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54 72 98 APRIL 20, 2016

The most powerful lawyers in town The pols who know real estate The most dubious duo in real estate

POWER 100 ISSUE

OUR NINTH ANNUAL RANKING OF THE TOP PLAYERS IN COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE

TH 270 Madison 270 Madison AvenueAvenue 200 Park 200 Avenue Park Avenue South South 20 West2022nd West Street 22nd Street

Robert Finkelstein Robert Finkelstein 212-400-9525 212-400-9525 Alan Friedman Alan Friedman 212-400-9491 212-400-9491

Jason Fein Jason 212-400-2357 Fein 212-400-2357

162 Fifth162 Avenue Fifth Avenue

James Caseley James212-400-6075 Caseley 212-400-6075

LEASING LEASING OPPORTUNITIES OPPORTUNITIES

Rea

ABS

prof

expe

210 Eleventh 210 Eleventh AvenueAvenue 19 Union 19Square Union Square West West

Audrey Novoa Audrey 212-400-6091 Novoa 212-400-6091 Charles Conwell Charles212-400-6088 Conwell 212-400-6088

915 Broadway 915 Broadway

Alex Kaskel Alex 212-400-6097 Kaskel 212-400-6097

380 Second 380 Second AvenueAvenue Carol Sacks Carol 212-400-2355 Sacks 212-400-2355

nue

400-6075

venue

00-2355

ABS ABSCONGRATULATES CONGRATULATES THE THECOMMERCIAL COMMERCIALOBSERVER OBSERVER POWER POWER100 100 ON THEIR ON THEIR EXTRAORDINARY EXTRAORDINARY ACCOMPLISHMENTS ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Real estate Real estate Investments Investments • leasIng • leasIng • management • management • Investment • Investment salessales • ConsultIng • ConsultIng ABS Partners ABS Partners Real Estate RealisEstate a leading is a New leading York New CityYork based Cityreal based estate realfirm estate dedicated firm dedicated to building to building lasting real lasting estate realand estate and professional professional partnerships. partnerships. Our seasoned Our seasoned team maintains team maintains a focus in a focus two areas: in twoproviding areas: providing servicesservices which add which value add through value through expertiseexpertise in leasing, in leasing, investment investment sales, property sales, property management, management, construction construction management management and advisory; and advisory; and through and through our baseour base of knowledge of knowledge and relationships and relationships organizing organizing opportunities opportunities for our clients for ourtoclients participate to participate in the ownership in the ownership of real estate. of real estate.

“We Build “We Partnerships Build Partnerships That Last” That Last” For leasing Forinformation leasing information on any ofonour any properties of our properties or to learn or more to learn about more ourabout services: our services: 200 Park200 Avenue Park South, Avenue10th South, Floor, 10th New Floor, York, New NY York, 10003NY - 212.400.6060 10003 - 212.400.6060 - www.absre.com - www.absre.com

TABLE OF CONTENTS M A R C H

2 0 1 6

6 NEWS BRIEFS

1 WHITEHALL STREET, 7TH FLOOR NEW YORK, NY 10004

14 LEASES Leases of the Week Columns:

Robert Knakal and Scott Spector

22 FINANCE Debt Deals of the Week ChartFinance Q&A

with David Durning

IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THE

31 THE POWER 100

CLOSING OF

ROCKPOINT REAL ESTATE FUND V

$3.3 billion

Welcome to the List Power 100’s newbies.

Power Lawyers

The best legal minds in real estate.

firm and Registered Investment Adviser that employs a fundamental value approach to investing and focuses on select product types and geographic regions, with an emphasis on opportunities in major coastal markets in the United States.

Who was the naughtiest person in 2016?

Goodbye, Residential!

The Leaps

Who jumped highest?

Why we’re no longer including residential players in Power 100.

Power Pols

Power Emeritus

Stumped by Trump

Power Architects

The mighty politicans.

Rockpoint Group, L.L.C. is a real estate private equity

The Dubious Award

The Donald is off Power 100 this year. Here’s why.

Here’s to you, Richard Anderson. Who’s who in design and architecture.

140 FEATURES While we’ve got you.. Power 100s sound off on the state of world affairs.

Takeaway www.rockpointgroup.com

Higher learning gives the city a construction boomlet.

END NOTES BOSTON

DALLAS

SAN FRANCISCO

144 ChartLease / Sale 152 Party Circuit 148 In Memoriam 154 The Plan THIS ANNOUNCEMENT APPEARS AS A MATTER OF RECORD ONLY

FROM TOP: COURTESY DAVID DURNING; VICTOR JUHASZ; COURTESY COSTAR GROUP COVER ILLUSTRATION BY VICTOR JUHASZ

| APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

Max Gross Editor-in-Chief — Lauren Elkies Schram, Deputy Editor WRITERS Danielle Balbi, Finance Reporter Terence Cullen, Reporter Liam La Guerre, Reporter — Robyn Reiss Executive Director — SALES Barbara Shapiro, Associate Publisher, Finance James Storey, Senior Account Executive Shannon Rooney, Account Executive — MARKETING Lauren Russell, Marketing Director Genevieve Rupp, Marketing & Events Manager — DESIGN, PHOTO & PRODUCTION Paul Dilakian, Art Director Lisa Medchill, Advertising & Production Director Jeff Cuyubamba, Senior Designer Emily Assiran, Photo Director Kaitlyn Flannagan, Photo Editor — OBSERVER MEDIA Jared C. Kushner Publisher Joseph Meyer Chairman and CEO Ken Kurson Editorial Director Thomas D’Agostino VP of Operations and Controller TO SUBSCRIBE, CONTACT ALEXANDRA ENDERLE AT AENDERLE@OBSERVER.COM, OR CALL 212-407-9331. FOR REAL ESTATE ADVERTISING, CONTACT ROBYN REISS AT RREISS@OBSERVER.COM, OR CALL 212-407-9382. FOR FINANCIAL ADVERTISING, CONTACT BARBARA GINSBURG SHAPIRO AT BSHAPIRO@OBSERVER.COM, OR CALL 212-407-9383. TO RECEIVE COMMERCIAL OBSERVER FINANCE WEEKLY, COMPANION NEWSLETTER TO THE COMMERCIAL OBSERVER, DELIVERED DIRECTLY TO YOUR INBOX EVERY FRIDAY, CONTACT SHANNON ROONEY AT SROONEY@OBSERVER.COM, OR CALL 212-407-9367. TO RECEIVE THE COMMERCIAL OBSERVER NOW NEWSLETTER, DELIVERING THE LATEST UPDATES IN COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE DIRECTLY TO YOUR INBOX THREE TIMES A WEEK, CONTACT SHANNON ROONEY AT SROONEY@OBSERVER.COM, OR CALL 212-407-9367.

