last updated today at 10:15AM
Brooklyn workers turn to shared office space
Dec 02, 2008 10:15 AM
Green_desk_space_frontbox Green Desk office space Small businesses and career changers in Brooklyn are turning to "co-workspaces," small shared office spaces that rent for $299 to $3,200 per month. These spaces are thriving because of the economy and because more workers are changing careers and renting small spaces for new businesses. Green Desk, a six-story building with shared offices on Water Street in Dumbo, which opened to tenants in June, is already full and has a waiting list.

Department of Transportation stalls firehouse
Dec 02, 2008 09:30 AM
Volunteer firefighters in the Broad Channel neighborhood of Queens have been trying to build a new firehouse for more than a decade, and the city Department of Transportation is the last agency that needs to sign off on the project before it can receive federal money. Senator Hillary Clinton and Rep. Anthony Weiner already secured $2 million for the project, and the firefighters raised $400,000, but the Department of Transportation said it has concerns about the project. The planned 100,000-square-foot building would be a triage center for emergencies and a local meeting place for seniors and community groups.

Hotel planned for Extell's 57th Street site
Dec 02, 2008 09:00 AM
Extell Development is planning to build  a 1,000-foot tall hotel and condo tower at 151-161 West 57th Street, between Sixth and Seventh avenues. According to the security firm Extell hired for the project, the hotel, ground-floor retail and a garage will take up 356,467 square feet of a total 882,141 square feet, which includes the condos. The building, which could be up to 80 stories tall, is designed to be LEED-certified. The hotel will have a spa, pool, ballroom and meeting rooms.

City to fix worst buildings
Dec 02, 2008 08:30 AM
Each year, the law requires the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development to find the worst residential buildings in New York City based on violations and inspections. The agency has spent $10 million on repairs already this year on two-thirds of the worst 200 buildings, and the department has now targeted another 200 buildings. The city goes after the landlords by putting liens on the buildings.

Preservation vs. development at St. Vincent's, hardware store prepares for influx of residents ... and more
Dec 02, 2008 08:00 AM
  • 1. Preservation and development struggle at St. Vincent's Hospital [NYT]
  • 2. MetroTech BID helps hardware store get ready for influx of residents in Downtown Brooklyn [Brooklyn Eagle]
  • 3. U.S. has been in a recession for one year, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research [AP via Crain's]
  • 4. Progress at 222 Duffield [Brownstoner]

Demolition permits plunge in November, signal further development slowdown
Dec 01, 2008 06:12 PM
124-126_west_23rd_street_frontbox 124-126 West 23rd Street The number of demolition permits in New York City fell sharply in November compared to a year ago, indicating a continued construction slowdown in the five boroughs. The city's Department of Buildings issued 72 initial demolition permits in November, 65 percent fewer than the 205 issued the same month a year ago, and a steep decline from the 164 issued in October, according to an analysis of city records by The Real Deal. Demolition permits are considered an indicator of future development in the city. more
By Adam Pincus

Firm hires lawyers, boosts construction practice
Dec 01, 2008 05:58 PM
After law firm Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner dissolved, a team of 19 attorneys joined the firm Duane Morris, bringing the firm's Manhattan office, at 1540 Broadway at 45th Street, to 100 lawyers. The new team boosted the Philadelphia-based firm's construction practice by 50 percent, and the office now has 60 lawyers dedicated to the construction industry. Duane Morris represents several developers building in Lower Manhattan.

Latest Real Deal Podcast online
Dec 01, 2008 05:00 PM
This week, The Real Deal talks to Gregg Winter of Winter & Company about the commercial lending market. Winter says that while the price of money has "rarely been better" the availability is much tighter. As a result, banks are only interested in lending to the borrowers who "need the banks the least." That, he says, has created something of a lending oxymoron. Click below to listen to the full interview.

Price cuts at 20 Pine, foreclosure moratorium nearing end ... and more
Dec 01, 2008 04:30 PM
  • 1. Price cuts at 20 Pine [Curbed]
  • 2. Foreclosure moratorium is coming to an end [Daily Beast]
  • 3. Life in Hunts Point [Metro]
  • 4. Progress at the High Line [NYT]
  • 5. Renter fights building's capital improvements [NYT]
  • 6. Discount store opens in Park Slope [GL]
  • 7. Restaurants that shuttered in November [Eater]
  • 8. Many mortgage modification consultants do little [Crain's]
  • 9. Financing closing costs may be a bad idea [Inman]
  • 10. An old cabbage processing plant becomes a condo [GL]
  • 11. Brooklyn park construction delayed three years [NYT]
  • 12. Utility council signs for 12,000 square feet at 1040 Sixth Avenue [GlobeSt]
  • 13. Lower mortgage rates won't help the economy [WSJ]
  • 14. Fannie and Freddie's foreclosure holdings [WSJ]

