Here’s the check: Restaurants serve NY $2B lawsuit

Restaurants are finally bringing the check to Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo and it’s not pretty. More than 300 restaurants are seeking class-action status for a lawsuit against the city and state, demanding they fork over $2 billion for banning indoor dining, Crain’s reported. Legal action had been threatened by the New York City Hospitality Alliance weeks ago, but the lawsuit is unaffiliated with the trade group. The lead plaintiff in the

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/08/31/heres-the-check-restaurants-serve-ny-2b-lawsuit/

Bed-Stuy townhouse tops Brooklyn luxury contracts

Brooklyn’s luxury home market didn’t take a vacation the last week of August. While Manhattan has seen an exodus of people — and a decline in deals — following the coronavirus, the Brooklyn market has proven quite active. For the week ending Aug. 30, well-heeled buyers snapped up 13 properties, each asking $2 million or more, similar to last week’s 15 deals, according to Compass’ market report. However, sales volume fell considerably from $58.5 million

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/08/31/bed-stuy-townhouse-tops-brooklyn-luxury-contracts/

What delinquencies? Banks aren’t shying away from construction lending

Bankers ran for the hills when the pandemic hit, but got back to dealmaking in the second quarter. U.S. banks provided $380.61 billion in construction loans in the second quarter, up from $369.75 billion in the first quarter, according to a report from S&P Global. Commercial lending on properties such as office or condo developments rose to $300.35 billion from $288.33 billion during the period. Meanwhile, loans originated on one- to four-family residential properties fell

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/08/31/what-delinquencies-banks-arent-shying-away-from-construction-lending/

Break-up: NY’s biggest hotel owner splits with senior exec

In the latest sign of the tumult unnerving the city’s hospitality industry, New York City’s largest hotel owner has split with one of its senior executives. Neil Luthra recently left Highgate Hotels, where he was a principal in charge of running the day-to-day business operations of the hotel giant, sources told The Real Deal. Luthra did not respond to a request for comment and a spokesperson for Highgate declined to comment. The circumstances of Luthra’s

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/08/31/break-up-nys-biggest-hotel-owner-splits-with-senior-exec/

Grand ambitions: Related’s LA megaproject hits halfway mark

The Related Companies DTLA mixed-use megraproject has hit the halfway mark, even as the pandemic has brought many other projects to a standstill and raised big questions about the future of such large-scale developments. Designed by Frank Gehry, the Grand, which is slated to cost $1 billion, is a block-long project in Bunker Hill that consists of a 20-story Equinox hotel and a 39-story rental and condominium tower. The hotel is slated to top out

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/08/31/grand-ambitions-relateds-la-megaproject-hits-halfway-mark/

Behind A-Rod’s real estate play, NYC’s talent exodus: Trending TRD videos you may have missed

It’s the last stretch of summer so soak in those rays, grab your phone or tablet, and catch up on the videos that made a splash with our readers last week on The Real Deal. Catch up now, and don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel. Behind A-Rod’s real estate play Maybe it was because A-Rod and Jennifer Lopez just dropped $33 million on a new pad in Star Island, but there was renewed

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/08/31/behind-a-rods-real-estate-play-nycs-talent-exodus-trending-trd-videos-you-may-have-missed/

Young Woo on developers’ three keys to success

What does it take to be a top developer? Vision, conviction and creativeness, according to Young Woo. A background in architecture launched this real estate expert into his career as a high-concept developer whose projects have included the ongoing development at Pier 57, called the SuperPier, and the “Sky Garage” building at 200 Eleventh Avenue. Woo’s buildings have often included innovative and tech-forward designs, making them ideal for partners such as Google, the primary tenant

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/08/31/young-woo-on-developers-three-keys-to-success/

Justin Bieber, Hailey Baldwin upgrade to $26M LA mansion

It looks like the 90210 is “stuck with” Justin Bieber. Less than two years after buying in Beverly Hills, the singer-song writer and wife Hailey Baldwin shelled out $26 million for an 11,145-square-foot mansion in the gated community of Beverly Park, according to Variety. The home sits on 2.5 acres of land and has seven bedrooms and 10 bathrooms. It was built in the 1980s and got a major renovation by the seller, Dubai-based developer

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/08/31/justin-bieber-hailey-baldwin-upgrade-to-26m-la-mansion/

Manhattan home of late rock star Ric Ocasek, supermodel Paulina Porizkova in contract