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News SILVER SPOONERS

Last week, the judge who presided over ex-Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s trial last year released a ream of government documents that she declined to admit as evidence—and the papers claim Mr. Silver had affairs with two women and used his immense power in Albany to boost their careers. The heavily redacted briefs, submitted by corruption-busting U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, allege that the Federal Bureau of Investigation discovered phone records and recordings of Mr. Silver conversing with his extramarital lady friends on a special cell phone he obtained just for that purpose. The feds identified one woman as a lobbyist and describe the other as a woman Mr. Silver had a “long-running” relationship with and whom he helped get a job with a state entity “over which he exercised a particularly high level of control.” The documents allude to a cache of taped phone discussions investigators found during their probe of the now-convicted speaker, which included a whispered chat between Mr. Silver and the first mistress that apparently was recorded by accident. Mr. Bharara’s office describes the two talking about a reporter digging into politicians and their illicit liaisons and Mr. Silver warning his lover that the situation was “not safe” even though “I don’t think he caught us.” The pair also allegedly talked about a matter important to the woman’s lobbying clients, which the then-speaker said was “a difficult issue with the [Assembly] conference.” The prosecutor also claimed to have evidence that the woman “lobbied the defendant on a regular basis on behalf of clients who had business before the state.” The documents also describe how Mr. Silver got the second woman a job with an entity that both houses of the state legislature vote to place members on but “given the size and composition of the Assembly versus the Senate” is effectively under the control of the former. The description would seem to match the setup of the Board of Regents, which controls education policy in New York State.

| APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

Sources tell Commercial Observer that rumors in Albany long linked Mr. Silver romantically with a former assemblywoman. The government asserted that the mistress was the only person Mr. Silver or his staff had ever recommended for a job with the entity and that his office followed up to inquire about its possibly hiring her. Mr. Bharara unsuccessfully argued the evidence of Mr. Silver’s dalliances was “relevant not only to the defendant’s moral character but to the use of his official position

YANA PASKOVA/GETTY IMAGES

Feds: Sheldon Silver Used His Position to Help His Mistresses Sheldon Silver. for private benefit.” Ultimately, Judge Valerie Caproni only allowed the government to submit evidence that Mr. Silver had directed state money to a cancer center that referred patients to his law firm and improperly encouraged a developer with business before the state to hire

another counsel that paid him referral fees. The Lower Manhattan pol, once one of the three most powerful men in the state, is due for sentencing next month. The special election to fill his seat took place on April 19. —Will Bredderman

STAT OF THE WEEK

30.3 Percent Increase BY RICHARD PERSICHETTI In honor of this week’s Power 100 issue, it is time for the fourth installment of the Power Five list. This year we are going to change up the list and focus on the top five facts learned during the first quarter of 2016 instead of submarkets ranked by leasing activity. In order to ensure the facts are interesting, there will be no statements about vacancies or asking rents on the list. So, below are the Power Five facts of the first quarter. 5. 24.6 Percent – The increase in Midtown South’s leasing activity compared to this time one year ago, led by two Facebook leases at 225 Park Avenue South and 770 Broadway, totaling 240,000 square feet. This also allowed for Midtown South to be the only market with positive absorption during the first quarter. 4. 10 – The amount of large blocks of space greater than 100,000 square feet added to the Manhattan market in the first quarter. This is a vast improvement from the 21 placed on the market one year ago.

floor) and base floors ($85.84 below the 20th floor) over the last five quarters. This analysis excludes the Citadel lease, which if included, would bump the spread up to $46.05 per square foot.

3. 37 Percent – The market share for Technology, Advertising, Media and Information Services, or TAMI, leasing in Manhattan throughout the first quarter. TAMI continues to dominate Manhattan—Midtown South had 72 percent and Downtown had 62.1 percent of the TAMI leases signed that were greater than 10,000 square feet.

1. 30.3 Percent – The increase in Downtown net effective rents over the past three years to $41.98 per square foot in the first quarter. Despite Downtown landlords still offering generous concessions, the net effective rent increase is substantially higher than Midtown at 10.7 percent and Midtown South at 9.8 percent.

2. $38.12 PSF – The difference between Plaza District taking rents for tower floors ($123.96 per square foot above the 20th

Richard Persichetti is the vice president of research & marketing at Cushman & Wakefield.

