The embattled Orange County Industrial Development Agency is in the midst of implementing reforms in response to a corruption scandal that rocked the agency and the county’s business community last year with guilty pleas by two of its chief administrative officers and a member of its Board of Directors. Shortly after the three individuals— Orange…
Read MoreALBANY—New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Jan. 13 a total of $991 million in bonds and subsidies awarded to create or preserve 3,242 affordable, sustainable, and supportive homes across the state. The funding awards include $680 million in financing for six projects in the New York City and Mid-Hudson regions. The developments will leverage…
Read MoreYONKERS—Great Point Studios officially opened the doors to its long-awaited Lionsgate Studios Yonkers on Jan. 11 at 45 Wells Ave. and announced that it will move forward with a more than $500-million expansion plan nearby. The expansion project announced by Great Point Studios Founder and CEO Robert Halmi calls for a 1-million-square-foot facility that will…
Read MoreRYE BROOK—In what the brokerage firm describes as “a significant expansion move,” Houlihan Lawrence reported on Jan. 10 that it is growing its presence in the State of Connecticut. The Rye Brook-based company announced that New Haven, CT-based brokerage firm Wareck D’Ostilio is joining Houlihan Lawrence as an independently owned affiliate. Wareck D’Ostilio’s 75 agents…
Read MoreNANUET—The Birch Group, a locally-based privately-held commercial real estate investor, owner and operator, reported on Jan. 6 it had acquired a two-building portfolio from DRA Advisors and Onyx Equities in Jericho, NY for $212 million. The acquisition follows the company’s recent $255-million portfolio purchase in Short Hills, NJ. With this latest acquisition, The Birch Group…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS—The Westchester County Industrial Development Agency and the Westchester County Local Development Corporation has provided financial incentives and tax-exempt bond financing to major developments representing more than $1.2 billion in private investment in Westchester County’s economy last year. “As Westchester re-emerges from the economic downturn resulting from the pandemic, the IDA and LDC have…
Read MoreNEWBURGH—The Board of Directors at Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress announced earlier this month the appointment of Adam Bosch as the organization’s next president and chief executive officer. Bosch, a lifelong resident of the Hudson Valley, worked as a journalist, college professor, and policy analyst across the region before joining the senior leadership team of…
Read MoreALBANY—New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York Attorney General Letitia James announced on Jan. 3 that New York, Connecticut, Maryland, and New Jersey filed a petition for certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court to continue their lawsuit against the federal government for its unlawful and unprecedented cap on the deduction for state and local…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS—Residential sales in 2021 in the counties served by OneKey MLS, Inc. reached a historic peak. This, despite a slowing of sales in the fourth quarter in all areas served by OneKey MLS with the exception of Bronx County. Arguably, some of the slowdown can be attributed to the dearth of inventory in the…
Read MoreYONKERS—The Board of Directors of the Yonkers Industrial Development Agency (YIDA) voted final approval on Dec. 29 of financial incentives for the $60-million Phase 2 expansion of Lionsgate’s motion picture studio complex at iPark on the Yonkers waterfront. The expansion involves Buildings 3, 4 and 5 as well as the remaining surface lots and private…
Read MoreNEW YORK—Touro College and University System, one of the nation's leading non-profit institutions of higher and professional education under Jewish auspices, announced plans on Jan. 3 to build a new 243,305 square-foot campus at the 3 Times Square tower owned and operated by the Rudin Family. In announcing the plan to build its main campus…
Read MoreYORKTOWN—The Yorktown Town Board voted on Dec. 29 to adopt overlay district zoning for two business hamlets. The creation of overlay districts in the Yorktown Heights and Lake Osceola business hamlets will encourage the creative redevelopment of functionally outdated properties, a greater flexibility of permitted land uses and visually harmonious streetscapes. The Town Board voted…
Read MoreRYE BROOK—Continuing a proud tradition that dates back 25 years, Houlihan Lawrence’s real estate professionals from across its 30 office teams once again came together this fall in support of Breast Cancer Awareness month, the company’s largest philanthropic initiative. The brokerage firm reported recently that this year, the company’s Stronger Together Campaign raised more than…
Read MoreThe Hudson Gateway REALTOR® Foundation, the charitable arm of the Hudson Gateway Association of REALTORS® (HGAR), and the Bronx YMCA’s “Operation REALTORS® Kids” Toy Drive was a tremendous success this year. Now in its 10th year, the toy drive benefitted 80 children in 35 families throughout the Bronx on Christmas Day. “Operation Realtors Kids” Toy…
Read MorePEARL RIVER—Hudson Valley iCampus, the former Pearl River complex of Pfizer, Inc., has retained commercial real estate brokerage firm Colliers as the exclusive leasing agent for the 2.0-million-square-foot, mixed-use, multi-tenanted campus. The 207-acre property is owned by Industrial Realty Group, LLC, a real estate development and investment firm with more than 100 million square feet…
Read MoreEditor's Note: Reprinted with permission from the National Association of Realtors®. By Scholastica (Gay) Cororaton Many first-time buyers continue to struggle to move into homeownership amid sustained price growth and competition from all-cash buyers. The share of first-time buyers fell to 26% in November, according to the November REALTORS® Confidence Index Survey, a survey of…
Read MoreWASHINGTON—Existing U.S. home sales rose in November, denoting three consecutive months of increases, according to the National Association of Realtors. Three of the four major U.S. regions reported growth in monthly sales, while the fourth region—the Northeast—held steady in November. From a year-over-year perspective, only one region experienced a rise in sales as the three…
Read MoreALBANY—New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a legislative package on Dec. 21 totaling nine bills geared at combating housing discrimination and addressing issues raised in a Newsday expose entitled “Long Island Divided.” The centerpiece of the legislation is the Anti-Discrimination in Housing Fund that will permit the state to conduct fair housing testing. Other initiatives…
Read MoreALBANY—The New York State Department of Labor reported recently that private sector jobs in the Hudson Valley rose over the year by 22,100 positions, or 3.0%, to 766,400 in November 2021. Job growth was centered in leisure and hospitality (+13,400), professional and business services (+6,100), trade, transportation and utilities (+2,600), educational and health services (+1,900),…
Read MoreNEW ROCHELLE—The New Rochelle City Council unanimously approved on Dec. 20 significant advancements to its historic redevelopment, enabling the continuation of the district’s transformation that began six years ago. The city’s efforts to adopt a form-based zoning code providing certainty for developers already have helped attract $2.2 billion in private investment, resulting in the development…
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