Nice Piece of Glass... But Where's the Sculpture?!
By Matt Chaban | February 16, 2011 | 3:43 pm
What is a... MORE >
Splitsville! Divorce Doyenne Takes 8K for New Firm
By Laura Kusisto | February 16, 2011 | 12:32 pm
Amongst the city's power elite, Harriet Cohen is the maestro of the highly public marital split. It's fitting then that one of the city's top divorce attorneys has left the firm in which she was a founding partner and, in dramatic fashion, taken an uber-prime spot in Seven Times Square.Ms. Cohen... READ MORE»
Walmart Unveils New TV Ads [VIDEO]—UPDATED
By David Freedlander | February 16, 2011 | 3:25 pm
Retailing giant Walmart's bid to build a store in the five boroughs was kicked up a notch today with the unveiling of a series of ads designed to sway skeptical New... MORE >
292 Mad Scores Nation's Biggest Minority-Owned Law Firm
By Laura Kusisto | February 16, 2011 | 3:15 pm
In just the last couple of months, we've watched the ins and the outs, the ups and the downs at the Empire State Building. The activity continues... MORE >
Egads! More Lease Backslapping Among Lawyers
By Laura Kusisto | February 16, 2011 | 2:39 pm
It's bonus season for legal eagles and word is they're faring a lot better than the I-bankers. And so while other industries struggle, another law firm moves up in the... MORE >
New York Runs Second to D.C. in Pricing Recovery
By Matt Coyne | February 16, 2011 | 2:25 pm
Here in New York we like being the best at things, and that's why this one hurts: According to a guide issued by CoStar today, Washington, D.C., took the top spot in commercial real estate pricing recovery with a 15 percent increase in 2010, while New York saw three quarters of growth and a fourth quarter where prices dropped 2 percent. Pricing did, however, icrease 6 percent above its market low in 2010. A minor defeat, we're... MORE >
When Law Firms Expand
By Laura Kusisto | February 16, 2011 | 1:25 pm
A Midwestern law firm is putting down roots at 601 Lex. Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, which had a temporary floor at 499 Park Avenue, has signed a seven-year sublease for its first New York office at the former Citigroup Center (stripped of that name in 2008 following the bank's fall from grace and $45 billion government... MORE >
Why Building Things in New York Comes Down to What You Learned (or Didn't Learn) from Mom and Dad
By Matt Coyne | February 16, 2011 | 1:13 pm
New York real estaters met at NYU's Schack Institute on Wednesday morning for a brief breakfast forum on construction ethics. While the mafia wasn't represented—possibly because of the mass arrests last month—their presence could've gone a long way to help filling up the empty... MORE >
Viva la Recessione! Law Firm Scores Discounted Mad Ave Digs
By Laura Kusisto | February 16, 2011 | 1:04 pm
Pavia and Harcourt, an international law firm specializing in Italian clients, is vacating 18,000 square feet in Ruben's 600 Madison for some newly renovated digs at nearby 590... MORE >
Splitsville! Divorce Doyenne Takes 8K for New Firm
By Laura Kusisto | February 16, 2011 | 12:32 pm
Amongst the city's power elite, Harriet Cohen is the maestro of the highly public marital split. It's fitting then that one of the city's top divorce attorneys has left the firm in which she was a founding partner and, in dramatic fashion, taken an uber-prime spot in Seven Times... MORE >
Just in Time for Presidents Day: A Record-Breaker for Old Lincoln Building
By Matt Coyne | February 16, 2011 | 11:53 am
One year of record leasing in a rough economy is hard enough, but two? That's just what Tony Malkin's W&H Properties pulled off at One Grand Central Place, the former Lincoln Building, leasing well over 200,000 square feet in consecutive years. Last year saw the monstrous midtown building that towers over the terminal of the same name lease 260,200 square feet, a new record for it. The previous record, set in 2009, was 255,430 square... MORE >
Two More Floors of Goldman Go
By Laura Kusisto | February 16, 2011 | 11:47 am
77 Water Street Goldman Sachs, at one point America's No. 1 source of sublease space, has handed over another small chunk of its unwanted bounty. Several years ago, the financial giant leased 600,000 square feet at 77 Water Street, only to decide it didn't really want to occupy the FiDi favorite. Technology consultancy Capco does. The firm will sublease 48,706 square feet, or the entire 10th and 11th... MORE >