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The Witnesses Lists Another Property in Brooklyn Exit

107 Columbia Heights.

The owner bids

So begins the final phase out of the Jehovah’s Witnesses last holdings in Brooklyn. The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, which is the governing arm of the religious group, has put the “rare and expansive” 154,000-square-foot 107 Columbia Heights residential building in Brooklyn Heights on the market, according to marketing materials from the organization. Listing the property comes on the heels of news reports that Kushner Companies, RFR Realty and LIVWRK have agreed to pay north of $700 million for two properties owned by the organization in the Dumbo section of the borough. (Kushner Companies Chief Executive Officer Jared Kushner owns Observer Media, which publishes Commercial Observer.) A property like 107 Columbia Heights could go for more than $1,000 per square foot in the borough’s hot real estate market, speculated Tucker Reed, the president of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership. That comes out to roughly $154 million when you multiply the price by the size of the building. While it wasn’t immediately clear if Watch Tower Society has an outside broker, the listing notes that the 161-unit structure has “prime views, private and rooftop terraces [and] a large auditorium.” The Brooklyn Heights property was built in 1959 and renovated in 2007, the marketing materials indicate.

of one of

A representative for the group did not return a request for comment. The 57-year-old building is one of just a few that the society has yet to sell off as it moves out of Brooklyn to upstate’s Warwick, N.Y. The religious organization announced more than a decade ago that it would leave the city, sell off its assets and move its headquarters to the Orange County town, as CO has previously reported. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle noted in December 2015 that other Brooklyn Watch Tower Society holdings include 97 Columbia Heights, 119 Columbia Heights and 1 York Street. “The Watch Tower properties are always maintained in a fashion that would make Buckingham Palace blush,” said Timothy King, the managing partner of Downtown Brooklyn-based CPEX Real Estate. “They always sell at a premium to the market, and I have no doubt they will achieve a record price for these trophy assets.” Watch Tower put three of its properties on the market this past December, including its headquarters at 25-30 Columbia Heights in Brooklyn Heights. The combined buildings were estimated to sell for $1 billion, as CO previously reported. Kushner, RFR and LIVWRK are in talks to buy 25-30 Columbia Heights and a vacant development site at nearby 85 Jay Street, as The New York Post reported today.—Terence Cullen

‘s most desirable apartments had four equal, sealed

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| APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

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Three separate Carnegie Hill buildings owned by the National Academy Museum & School have hit the market for a total of $120 million, according to Cushman & Wakefield marketing materials. The properties, which total 54,200 square feet (42,078 of it above grade), include 1083 Fifth Avenue between East 89th and East 90th Streets, a six-story, 19,114-squarefoot building; 3 East 89th Street between Madison and Fifth Avenues, a five-story, 21,836-square-foot structure; and 5-7 East 89th Street between Madison and Fifth Avenues, a two-story, 13,250-square-foot building. Together they offer 42,092 square feet of air rights. The academy announced in a March 17 press release that it would be selling the buildings “in order to establish a permanent, unrestricted endowment—the first in the organization’s 190-year history—as well as to generate revenue for a new facility.” National Academy Museum is located at 1083 Fifth Avenue. Over a century ago, art patron Archer Milton Huntington interconnected the townhouse with 3 East 89th Street.

The organization uses them for gallery space and offices. National Academy School is next door at 5-7 East 89th Street. The building is being used for classroom and studio space. Huntington donated all three buildings to the National Academy Museum & School in the 1940s. C&W’s Thomas Gammino Jr., Brett Weisblum and Louis Marchetta are marketing the properties. Mr. Gammino didn’t respond to requests for comment. The National Academy, founded in 1825, “integrates a museum, art school and association of artists and architects dedicated to creating and preserving a living history of American art and architecture,” according to its press materials. The National Academy Museum will cease programming and close on June 1 with a new home for the organization yet to be determined. The school “and administrative offices will continue to function normally on a day-to-day basis during this transition and for the foreseeable future,” the academy’s March press release indicates.—Lauren Elkies Schram

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As More Families Move to Midtown East, NY Kids Club Will Serve Its Tots New York Kids Club will be coming to Midtown East with a new children’s activity center to take space previously occupied by M&T Bank at 401 East 55th Street between York and First Avenues, Commercial Observer has learned. The center signed a 15-year lease for 3,800 square feet on the ground floor of the residential cooperative, according to Joseph Isa of Isa Realty Group, who represented the co-op in the deal along with colleague Louis Franco. The asking rent was $80 per square foot. Next door to the club, and in the building, is Le Pain Quotidien, Mr. Isa said, which took its 3,100-square-foot space (with an address of 1006 First Avenue) in the first quarter of 2014. There are two available retail spaces in the building: 1,400 square feet with an asking rent of $125 per foot, and 1,634 square feet going for $65 a foot, Mr. Isa said. “I think that areas is getting younger and younger,” Mr. Isa said. “I think now as many of the older residents are moving out you’re getting young families moving in.” RKF’s Gary Alterman and Andrew Stern represented the club in the transaction.

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“This location was the perfect fit for New York Kids Club due to the dense residential population in the area, which will continue to grow with new high-rise developments on First Avenue,” Mr. Stern said in prepared remarks. “The public plaza nearby caters to the large family population in the area and provides ample space for stroller parking.” New York Kids Club has been scooping up new locations lately including its first in Dumbo last month and another one on the Upper East Side in January, both of which CO previously reported.—L.E.S.

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| APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

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Lease Deals of the Week PricewaterhouseCoopers 240,000 New One of the world’s biggest auditing firms Pricewaterhouse Coopers is growing in New York City with the addition of 240,000 square feet at 90 Park Avenue between East 39th and East 40th Streets, according to a PwC release. The new digs, obtained through a 17-year lease signed last week, are nearby the company’s existing offices, in 800,000 square feet at 300 Madison Avenue between East 41st and East 42nd Streets (the company’s main building) and 46,800 square feet on the 18th and 19th floors at 101 Park Avenue between East 40th and East 41st Streets. PwC will have a dedicated entrance at the Vornado Realty Trust building, erected in 1964 and renovated to the tune of $70 million last year. It will occupy the second through fourth floors, the sixth floor and the eighth and ninth floors. The offices will be home to 1,500 partners and professionals when it opens in 2017. CBRE’s Timothy Dempsey and Greg Maurer-Hollaender represented PwC in the deal. A spokesman said the brokers declined to comment. Vornado represented itself in-house. Vornado’s spokesman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. A PwC spokesman declined to provide the asking rent, but The Real Deal reported in February that PwC was near a deal at 90 Park Avenue and noted that asking rents in that part of the building were in the high-$60s to low-$70s per square foot.—Lauren Elkies Schram

