BOSTON—Housing affordability, disruptive technology and rising interest rates were just some of the issues the Counselors of Real Estate named most likely to affect the real estate industry during a session titled “Update: The Top Ten Impacts on Real Estate 2018-2019” at NAR's 2018 Realtors Conference & Expo. Each year CRE members pool their research,…
Read MoreSEATTLE—Amazon confirmed press reports that it decided to split its massive second headquarters requirement (HQ2) and has chosen Long Island City, Queens and Arlington, VA to house those operations that will house 25,000 workers each. Amazon announced on Nov. 13 it will invest $5 billion and create more than 50,000 jobs across the two new…
Read MoreBOSTON—While challenges face many of America’s commercial real estate markets, Realtors specializing in the sector should have confidence for growth to remain steady in the coming year. That’s according to the sentiments of two economists who spoke at a commercial economic issues and trends forum at the recent 2018 Realtors Conference & Expo in Boston.…
Read MoreToo often, developers can’t secure permanent financing upon a project’s completion. If it’s a condominium project will the condo project sell out? Then, there is construction gamble, as cost overruns, accidents, delays and other problems tend to occur on every job. Imagine, for example, a crane falling or dropping an expensive beam. Further, good labor…
Read MoreYONKERS—City officials hope to end more than four decades of frustration and failed attempts to develop the Chicken Island property in Downtown Yonkers. In what city officials termed as a “game changer” for the downtown district, the City of Yonkers announced on Oct. 29 it had signed a letter of intent to sell the six-acre…
Read MoreThe Bronx is booming! Real Estate In-Depth talked with local real estate experts Sarah Jones-Maturo, president, RM Friedland and Kathy Zamechansky, president, KZA Realty Group, who recently announced a new alliance, to find out why investment has been picking up in the borough. Real Estate In-Depth: What main factors contribute to the borough's commercial property boom?…
Read MoreNEW CITY—A noticeably agitated Rockland County Executive Ed Day stood in front of the vacant Sain Building here on Oct. 9 and announced that National Development, the developer who had offered to pay $4.51 million to acquire the property and convert it into a senior residence, had withdrawn its purchase offer. National Development, a real…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS— Westchester County Executive George Latimer has decided to hire from within county government’s ranks and appointed Bridget Gibbons as the new Director of the Office of Economic Development. Gibbons had served as the county’s Deputy Director of Economic Development since Latimer took office in January 2018. She was the guest speaker at the…
Read MoreNEW ROCHELLE— Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Sept. 27 that New Rochelle's Lincoln Avenue Corridor will receive $10 million in funding as the Mid-Hudson region’s winner of the third round of the state’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative competition. "New Rochelle's Lincoln Avenue Corridor is an area ripe with potential to appeal to a new generation of residents,…
Read MoreGOSHEN—The Hudson Valley Economic Development Corp. and the Westchester County Association announced on Oct. 8 the launch of what they term as a “strategic partnership to grow specific industry sectors such as healthcare and real estate, expand on each other’s workforce development initiatives and close the digital divide through programs that promote gigabit-speed broadband connectivity.”…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS—Peter Duncan, president and CEO of New York City-development firm George Comfort & Sons, told more than 80 attendees of the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors Commercial Investment Division, that the firm is bullish on Westchester and is seeking to redevelop a number of properties in the county. The firm, recently acquired the former…
Read MoreNEW YORK—Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Thursday the latest plan for a major expansion and improvements at John F. Kennedy International Airport, which is now projected to cost $13 billion. The governor announced the plan on Oct. 4 at the Association for a Better New York breakfast. The governor states that $12 billion of the…
Read MoreWAWAYANDA, NY—The controversial 680-megawatt CPV Valley Energy Center, owned by Competitive Power Ventures, is now operational. Competitive Power Ventures announced on Oct. 1 that the $900-million natural gas plant achieved commercial operation and was supplying enough electricity to power more than 600,000 average homes. The power plant, built by a joint venture of Skanska USA…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS—The more than $200-million plan by New York City developer Rose Associates to redevelop what has been considered for years an eyesore—the AT&T building in Downtown White Plains—into a mixed-use project that would feature 468 rental apartment units cleared a major hurdle, but with one caveat. The Westchester County Industrial Development Agency granted a…
Read MoreGOSHEN—The Hudson Valley Economic Development Corp. and Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress announced on Sept. 25 they had formed a strategic partnership. Goshen-based HVEDC is the Hudson Valley’s leading economic development agency and Pattern for Progress, based in Newburgh, is the Hudson Valley’s primary public policy and think tank organization. Pattern for Progress is a…
Read MoreBRONX—Two commercial real estate firms in The Bronx have announced a new affiliation agreement that they say will bring unprecedented expertise and client service benefits to property and business owners. Commercial real estate brokerage firms KZA Realty Group and RM Friedland will join forces on select assignments to add value for clients. The alliance combines…
Read MoreALBANY—Westchester County was among four counties statewide to be characterized as under “significant fiscal stress” according to a report released by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli on Tuesday. The State Comptroller’s Annual Fiscal Stress Monitoring System report designated 25 municipalities statewide as being fiscally stressed. Also making the significant fiscal stress list were Nassau…
Read MoreSOMERS—A plan was presented to the Somers Town Board on Thursday evening that if approved would involve the adaptive reuse of the 1.2-million-square-foot former and now vacant IBM campus here into a STEM high school geared at attracting top students from across the country. Evergreen Ridge, LLC of Stamford, CT, headed by principal Tim DiScipio,…
Read MoreRYE BROOK—Concerned that the future of Westchester County Airport is in jeopardy, the Business Council of Westchester has launched the Coalition for Westchester Airport, consisting of a broad range of businesses, labor organizations, educators, non-profits and residents in support of what they term as one of the county’s most valuable assets. The coalition has come…
Read MoreGOSHEN—As any real estate investor knows, speculative development has its inherent risks that a buyer/lessee be secured relatively quickly and at a price that will yield acceptable returns on investment. The significant economic development activity that has taken place in Orange County recently has led to vacancy rates in the low single-digits for prime industrial…
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