Whitney Gets No-Name Cafe
By Rachel Corbett | February 15, 2011 | 1:48 pm
The Danny Meyer restaurant opening in the Whitney Museum next month now has a (preciously post-modern) name: "Untitled." Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group is re-imagining the former Sarabeth's space as an all-day breakfast spot inspired, it says, by vintage Madison Avenue coffee shops. Chef Chris Bradley, late of Gramercy Tavern, will serve seasonal staples seven days a week, with dinner on Saturday and Sundays. On weekend dinners, Meyer, ever the cuisine-y control freak, will serve one... MORE >
Building Expectations: The Next Big Construction Sites
By Laura Kusisto | February 15, 2011 | 11:55 am
Across the city, hundreds of hammers are poised midair. Many believe that development will be frozen for years to come. But while the sight of New York City's 600 stalled construction projects is difficult to ignore, those deep inside the industry say signs of a new boom are beginning to... MORE >
Remember the Hotel Bust? It's Checked Out
By Michael Stoler | February 15, 2011 | 11:54 am
Suddenly everyone wants to own a hotel in the Big Apple. I still remember a time, not too long ago, when the least-sought-out asset in New York City was a hotel. Yet, that was perhaps 24 months ago, long before the record 48.7 million visitors traveled to our fair city helping out the hospitality market and our local... MORE >
Boom Off the Rose: The Sale of 635 Madison
By Laura Kusisto | February 15, 2011 | 11:16 am
Editor's Note: This article reflects the following correction. L&L Holding is not, in fact, the owner of the office tower at 635 Madison, but owns the ground fee under the building. Therefore, the news that the building is about to sell at 56 percent off was also incorrect. The Observer regrets the error. Family firm Ironwood Realty is about to sell a brimming Class B Madison Avenue tower for $62 million, according to Rosewood Realty... MORE >
Jason Muss Knows That Most New Yorkers Live Outside Manhattan
By Jotham Sederstrom | February 15, 2011 | 9:58 am
Along with his father, Joshua, Muss Development principal Jason Muss has been overseeing construction and marketing for the family-owned, boroughs-focused company since 1996. Last week, Mr. Muss, 39, talked about a surge in sales in Brooklyn, predictions for 2011, and the story behind JetBlue, which subleased space in a Muss-owned building in Queens before signing a deal elsewhere. The Commercial Observer: Muss Development has long focused on the outer boroughs. How has commercial activity fared... MORE >
Would-Be Apple Scoping Manhattan
By Laura Kusisto | February 15, 2011 | 8:26 am
Steve Jobs can't sneeze on a storefront without creating a fan frenzy, but a similarly high-end tech store has been scoping Manhattan space without eliciting so much as a tweet. Micro Center, a big-box-size retailer with aspirations to an Apple-like desirability, is scoping Manhattan space, including along top-tier Fifth Avenue, sources tell The Commercial... MORE >
The Urbanist: Building Congress President Richard T. Anderson on Construction Troubles
By Jotham Sederstrom | February 14, 2011 | 5:22 pm
Only days before the streets of Cairo spilled over with anti-government protestors, Richard Anderson and his wife were nearing the tail end of a vacation in the Egyptian metropolis. With unrest already unspooling across Tunisia 800 miles to the west, the couple wondered aloud if something similar could happen in Egypt-and yet they resisted cutting their excursion... MORE >
Turkish Airlines Lands High in 'World's Most Famous Office Building'
By Laura Kusisto | February 14, 2011 | 3:38 pm
Empire State Building Turkish Airlines has been ferrying into New York with increasing frequency, so it's no surprise the republic's flagship airline has decided to land in the city's most prominent... MORE >
Sherwood Filling 370 Lex by Getting Small
By Laura Kusisto | February 14, 2011 | 2:42 pm
370 Lexington Avenue With all the partying in the Grand Central submarket over all the full-floor leases being signed, at least someone's still looking out for the little guys. Sherwood Equities has signed more than 100,000 square feet at 370 Lexington Avenue in the past year, totaling 43 transactions, including 24 new leases, 15 renewals and four renewals that were also... MORE >