Mast Brothers

Madewell

Chubb

Cowork|rs

65,000 New

60,000 Relocation

45,910 Expansion

30,000 New

Mast Brothers, the chocolate-maker that’s come under fire in the last year for the origin of its cacao beans, is moving from just outside of the Brooklyn Navy Yard into the actual complex. The 10-year-old Williamsburgborn company has inked a 15-year deal for 65,000 square feet at the Navy Yard on the waterfront, according to a press release from the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation. The expansion of the company will take place over the next three years, according to The New York Times, which first reported news of the deal. Mast Brothers will be in the Green Manufacturing Center, which is now fully leased, the Navy Yard release indicates. “It is a dream come true to be a part of the incredible Brooklyn Navy Yard community and have the chance to create many more delicious jobs,” Michael Mast, who co-founded and runs the company with brother Rick Mast, said in prepared remarks. Mast Brothers was criticized last year when food blogs called into question whether the siblings grounded their own cacao beans when they started making chocolate in the kitchen of their Williamsburg apartment a decade ago. Rick told the Times that they began by melting industrial chocolate before developing their own “bean-to-bar” method. Irene Nickolai and Thomas Hochfelder of Douglas Elliman Commercial represented Mast Brothers in the deal.—Terence Cullen

Womenswear retailer Madewell is leaving its parent company’s East Village digs and slumming it in the gritty outer boroughs. The J.Crew subsidiary signed a 60,000-square-foot deal for office space at The Factory in Long Island City, according to The New York Post, making it the latest fashion company to move into the former Queens warehouse at 30-30 47th Avenue. Madewell will be taking 17,433 square feet of pre-built space on the fourth floor of the 10-story building, the Post reported. Madewell’s remaining 42,183 square feet will be on the 10th-floor penthouse. The lease is for 10 years. Asking rents in the building have been in the $40s per square foot. Brian Waterman, Howard Kesseler and Jordan Gosin of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank represented the landlord—a partnership between Atlas Capital Group, Square Mile Capital Group and Invesco Real Estate—while David Goldstein and Gabe Marans of Savills Studley represented the tenant. Since the investors bought the 1.1-million-square-foot structure two years ago and overhauled it, a slew of fashion companies and retailers have flocked to the 90-year-old former Macy’s warehouse including internet clothing company Gwynnie Bee which signed a 12,700-square-foot lease there last year as well. And this January, CO reported that Polo Ralph Lauren would open a photo studio in 19,000 square feet.—T.C.

Property and casualty insurer Chubb has tacked on 45,910 square feet at Durst Organization’s 1133 Avenue of the Americas, bringing its total square footage in the 44-story building to 184,000, Durst’s spokesman told Commercial Observer. Chubb signed an eight-year lease for the additional square footage on the 11th and 35th floors of the building between West 43rd and West 44th Streets. The asking rents for the 11th and 35th floors are $77 and $93 per square foot, respectively, as The Real Deal first reported. “We are thrilled Chubb has expanded their footprint at 1133 Avenue of the America,” Jonathan “Jody” Durst, the president of Durst, said in a company press release. “We look forward to many productive years of partnership with Chubb at 1133.” In January, ACE Limited acquired The Chubb Corporation for $29.5 billion, and together they operate under the name Chubb. ACE has been a tenant at the 1.1-million-square-foot 1133 Avenue of the Americas since 1998, occupying part of the 11th, 30th and 35th floors as well as the entire 32nd, 34th, 38th, 41st, 44th and 45th floors. JLL’s Martin Horner and Pam Klyn represented Chubb. Durst Organization was represented in-house by Tom Bow and Rocco Romeo. JLL’s spokesman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.—L.E.S.

Coworking office space provider Cowork|rs is joining the slew of real estate folks that are out to satiate the demand for office space in Brooklyn’s trendy neighborhood of Bushwick. The company signed a 20-year lease for roughly 30,000 square feet in a three-story building at 839 Broadway between Park and Locust Streets, as Crain’s New York Business first reported. Asking rents at Cowork|rs’ newest spot are in the $30s per square foot, a few dollars more than the northern Brooklyn neighborhood’s average asking rent of $27.12 a foot, according to CoStar Group. Cowork|rs is taking the second and third floors of the property, as well as the roof and a portion of the ground floor. “We had been looking around at different neighborhoods and felt this had a strong community vibe,” Shlomo Silber, Cowork|rs’ chief executive officer and founder, told Commercial Observer. He explained that the company was looking to emulate what it did in its Gowanus location at 683rd Street by creating a community-oriented property akin to a local coffee shop or gym, as opposed to its Manhattan locations where tenants are commuting from different places. Cowork|rs will be doing a custom buildout of the roughly 30,000-square-foot building and will be splitting the construction costs with the property’s landlord Brooklyn-based Deergrow Developments, according to the Crain’s story.—Danielle Balbi

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LEASES

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Lease Deals of the Week Addepar

NetApp

25,000 Expansion

18,242 Relocation

A Silicon Valley-based financial technology firm is expanding to 25,000 square feet in Midtown three years after first signing for office space at the building. Addepar inked a new lease at Milstein Properties’ 335 Madison Avenue. The firm, which whittles down analyses of financial portfolios, will move into its 14th-floor space next month. Addepar first signed a 3,000square-foot deal at the building in 2013 and then expanded to 12,500 square feet a year ago, according to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported news of the deal. “Addepar chose 335 Madison as the ideal location to establish the [New York City] presence of our Silicon Valley-headquartered company,” Eric Poirier, the chief executive officer of Addepar, said in prepared remarks. “The location—connected to Grand Central Terminal, at the nexus of convenient transportation options for employees, and within walking distance to many of our clients— was perfect for Addepar.” Asking rent in the deal was $75 per square foot, according to a spokeswoman for the landlord. The lease runs through April 2025. There weren’t any brokers involved in the deal. “We are thrilled that Addepar has chosen to expand its office space at 335 Madison, and we look forward to seeing their business continue to expand in New York,” Michael Milstein, a partner of Milstein Properties, said in a statement.—T.C.

