NEW YORK—A report released this week by the Citizens Budget Commission calls for the city to better manage city government leased space costs, which rose to $1.1 billion in 2018. Given the rising costs, the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, which manages the city’s real estate portfolio, should accelerate efforts to improve its management, monitoring…
Read MoreWASHINGTON—Most metro areas saw price gains under marginal inventory growth in the second quarter of 2019, according to the latest quarterly report by the National Association of Realtors released earlier this month. Single-family median home prices increased year-over-year in 91% of measured markets in the second quarter, with 162 of 178 metropolitan statistical areas showing…
Read MoreALBANY—Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced on Aug. 19 the nomination of Eric Gertler to serve as President and CEO of Empire State Development (ESD), New York State's chief economic development agency. Gertler, who is currently the Executive Chairman of U.S. News & World Report and has been on the board of ESD since June…
Read More(Part two of two) ELMSFORD— Real Estate In-Depth recently sat down with Robert Martin Co. CEO Timothy Jones and Managing Director Greg Berger, to discuss the particulars of the firm’s $487.5-million purchase of a 56-building portfolio, most of which was originally developed by Robert Martin and later sold to the predecessor of Mack-Cali in the…
Read MoreTOWN OF POUGHKEEPSIE—A joint venture of Saber Real Estate North, LLC of Armonk and EnviroFinance Group, LLC of Emeryville, CA has broken ground on the $300-million redevelopment of the former Hudson River State Hospital campus here. The project, being built on 156 acres on Route 9, calls for a mixed-use development that will include rental…
Read MoreMONTGOMERY—This Orange County community is currently reviewing plans that would add nearly 2.4 million square feet of warehouse distribution space to its commercial tax base. At present, global healthcare products firm Medline Industries, Inc. is seeking approval from the Montgomery Town Planning Board for a $120-million, 1.3-million-square-foot distribution facility. The firm is moving operations from…
Read MoreNEW YORK—Lower Manhattan's desirable location and competitive pricing drove commercial leasing to 3.8 million square feet in the first half of 2019, marking the best mid-year total since 2000, according to the Alliance for Downtown New York's Q2 2019 Lower Manhattan Real Estate Market Report released on Aug. 7. Commercial leasing in the second quarter…
Read MoreNEW YORK—A host of dignitaries and city officials including Deputy Mayor Vicki Been, Council Member Carlina Rivera, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, the New York City Economic Development Corp., community stakeholders and RAL Development Services broke ground on Aug. 5 on the new 21-story building that will house the Union Square Tech Training Center. The…
Read MoreNEW YORK CITY—L+M Development Partners and Invesco Real Estate announced on July 31 they were entering into a contract to purchase and preserve five former Mitchell-Lama developments in Manhattan from Urban American and Brookfield Asset Management for $1.2 billion. The regulatory agreements, covering all 2,800 units and enacted in partnership with the New York City…
Read MoreNEW YORK—An affiliate of Mack Real Estate Credit Strategies reported on Aug. 16 it provided a $199-million loan to refinance the Courtyard by Marriott Hudson Yards hotel, recently built by companies affiliated with hotelier David Marx. The loan proceeds will be used to take out a construction loan and other previous financing ahead of the…
Read MoreYONKERS—Although the Sears department store shut down there recently, the Cross County Shopping Center continues to draw new tenants. The ownership of the storied shopping center announced recently that it will add three new retailers to its tenant roster in 2019. New to the complex will be Mito Asian Fusion, Invicta Watches and Carvel Ice…
Read MoreNEW WINDSOR—Talk about a double gut-punch to the Mid-Hudson economy. Empire Resorts, Inc, after suffering continued losses at its Resorts World Catskills Casino in Sullivan County, revealed recently that it may have to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and has agreed to be taken private by its majority shareholder. In Orange County, the success story…
Read MorePEEKSKILL—New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo traveled from Albany down to Peekskill on Aug. 13 to announce that the city had been selected as the Mid-Hudson winner of the fourth round of the governor’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative. As this year’s winner, Peekskill be awarded $10 million in state funding and investments to revitalize its downtown neighborhoods…
Read MoreNEW YORK—More than 125 commercial and residential real estate professionals heard a rather sobering outlook of what the recently enacted new rent control regulations enacted by the State Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo will have on the region’s real estate market. The morning session was held on Aug. 7 at the…
Read MoreNEW YORK—The New York Times Co., which has been expanding its workforce recently, will be relocating approximately 350 workers from its headquarters building at 620 Eighth Ave. in Manhattan to Court Square Place in Long Island City, Queens. The media organization signed a lease for 57,846 square feet of space at 24-01 44th Road. Court…
Read MorePURCHASE— Broadview – Senior Living at Purchase College is moving forward with its development of 220 independent living homes for ages 62 and older. When built, the project will be the first senior housing development to be located on a college campus in Westchester County. The firm expects to begin construction on the development project…
Read MoreNEW YORK—The Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors’ Commercial Investment Division and the Bronx-Manhattan North Association of Realtors have scheduled a breakfast seminar on Wednesday, Aug. 7 to discuss the impacts of the new rent control regulations in New York. The “The New Rent Laws - What Happens Now?” seminar will be held at the Hutchinson…
Read More“Our assets are coming home.” Greg Berger, partner, Robert Martin Co. (Part one of two) ELMSFORD—Earlier this year Robert Martin Co. reached back to its storied past to reshape its future when it acquired a 3.1-million-square-foot industrial/flex portfolio its company founders had originally developed from the 1970s through the 1990s. The $487.5-million purchase of the…
Read MoreRYE—New York City-based real estate investment firm George Comfort & Sons, in partnership with the Feil Organization and O’Connor Capital Partners, has added the former Avon Global Data Center here to its Westchester office portfolio. The 176,000-square-foot multi-purpose facility situated on 18.13 acres at 601 and 621 Midland Ave. was sold by Avon Capital Corp.…
Read MoreELMSFORD—Robert Martin Company LLC recently held a pair of broker events in both Westchester and Fairfield counties, sharing information about the firm’s recently-acquired 3.1 million-square-foot industrial/flex portfolio. In March, Robert Martin Co. completed its acquisition of Mack-Cali Realty Corporation’s 56-building industrial/flex portfolio for $487.5 million, marking the largest commercial real estate transaction in Westchester County…
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