New York retailers trim expansion plans amid weak sales
Dec 01, 2008 04:30 PM
Tiffany_s_flagship_frontbox Tiffany's Fifth Avenue flagship store New York-based retailers said they plan to cut back expansion plans and renegotiate store leases as the economic slowdown has cut into same-store sales. Tiffany & Co. said it plans to reduce the number of new store openings in 2009, as the jewelry retailer's same-store sales during the third quarter fell 14 percent in the U.S., and 6 percent in its nine New York stores. New York-based bookseller Barnes & Noble said it will cut the number of new store openings to 15 in 2009, from between 20 and 25. The chain said same-store sales fell 7.4 percent during the third quarter, compared with its prior forecast of a low single-digit decrease. more
By David Jones

Current Issue
Cover

From The November Issue

The downward plunge

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This month, in a series of stories, The Real Deal examines the next chapter in New York City real estate. Wall Street's wild volatility last month froze the city's residential market. Brokers said the economic seesawing is paralyzing buyers and sellers. Mortgage lenders have also clamped down further on buyers, though more buyers are heading to all-cash deals. Many are wondering: Could the dark days of the late 1980s and early 1990s return? More

Ominous signs for new condos

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Despite buyers' desire to purchase, banks are increasingly unwilling to write mortgages for some new buildings, especially those that have sold only a small percentage of their units. More

High-end U.S. markets show cracks in the foundation

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This month, The Real Deal looks at the nation's most exclusive zip codes to see how high-end markets besides Manhattan are faring. While these areas are more insulated than their less affluent counterparts, many markets are beginning to see big cracks in their foundations with prices and sales volume declining. More

Will Tishman Speyer buckle?

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Few companies have looked down from as lofty a perch as Tishman Speyer, the venerable blue-chip firm that holds stakes in several New York landmarks such as Rockefeller Center and the Chrysler Building. Tishman expanded its empire even wider during the boom, but now it appears that even this company is paying a price for success. More

Fourth Avenue on slippery Slope

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Park Slope's Fourth Avenue has been billed as the next frontier of gentrification in Brooklyn. However, because of the credit crunch, a number of buildings that were initially planned as condos will now come to market as rentals. The frenzied pace of construction of new projects should also slow. More

Holding up funds for construction

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A growing number of developers with projects under way in Manhattan are being confronted by lenders who are either unwilling or unable to continue funding. The Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, which was filed in mid-September, has -- not surprisingly -- put several construction projects in the city on hold. But other lenders are also putting pressure on developers to provide more equity in projects as a way to improve the financial profile of their struggling banks, real estate attorneys said. More

Residential market halts in its tracks

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Wall Street's recent wild volatility has caused the New York City real estate market to freeze in its tracks, with sales volume screeching to a halt and deals falling apart as potential buyers have watched their net worth evaporate. More

Chelsea Enclave makes a deal with soul

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The Chelsea Enclave, a luxury apartment building under construction on the edge of property owned by the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church in West Chelsea negotiated long and hard to make sure the new construction on their land would be something it could live with. More

City coffers shrink as deals slow

The slump in commercial building sales is threatening to take a sizable bite out of New York City tax revenues this year, which could force Mayor Michael Bloomberg to make even more drastic choices than he already has to keep the city budget balanced. More

Crisis may spawn building sales rise

Real estate analysts believe developer Harry Macklowe won't be the last to lose a Manhattan trophy tower purchased in the heady days of 2006 and 2007. More

Brokers advise tenants to sit tight as rents drop

Lease valuations were unpredictable and deals were few last month while brokers cautioned tenants to hold off on signing any unnecessary rental contracts as prices continued to drop, real estate experts said.
More


Special Reports

Who got crunched -- and who didn't
A look at where players landed one year after the credit market debacle
Hailing other holiday spots
While Hamptons hurting, other locales draw interest
The biggest problems in New York City real estate
Experts weigh in on how to fix industry crises
Developers falling into a Catch-22
Residential developers in bind with slow sales
In Hamptons, it's no vacation
Building permits drop, spec homes sit and restaurateurs grow wary amid slowdown
Condos on the chopping block
Prices come down to help move new projects
Adding it all up
A tally of numbers that matter: construction costs, the high-end market, and foreign buyer migration
Manhattan's biggest firms
Our annual survey of the top Manhattan firms



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