NetApp, a Fortune 500 computer storage and data management company based in Sunnyvale, Calif., is moving to 285 Madison Avenue upon lease expiration at SL Green Realty Corp.’s 100 Park Avenue, a source with knowledge of the deal told Commercial Observer. The company signed a deal for 18,242 square feet, amassing the entire 19th floor at the 27-story East 40th Street building owned by RFR Realty, the source said. The asking rent was $78 per square foot and the company is slated to move in during the first quarter of 2017. The lease is for 10 years and six and a half months. JLL’s Alexander Chudnoff and Matthew Astrachan represented the tenant in the deal. Mr. Chudnoff, Mitchell Konsker, Dan Turkewitz and Diana Biasotti, all of JLL, worked on behalf of the landlord along with AJ Camhi of RFR. A spokesman for JLL didn’t respond to a request for comment and a spokeswoman for RFR declined to comment. Other tenants in the building include Janklow & Nesbit, a literary agency that represents the likes of Malcolm Gladwell and William Buckley, Jr., Ziff Capital Partners and GreenOak Real Estate. RFR and GreenOak bought the 90-year-old 285 Madison Avenue in 2012 for $189.3 million from advertising agency Young & Rubicam.—L.E.S.

| APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

BluePrint Research Group

Sakar International

7,689 Expansion

5,791 New

BluePrint Research Group, a health care-focused consulting company, has inked a deal to expand at 450 Seventh Avenue. The company will now occupy 7,689 square feet on the 16th floor of the 520,000-square-foot tower between West 34th and West 35th Streets, according to a press release from landlord Kaufman Organization. BluePrint’s lease is for five years and the asking rent was in the high-$50s per square foot. Barbara Raskob of Kaufman Organization represented the landlord in-house. The tenant did not have a broker, according to a spokeswoman for Kaufman Organization. “450 Seventh Avenue provides tenants with premium office space in a central location, conveniently located across the street from [Pennsylvania] Station, and within walking distance to the Port Authority [Bus Terminal] and all major subway lines,” Steven Kaufman, the president of Kaufman Organization, said in prepared remarks.” The consulting company first signed at the building for 2,007 square feet in January 2014, as Real Estate Weekly reported at the time. BluePrint’s expansion is one of several recent leases announced by Kaufman Organization at the 46-story property. The Juice Shop signed a 1,200-square-foot deal for office space at 450 Seventh Avenue, according to the release. KBB Partners, an insurance service company, took 2,134 square feet in a five-year lease.—T.C.

Sakar International, which manufactures toys for Disney, Marvel and Nickelodeon, has signed a 5,791-square-foot lease at 10 West 33rd Street, Commercial Observer has learned. It will occupy part of the fourth floor of the 12-story property between Fifth Avenue and Broadway, which is owned by Ten West Thirty Third Associates, according to Adams & Co. The asking price in the nearly eight-year deal was $60 per square foot. The firm is expected to move into its new digs by June 1. Sakar International is relocating from a smaller space on the 12th floor of 10 West 33rd Street, where it has occupied 3,263 square feet since 2006. The company manufactures consumer electronics, toys and accessories, such as cameras, camcorders, mobile accessories, walkie-talkies and night vision goggles. “Sakar International was determined to remain in the centrally located building, as it works with over 40 different licensed brands, with clients frequenting its office and showroom from all over the city and world,” David Levy of Adams & Co., who negotiated the deal for the landlord, said in a prepared statement. “In addition, the spacious open layout on the fourth floor allows the business to showcase its latest consumer products.” Hidrock Properties brokered the deal on behalf of Sakar; however, a spokeswoman for the firm declined to comment or note who specifically worked on the transaction.—Liam La Guerre

Rosa Mexicano 4,500 New

Mexican chain restaurant Rosa Mexicano has signed a 4,500-square-foot deal to relocate its corporate headquarters to 264 West 40th Street. The company will occupy the entire 18th floor of the 130,000-square-foot property between Seventh and Eighth Avenues. The asking rent in the seven-year deal was in the high$40 per square foot, MHP Real Estate Services’ Joe Friedman, who represented Rosa Mexicano in the deal, told CO. Rosa Mexicano is moving from 846 Seventh Avenue where it had roughly the same amount of space, Mr. Friedman said. The firm had been at that location for more than a decade. It will be moving into its new digs by the end of this month. Rosa Mexicano currently has five restaurants in the city, according to its website. “They wanted to be on the West Side, and they wanted a good price,” Mr. Friedman said. Nora Stats and Bradley Fishel of Coldwell Banker Commercial Alliance represented the landlord Renaissance Properties in the deal. Ms. Stats declined to comment on the deal. Other tenants in the 89-yearold 264 West 40th Street include David’s Bridal, fashion marketing company Lividini Weisenfeld Partners and law firm Lynch Daskal & Emery. South Korea-based Caffè Bene has a 1,250-square-foot coffee outpost in the retail portion of the building, according to CoStar Group.—L.L.G.

