Office

685 Fifth Avenue

New Developer to Construct Five-Story Office Expansion Atop 20-Story Commercial Building at 685 Fifth Avenue, Midtown

1:00 pm on April 29, 2016 By Reid Wilson

Earlier this week, YIMBY reported on applications to expand, by five stories, the 20-story, 115,000-square-foot multi-use commercial building at 685 Fifth Avenue, located on the corner of East 54th Street in Midtown. It was previously reported that Michael Shvo was in contract to acquire, from property owners General Growth Properties and Thor Equities, 90,000 square feet of office space (the entire office portion). That deal has since fallen through, and now, Gulaylar Group is in contract for the office space, according to The Real Deal. As part of the deal, the new owner will also develop the five-story office expansion. The sale is expected to close later this year. The lower portion of the building is currently undergoing a retail redevelopment. Its 23,400 square feet was leased to Coach in February and will become the retailer’s flagship store.

152 West 140th Street, image via Google Maps

Permits Filed: 152 West 140th Street, Harlem

7:00 am on April 28, 2016 By Rebecca Baird-Remba

As Harlem’s development boom stretches northward, investors are taking aim at the more densely built-out and better preserved blocks in central Harlem. One longtime owner hopes to redevelop a lot at 152 West 140th Street, on the corner of Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard.

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168 39th Street

Industry City Developers Plan Seven-Story, 500,000-Square-Foot Office Conversion at 168 39th Street, Sunset Park

6:00 am on April 27, 2016 By Reid Wilson

In March, details were revealed of the proposed rezoning of Industry City – a six-million-square-foot industrial-commercial complex – located west of the Gowanus Expressway, in Greenwood and Sunset Park. The developers – Jamestown Properties, Belvedere Capital, and Angelo Gordon – are now moving forward with a piece of the overall redevelopment that is independent of the rezoning. Building 19, at 168 39th Street (a.k.a. 148 39th Street), on the corner of Second Avenue, is going to be converted into 500,000 square feet of office space, according to Commercial Observer. The office space will be located across the first seven floors of the building. The conversion will feature a new lobby, new windows, and upgrades to infrastructure and equipment, like the installation of modern elevators. The Brooklyn Nets recently completed their new 70,000 square-foot training facility, called the Hospital for Special Surgery Training Center, on the eighth floor of the building.

550 Madison Avenue

Developer Abandons Plans for Hotel-Condo Conversion of 37-Story Sony Tower, Midtown

6:00 am on April 26, 2016 By Reid Wilson

Last month, the Chetrit Group began converting the 37-story, 855,000-square-foot Sony Tower – the office building at 550 Madison Avenue, between East 55th and 56th streets, in Midtown – into 113 condominiums, a 170-key hotel, and 25,451 square feet of retail space. Now, Olayan America (the U.S. branch of Saudi Arabia-based Olayan Group), with minority investor Chelsfield, is in contract to acquire the tower for more than $1.3 billion, according to The Real Deal, officially stopping the project in its tracks. The new owners will not follow through with the conversion and will lease the building as office space. Chetrit is selling the building, most likely because of the cooling ultra-luxury residential market, for at least $200 million more than what they payed for it in 2013. The soon-to-be new owners have secured $300 million in mezzanine debt and a $600 million mortgage for the acquisition. The sale is expected to close in May.

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