The Gramercy Park home that belonged to late “Cars” frontman Ric Ocasek and his wife, supermodel Paulina Porizkova, has gone into contract asking $10 million. The 23.5-foot wide property has five bedrooms, 20-foot-high ceilings and a private garden. It was originally listed in 2016 for $15.25 million. Ocasek died last September at 75 as he attempted to recover from surgery. The home was one of 13 properties above $4 million to go into contract last

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/08/31/manhattan-home-of-late-rock-star-ric-ocasek-supermodel-paulina-porizkova-in-contract/

Chetrit firm pays $119 psf for Sheepshead Bay site

A Chetrit family firm paid $15.5 million for a Sheepshead Bay parcel with 130,000 square feet of development rights. That comes out to $119 per buildable square foot for 2870 Ocean Avenue, where sources say AB & Sons, a firm managed by the Chetrit family, plans a mixed-use apartment building. The Chetrit family declined to comment on the transaction and its plans for the plot. KSR, which brokered the deal, declined to comment. AB &

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/08/31/chetrit-firm-pays-119-psf-for-sheepshead-bay-site/

Joe Sitt sees valuation plummet at trophy Chicago hotel property

Thor Equities Palmer House Hilton in Chicago is now worth substantially less than the debt on the property. An August appraisal of the 1,639-room hotel at 17 E. Monroe St. values it at $305.5 million, according to a Bloomberg report cited by Crain’s. That’s more than $100 million less than the $423 million CMBS loan on the property from 2018. A sale at the appraised value would wipe out a $94 million mezzanine loan and

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/08/31/joe-sitt-sees-valuation-plummet-at-trophy-chicago-hotel-property/

CMBS vet Paul Vanderslice exits CCRE

The head of one of the commercial mortgage industry’s big bookrunners has left the firm he was brought on to reboot just two years ago. Paul Vanderslice, who helped pioneer the market for commercial mortgage backed securities, retired last week as the head of Cantor Commercial Real Estate, the lending arm of Wall Street titan Howard Lutnick’s Cantor Fitzgerald, sources told The Real Deal. Vanderslice could not be immediately reached and a spokesperson for CCRE

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/08/31/cmbs-vet-paul-vanderslice-exits-ccre/

Facebook exec expresses confidence in office real estate

The future of office properties has been in question since the pandemic emptied out Manhattan. But Brian Rosenthal, a senior executive at Facebook, told Business Insider that having a physical space in New York is critical for the social media giant. “So much of what we do is collaborative,” Rosenthal said. “[Software is] like writing a book together where all the plots have to connect and make sense and there are thousands of authors. It’s

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/08/31/facebook-exec-expresses-confidence-in-office-real-estate/

Allegations fly in trial over Anbang and Mirae’s $5.8B hotel deal

The embittered parties fighting over a $5.8 billion hotel portfolio sale went to trial this week to decide the matter. The deal for 15 American hotels, which was supposed to close April 17, unraveled with the U.S. economy. It was further complicated by an 11th-hour revelation of legal challenges of the hotels’ ownership. The seller, Anbang, and the buyer, South Korean asset manager Mirae Asset Global Investments, both sued for breach of contract. A Delaware

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/08/31/allegations-fly-in-trial-over-anbang-and-miraes-5-8b-hotel-deal/

Borrowers sue Wells Fargo over forbearance policy

Borrowers are suing Wells Fargo for placing their home loans in forbearance without explicit permission. In a proposed class action lawsuit filed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, borrower Pamela Delpara claimed that Wells Fargo put customers’ mortgages into forbearance regardless of whether that was actually requested, Law360 reported. Wells Fargo allegedly moved mortgages into forbearance if a customer contacted the bank and said they were experiencing distress related to

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/08/31/borrowers-sue-wells-fargo-over-forbearance-policy/

NYCHA tenants say they were duped into RNC video appearance

New York City public housing residents say Lynne Patton tricked them into appearing in a video that aired at the Republican National Convention last week. Three of the four New York City Housing Authority tenants who appeared in the segment, which aired Thursday, said they were not given advance notice that the interviews they provided to Patton herself would be used for the convention, the New York Times reported. The video focused on conditions in

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/08/31/nycha-tenants-say-they-were-duped-into-rnc-video-appearance/

Hamptons squatters exploit Cuomo’s eviction ban

 This is not what Gov. Andrew Cuomo had in mind. Manhattan developer Marco Ricotta and his broker girlfriend Jodine Russo have been taking advantage of Cuomo’s eviction moratorium by refusing to leave a Westhampton Beach house they were due to vacate May 3, the New York Post reported. The 76-year-old Ricotta and Russo, whose LinkedIn page says she has been a real estate broker for the past 12 years, have not paid the $3,000 rent