COLUMNS  CONCRETE THOUGHTS

Manhattan: The Leading Indicator for the Sales Market? We also expected property values to be lower For decades, the Manhattan investment at the end of the year than they were on Jan. sales market has been the leading indicator 1. Thus far, the market has been following for changes in direction. This submarket, this trajectory. defined as south of 96th Street on the eastThrough the first quarter of 2016 (1Q16), side and south of 110th Street on the westthe dollar volume of sales is side, has generally started to rise on pace for $56.4 for the year, first after a correction and has which would reflect a 25 percent started to fall first when a cordecrease from last year’s total. rection begins. Today, the marThe number of properties sold ket in Manhattan is performing in 1Q16 was 1,205. If annualized, more negatively than other subthe 4,820 pace would reflect a 7 markets, so the question today is percent reduction from last year. if this submarket remains a leadThus far, property values, on avering indicator as it has in the past. age, have continued to rise, but To recap, the investment sales Robert Knakal certain property type sectors have market in New York City has just been experiencing reductions in come off of the two best back-tovalues. This condition is not unusual. At back years we have ever seen. In 2014, more the beginning of corrections, values tend to properties were sold than ever before. The stay elevated, and volume begins to drop as 5,533 properties sold was an all-time record sellers do not accept lower prices offered by by more than 10 percent. In 2015, the dollar buyers who are tuned into the new market volume of sales also achieved an all-time dynamics. record with $75.5 billion, topping the previMuch has been written and discussed ous record of $62.2 billion, set in 2007, by 8 about a potential correction in the market. percent. After these two record setting years, There are two schools of thought here. we anticipated that these metrics would turn The first is that what we have been seeing downward as reflected in our 2016 forecast.

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for the last few months has been the beginning of a major correction in the market. While there has not been a single event or a catalyst for it, believers in this path suggest that values simply got too far ahead of where underlying fundamentals dictated they should be, and a major correction is nothing more than a natural regression to where values should be. The second view is that the market is simply taking a deep breath, and it is poised to continue an upward surge for many years to come. If we are looking for clues as to which of these is correct, the performance of the Manhattan submarket has historically provided some insight. In 1Q16, there were 178 properties sold in the Manhattan submarket. At this pace, there will be 712 properties sold this year. A total that would be 34 percent lower than 2015, which unfavorably compares with the 7 percent reduction citywide. This quarterly total is the lowest seen since 1Q13. With respect to the dollar volume, there was $9.1 billion of sales in 1Q16 (the lowest total since 3Q13), a pace which would

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result in a total 38 percent below last year. Citywide, the reduction was 25 percent. Both of these figures represent the largest reductions in these two volume metrics. If fact, the reduction in dollar volume was the only downward movement within any of the geographical submarkets. As seen in the broader market, values, on average, rose in the first quarter. This makes two quarters in a row of positive movements after the three previous quarters showed reductions in values. Based on this performance, it would appear that the Manhattan submarket is leading a turn in the market. However, many indicators, and generally accepted economic relationships, are not as highly correlated as they once were. This makes the horizon even more opaque and could mean that this seemingly reliable trend will be meaningless given today’s realities. As with all things, time will tell. Until then, we continue to monitor all metrics very closely. Robert Knakal is the chairman of New York investment sales for Cushman & Wakefield.

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Invest in the Best box” offices; rent out raw space or try a hybrid Are we entering a tenant’s market? Do ameoption. In our line of work, we’re encountering nities have an impact on where tenants go? a good deal of pre-build activity. Even though How much should landlords invest in their there is an increased upfront cost, creating a properties to remain competitive? move-in ready space helps landlords attract These are the kinds of questions we hear tenants who are looking to put their furniall the time now. While the commercial ture in, customize the office with real estate market is still on solid art and décor, and go. ground, we’d be remiss to brush “White box” offices are another off reports of Manhattan landlords popular alternative. They refer discounting office lease prices. An to spaces that are primed and in-depth look at recent data from ready for tenant improvements, CoStar Group tells the story in dolyet include very little customizalars and cents. This March alone, tion. White boxes typically come landlords cut pricing on two dozen equipped with HVAC systems, a Manhattan office spaces, with finished ceiling, walls that are much of the activity happening Scott Spector prepped for painting, and a coninside smaller buildings. crete floor slab. Raw spaces leave While I would not call this a draoptions wide open, but also mean lots of matic shift, I would say that the slowdown is work and increased time for the tenant. similar to that of the residential market. Firms Last, but not least, is the hybrid space, which are simply not looking for as much space, and involves a minimal amount of customization, landlords are having to work a bit harder and but might include a basic pantry. All of these be more creative, to seal the deal. decisions are subject to negotiation between The need to refresh and stay relevant is the would-be tenant, the landlord and the broimportant for landlords of all sizes—and the kerage teams between them—and there’s no decisions they have to make are numerous single right answer. and consequential. Landlords need to conAmenities have also become an important sider if they want to pre-build; lease “white

way for landlords to differentiate their buildings from the competition down the block (or across town). A new building can go all out, adding a swimming pool and health club into its plans; an older building can keep pace by enhancing its appeal with a green roof and lobby lounge. Since the trend of co-working has taken off common amenities are becoming, well, more common. Shared amenities offer multiple advantages. They save square footage, and therefore rent expenditures for the tenant. A café space with indoor seating for employees means further cost-savings for a company, which can then reduce the size of its pantry. A roof deck provides another place for staff to meet and mingle. Shared conference spaces, particularly if they are operated by tenants, may eliminate the need for multiple meeting rooms. For the landlord, these and other attractive amenities can increase a building’s desirability. Fitness centers, bike rooms, playrooms, showers, juice bars, coffee shops and gaming areas are all popular options. Take the Empire State Building or 75 Rockefeller Plaza, for instance. The owners of both marquee properties have made sizable investments by amping up amenities to woo the next generation of commercial tenants, and the strategy has paid off. Lobby areas can also be a strong selling point for landlords. One Fort Greene building

owner that our team recently spoke to wanted to discuss a ground-floor lobby with a hospitality vibe borrowed straight from the Ace Hotel aesthetic. A lounge with couches and a collaborative café were an option they were considering to set the tone and make their building a desirable location for companies looking to work socially. Upgraded entrances can make a statement, as well. We field many requests for new elevator cabs and finishes, updated corridors, ADA-compliant restrooms, modern, energy-efficient lighting, artwork installations and front desk areas with security features. All of these investments set the tone for the type of tenant a landlord hopes to attract; what works well for a not-for-profit may be the opposite of what appeals to those in the financial sector. Each decision reinforces the direction the landlord wants to take. The way space is delivered, the shared amenities within it and the look of the lobby and common areas can all excite and entice potential tenants. How much leverage does the tenant have in today’s market? While the answer to that is still unknown, it’s apparent that landlords are investing now to position themselves for whatever comes next. Well played, landlords. Well played. Scott E. Spector, AIA, is a principal at Spector Group. sespector@spectorgroup.com.

