NEW YORK—City and state officials announced on March 18 that Great Performances, the city’s largest woman-owned catering and food services firm, will be relocating operations from Hudson Street in New York City to the South Bronx. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced that as part of the relocation, Great Performances will create 181 new jobs and…
Read MoreCHICAGO—Commercial brokerage firm JLL reported on March 19 it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire HFF, Inc. in a cash and stock transaction with an equity value of approximately $2 billion. The two companies reported the transaction was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies. Mark Gibson, CEO of HFF,…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS—The day business, political and real estate leaders have dreaded has arrived—on March 15 most of Westchester County was included in a new natural gas connection moratorium imposed by utility Con Edison. Amid charges by many that the moratorium will delay and perhaps kill billions of dollars in new development projects and thousands of…
Read MoreMONTICELLO—The old gaming adage: “The House always wins,” doesn’t apply yet to the Hudson Valley’s only full-licensed casino gaming resort. The $1.2-billion Resorts World Catskills Casino Resort lost nearly $139 million last year and a total of $185 million in the last two years. According to a 10K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission…
Read MoreFISHKILL—The Hudson Valley Chapter of the New York State Commercial Association of Realtors will hold its "2019 Annual Commercial Real Estate Conference" on Wednesday, April 3rd and Thursday, April 4th at the Hyatt House located at 11 Westage Business Center in Fishkill. Peter West, ABR, CCIM, CRS, GRI, SEC will instruct the education segment, presenting…
Read MoreELMSFORD-Robert Martin Co., one of the pioneer commercial office real estate development firms in Westchester County, has confirmed plans to reacquire approximately 95% of the portfolio it developed here and in Fairfield County, CT and sold more than two decades ago in a deal valued at $487.5 million. Industry observers say the deal, if finalized,…
Read MoreRYE BROOK—The Fordham Real Estate Institute and The Business Council of Westchester are co-sponsoring an event on Friday, April 5 entitled “Behind the Headlines—What Opportunity Zones Really Mean for Westchester Real Estate.” The breakfast panel will be held from 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at 800 Westchester Avenue in Rye Brook. “Opportunity Zones are being…
Read MorePORT CHESTER—M & J Wilkow announced recently that the company, along with MetLife Investment Management on behalf of its clients, acquired the 493,459-square-foot Port Chester Shopping Center. Port Chester Shopping Center is strategically positioned at the intersection of highways I-287 and I-95, the two main highway systems connecting the Western and Northern suburban communities of…
Read MoreWASHINGTON—The evolving technological landscape, competition from non-traditional market participants and housing affordability continue to be among the biggest challenges facing real estate firms in the next two years, according to a report by the National Association of Realtors. NAR's 2019 Profile of Real Estate Firms released on March 6 found that commercial real estate firms…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS—A real estate attorney speaking before a group of Westchester County commercial brokers said the moratorium on new natural gas connections slated to go into effect on March 15 “is here to stay.” Officials with Con Edison—the utility that is imposing the moratorium—who participated in the discussion did not disagree. More than 100 attendees…
Read MoreALBANY—A coalition consisting of more than 100 business, civic, political and labor industry interests are calling for New York State to spend a total of $500 million to expand the existing Route 17 in Orange and Sullivan counties. Specifically, the organization is calling for a multi-year plan to construct a third lane in each direction…
Read MoreNEW YORK—The Regional Plan Association released a report on Tuesday that put a hefty price tag—$16 billion—if the controversial Gateway Rail Tunnel project fails to secure the necessary financing to move forward. The RPA in its report entitled “A Preventable Crisis: The Economic and Human Costs of a Hudson River Rail Tunnel Shutdown” calculated that…
Read MoreNEW YORK—Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who have historically been at odds on a host of issues, agree on one thing—the Metropolitan Transportation Agency needs to be reformed. On Feb. 26, Cuomo and de Blasio released a 10-point plan to reform the MTA and to create sustained funding streams…
Read MoreNANUET—Nyack College has announced it will postpone the planned relocation of its undergraduate programs from its campus in Rockland County to Lower Manhattan until early 2020. In an announcement to students on the college’s website, Nyack College President Michael G. Scales stated that the college had delayed the planned relocation of its undergraduate program to…
Read MoreBUCHANAN—Until recently, the major energy issue facing Westchester County and the Hudson Valley/New York City region was the impending closure of the nuclear reactors at Indian Point in the next two years. However, that was before Con Edison announced its plan to impose a moratorium on new natural gas connections for most of the county…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS—A.S.A.P. Mortgage, which is headquartered in Cortland Manor, has embarked on a significant expansion effort of late that has included the opening of new offices in New York City and White Plains and the launch of a new commercial finance division. In addition, the company reports its intent to open additional locations in the…
Read MoreSCARSDALE—New York City-based Helmsley Spear, LLC, reported on Feb. 13 that the firm brokered the sale of the TD Ameritrade building in Scarsdale. Located at 880 Central Park Ave., the TD Ameritrade building is a two-story structure comprising 5,000 square feet with TD Ameritrade Bank as the sole tenant under a 12-year lease. The transaction…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS—Simone Healthcare Development recently secured a resolution of intent from the Westchester County Industrial Development Agency to provide nearly $1.75 million in incentives for its $61-million plan to redevelop a vacant office building in Harrison into a pediatric care ambulatory facility for Montefiore Medical Center. Simone Healthcare, an affiliate of Simone Development Companies, plans…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS—Con Edison has officially announced its intention to impose a moratorium on new natural gas connection service for a majority of Westchester County. The gas utility will stop accepting applications for new natural gas service on March 15. Join the HGAR Commercial and Investment Division on Thursday, Feb. 28th for an informative morning discussion…
Read More2018 was a solid year for real estate in the lower Hudson Valley. However, as the year progressed, we did experience slowly declining sales numbers. Whether this had to do with prospective purchasers having concerns about the SALT deduction limits is probably too early to tell, and we should have a better feel when we…
Read More