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/08/31/hamptons-squatters-exploit-cuomos-eviction-ban/

MTA crisis could be catastrophic for New York real estate

As goes New York’s transit system, so goes its real estate. And the system is on the brink of disaster. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority plans to cut service by 40 percent if Washington does not send $12 billion in federal aid, crippling the city’s chances to come back from the pandemic. The effects would be felt beyond New York as the city accounts for about 5 percent of the country’s GDP, said Bill Rudin, CEO

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/08/31/mta-crisis-could-be-catastrophic-for-new-york-real-estate/

Sales slumped, prices jumped in Queens housing market

Despite the doomsday projections about New York and people fleeing the city, the northwest Queens housing market shined bright in the second quarter. Although the total number of one- to three-family home sales dropped almost 60 percent in the second quarter from the previous year, the average price per square foot increased 11.7 percent to $567, according to an analysis by The Real Deal. And the number of condo deals actually surged, spiking 74 percent

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/08/31/sales-slumped-prices-jumped-in-queens-housing-market/

Dylan who? Covid shifts focus off celeb-tied short-term rentals

Sure, F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald once lived in the Montgomery, Alabama, home now available as a short-term rental. And yes, Bob Dylan and his fellow musicians slept and jammed in a Upstate New York house during their rollicking ride decades ago. But in a Covid world, those have become just places to stay. The coronavirus has changed the short-term rental market in major ways, but some smaller shifts are also notable. It was common

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/08/30/dylan-who-covid-shifts-focus-off-celeb-tied-short-term-rentals/

CIM’s $500M multifamily buy in Northern Virginia among priciest ever

CIM Group has closed on one of the biggest multifamily deals the Northern Virginia market has ever seen. The investment firm paid $506 million for the 2,311-unit Southern Towers in Alexandria, just outside Washington, D.C., according to Bisnow. CIM bought the five-building, 60-year-old complex from its original developers and owners, Snell Properties and Caruthers Properties. While a recent report showed commercial real estate transaction volume down 69 percent to $14 billion in July — year-over-year

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/08/30/cims-500m-multifamily-buy-in-northern-virginia-among-priciest-ever/

Presales powered resi development in China. Covid may change that

Presales are everything for residential builders in China, but in a coronavirus world, they may not be enough for one big developer. Across China, the cash-strapped Tahoe Group has slowed or stopped construction on numerous luxury and mid-market residential projects, which is worrying homebuyers who already put down hefty deposits on units and even took out mortgages. The company has fallen behind on bond payments and has pointed to the Covid-induced slowdown in the housing

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/08/30/presales-powered-resi-development-in-china-covid-may-change-that/

Amazon opens its biggest office ever. Outcry ensues

Amazon just opened its largest office in the world, spanning 1.8 million square feet, in Hyderabad, India. It’s part of the e-commerce giant’s massive push in the second-most populous country, a move that not everyone is happy about, according to the New York Times. Namely, domestic retailers and elected officials. Amazon started construction on the massive office building in 2016. It has 49 elevators, a helipad, a cricket pitch, prayer rooms and a 24-hour cafeteria.

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/08/29/amazon-opens-its-biggest-office-ever-outcry-ensues/

Urbanites bid up homes in vacation spots like Vail, Lake Tahoe

More and more urbanites are making permanent moves to towns that were predominately vacation retreats. The pandemic has boosted demand in places like Colorado’s Vail Valley and Lake Tahoe on the California-Nevada border. It is making for hot competition among homebuyers, according to the Wall Street Journal. Lake Tahoe’s inventory of unsold homes is down from 421 a year ago to just 60. Bidding wars are driving prices up. On the Nevada side, the median

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/08/29/urbanites-bid-up-homes-in-vacation-spots-like-vail-lake-tahoe/

Extended-stay hotels may protect some REITs from hospitality armageddon

The coronavirus pandemic has hammered the hospitality industry, with real estate investment trusts that own and manage hotels and resorts getting hit especially hard. But some REITs are relatively stable — specifically those with large holdings in the extended-stay and limited-service segments, according to the Wall Street Journal. Chatham Lodging Trust, Apple Hospitality and Summit Hotel Properties in particular have been able to keep the lights on in most of their hotels. Chatham, for example,

source https://therealdeal.com/2020/08/29/extended-stay-hotels-may-protect-some-reits-from-hospitality-armageddon/