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Net-Leased Bank Glen Ellyn, IL $3,265,000 Agents: Glen D. Kunofsky, Russell Wachtler

Net-Leased Gas Station Thomasville, GA $1,340,000 Agents: Glen D. Kunofsky, Judson Kauffman

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FINANCE

Debt Deals of the Week Long Island Apartment Complex Purchase Funded With $128M NYCB Loan Club Quarters Chicago.

CORNER CLUB

Blackstone Gets $335M for National Hotel Acquisition Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers originated a $335 million mortgage to fund Blackstone Group’s acquisition of four Club Quarters hotels across the U.S., the lender announced in a press release. Jamie Henderson, the chief investment officer of alternative investments at Cornerstone, told Commercial Observer through a spokeswoman that the financing carries a floating rate with an initial three-year term and two oneyear extension options. “We are pleased to provide Blackstone with this important strategic financing and to further expand our relationship,” Mr. Henderson said in prepared remarks. The 1,228-key Club Quarters hotel portfolio is comprised of the 346room hotel in San Francisco at 424 Clay Street, the 178-room property in Boston at 161 Devonshire Street, the 429-room hotel in Chicago, Central Loop at 111 West Adams Street and the 275-room lodging in Philadelphia at 1628 Chestnut Street. Blackstone will soon be selling a 16-hotel portfolio to Anbang Insurance Group for $6.5 billion, after scooping it up from Strategic Hotels & Resorts for $6 billion in December 2015, as has been widely reported. A spokeswoman for Blackstone declined to comment. —Danielle Balbi

A partnership between multifamily owner Bainbridge Companies and China Orient Asset Management received a $128 million mortgage from New York Community Bank for the purchase of a 656-unit apartment complex in Long Island, sources have informed Commercial Observer. The five-year loan carries a fixed-rate of 3.125 percent and has two years of interest-only payment. The financing carries a 75 percent loan-to-cost ratio, making the acquisition cost of the property roughly $170.7 million. The multifamily property, Devonshire Hills, is located at 1710 Devonshire Road in the Hauppauge area of Suffolk County. It is comprised of 43, two-story buildings and has a swimming pool, a tennis court, a fitness center and a communal outdoor space for tenants. Meridian Capital Group’s Abe

Devonshire Hills at 1710 Devonshire Road in Hauppauge, N.Y.

Hirsch and Zev Karpel of the company’s New York City office, and Jacob Katz of the Baltimore

office brokered the deal. A spokesman for Bainbridge did not respond to a request for

comment. A representative for China Orient Asset Management could not be reached.—D.B.

Hudson, Related Close $75M Refi for Roosevelt Island Rental Developers Hudson Companies and Related Companies refinanced Riverwalk Point on Roosevelt Island with a $75 million mortgage from MUFG Union Bank, both developers confirmed to Commercial Observer. The financing, which closed on March 24, replaces the original $64.3 million construction loan Union Bank and Bank of America Merrill Lynch provided in November 2013 on the 22-story rental tower, according to David Kramer, the president of Hudson Companies. The new loan carries a seven-year term. “We completed construction [and] leased up the building, so it was time to refinance out the construction loan,” Mr. Kramer said. The 195-foot LEED Silver

| APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

480 Main Street, at right, on Roosevelt Island.

residential rental building, which is at 480 Main Street in the heart of Roosevelt Island, opened in mid2015 at 22 stories, according to a spokeswoman for Related. It contains 266 units ranging from studios to one- and two-bedroom pads. Building amenities include a sun terrace, a rooftop party lounge, a children’s playroom, a fitness center and bicycle storage. The Handel Architects-designed building was erected in 2015. There are two rentals on the market as of recent weeks with an average price of $3,027, StreetEasy indicated. Representatives for Union Bank and Bank of America did not respond to inquiries for comment. —Lauren Elkies Schram with additional reporting provided by D.B.

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FINANCE

Lightstone Gets $75M for 10-Story Rental Tower in LIC Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lent $75 million to Lightstone Group for the construction of a 10-story rental building in Long Island City, according to documents filed with the city on last week. The mortgage is being used to fund the ground-up development at 30-02 39th Avenue, which will be comprised of 428 studios and one- and two-bedroom apartments. Amenities will include an outdoor pool and a large sundeck. Monthly asking rents will start in the low-$2,000s, Scott Avram, the senior vice president of development at Lightstone, told the Observer in January. Meridian Capital Group’s Tal Bar-Or and Drew Anderman brokered the financing on behalf of Lightstone. Lightstone purchased the former parking facility site, which is between 39th and 40th Avenues and 30th and 31st Streets, for $23 million from the garage owner in mid-January, city records indicate. The property is immediately adjacent to the 39th Avenue station for the aboveground N and Q subway lines. The Manhattan-based developer broke ground on 30-02 39th Avenue in November 2015, and the building is slated to come online in the third quarter of 2017. Gerner Kronick + Valcarcel Architects is the architect of record, according to filings with the New York City Department of Buildings. Real estate players have been active in securing financing for new projects in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens. Lightstone’s 428-unit rental is just over half a mile away from Tishman Speyer’s three-tower residential project at 28-02 Jackson Avenue, 28-30 Jackson Avenue and 30-02 Queens Boulevard. Tishman landed a $640

A view of the development site from 30-17 40th Avenue.

million construction loan from Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Wells Fargo for the project this past December. More recently, Bank Leumi funded two deals for ground-up developments in Long Island CIty, Queens’ westernmost neighborhood, including a $36 million construction deal for Lions Group NYC’s 18-story residential

tower at 42-10 27th Street. The bank also provided $15.5 million in financing for Hakimian Organization’s 15-story multifamily property at 41-32 27th Street. A spokesman for Lightstone declined to comment, and a representative for CIBC did not respond to a request for comment.—D.B.

