus on New York City Multifamily Investing
For the last two years, commercial real estate investors and operators have been waiting for one thing: lower interest rates. They may need to stop waiting. The Federal Reserve in September raised its benchmark rate another 25 basis points, bringing the federal funds target range to between 3.75 percent and 4 percent. More importantly, the…
BridgeInvest Refis Savannah Industrial Portfolio With $43M Loan
Thor Equities Group has sealed a $43.2 million loan to refinance an industrial portfolio in Savannah, Ga., Commercial Observer has learned. BridgeInvest provided the loan via its transitional bridge program for the Ardley Portfolio, which consists of 11 warehouse buildings on 27 acres at 25-27 Artley Road. Thor Equities acquired the roughly 525,000 square feet…
Silverstein Adds 55K SF of Leases at Downtown L.A.’s U.S. Bank Tower
Silverstein Properties has announced 55,349 square feet of office leases at one of the tallest buildings west of the Mississippi River, Commercial Observer can first report. The latest deals at U.S. Bank Tower in Downtown Los Angeles include a 5,091-square-foot expansion by prominent injury law firm Morgan & Morgan, which grows its footprint to 13,517…
Manhattan’s Supply of New Condos Expected to Deepen in Q4: Report
Manhattan’s third-quarter real supply of condo development units — a mix of listed and shadow [properties not listed on the open marker] new development inventory — was 28 percent below its 10-year average, according to new data from Brown Harris Stevens Development Marketing (BHSDM). However, the firm’s analysts predict there is more in the pipeline…