Astoria Bank Refinances Seven-Building NYC Portfolio for $36M Stellar Management took a $35.6 million loan from Astoria Bank to refinance a portfolio of residential buildings in New York City, Commercial Observer has learned. Meridian Capital Group’s Tal Bar-Or and Kyle Kite brokered the financing, which carries a five-year term with a sub-3 percent interest rate. The deal closed earlier this month. “We saw a prime opportunity to restructure the financing of these properties and felt the timing was just right to do so,” Adam Roman, the chief operating officer of Stellar Management, said in prepared remarks provided to CO. “An exceptional team helped us pull this deal together, and we’re looking forward to the continued success with these properties.” The multifamily portfolio is comprised of a six-story, 86-unit building in Brooklyn at 522 Ocean Avenue; four properties in Upper Manhattan at 65 Fort Washington Avenue, 4231 Broadway, 504 West 143rd Street, 510 West 144th Street and 529 West 179th Street; and a five-story, 43-unit residential building in the Bronx at 2558 Grand Concourse. “We actually financed this portfolio for them a few years ago, with Astoria [Bank] as well,” Mr. Bar-Or said. “We were happy to be able to help refinance and capitalize on the value they’ve added and maintain the relationship with Astoria. We look forward to doing more with [Stellar] in the very near future.” A representative for Astoria Bank did not respond to a email request for comment.—D.B.

| APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

65 Fort Washington Avenue.

504 West 143rd Street.

529 West 179th Street.

522 Ocean Avenue.

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ChartFinance March 2016 Average Loss Severity by Property Type “Loan disposition volume for the month of March continued to hover around the level seen 12 months ago, dipping below $500 million for the first time since February 2010,” said Sean Barrie, an analyst with Trepp. “Thirtysix loans totaling $435.9 million were liquidated in March, down from $567 million in February and an astounding $2.4 billion in January. Average loss severity skyrocketed to 69.9 percent, its highest level since Trepp first began

Property Type

tracking this data in 2010. Loans from the retail sector topped the rankings across all categories for highest loan count, realized loss and loss severity. Retail loans resolved last month accounted for over 60 percent of total disposition volume. Lodging loans, affected by the full losses incurred on the Sheraton St. Louis City Center in St. Louis, Mo., recorded the second-highest loss severity at 75.4 percent.” Source:

Loan Count

Loan Balance

Realized Losses

Loss Severity

Retail

$276,812,194

$211,289,655

76.33

Office

$79,014,950

$43,998,818

55.68

Lodging

$42,410,584

$31,978,668

75.40

Industrial

$25,291,517

$13,681,233

54.09

Mixed-use

$2,517,887

$30,886

1.23

Manufactured Housing

$5,610,488

$1,509,089

26.90

Self-storage

$1,231,841

$6,158

.50

Other

$3,050,037

$2,047,243

67.12

Total

$435,939,498

$304,541,751

69.86

COMMERCIALOBSERVER.COM 26

| APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

David Seelinger CEO EmpireCLS

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FINANCE

PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF PRUDENTIAL MORTGAGE CAPITAL COMPANY

David Durning By Danielle Balbi

he last time Commercial Observer sat with David Durning was one year into his term as president and chief executive officer at Prudential Mortgage Capital

Company in late 2013. Since his takeover, the company has averaged $15 billion in debt originations every year for the last three years. In 2015, the life company originated $14.7 billion in mortgages, $1.9 billion of which was in international markets. Mr. Durning shed some light on what Prudential’s preferred assets are in those markets, as well as some of the differences on the mulitfamily and retail side. He also provided CO with COURTESY DAVID DURNING

some perspective on what real estate “inning” we’re in, as well as the areas in which Prudential is seeing opportunity because of the faltering commercial mortgage-backed securities market. Commercial Observer: There’s been tons of volatility in capital markets. As a life company, does that give you an advantage right now? Or are you feeling that volatility as well? Mr. Durning: We’re definitely feeling the volatility in the market, and we’re feeling that impact in our interactions with borrowers and also in our own CMBS activities. In that sense, the year that has passed so far has certainly been impacted by that. All that said, [when you look back at any year], there’s usually a quarter in the year where there’s some weather in the market, and that impacts what’s happening along the way, and industry expectations for CMBS are down for the year. I don’t have any reason to pull away from the idea that our appetite is $15 billion, and that our expectation is that we’ll fill that appetite. That view may change over the summer if the volatility and other factors persist. The natural segue [here] is just that the part of the reason why we have a diverse platform is that investors react differently to different market environments. At least in

| APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

the near term, some of the uncertainty about CMBS has resulted in benefits to us and other life insurance company lenders. [This] is why there have been some large transactions that certainly CMBS would have been an option or a much more strongly considered option, but instead borrowers were electing work with life insurance companies. Even some of the larger companies, it’s just their planning exercise. They’re aware of what’s happening in the world, they’re looking at where interest rates are in general—which are lower than they expected during the first part of the year—and therefore saying this is a smart time to transact if I can. The largest and most high-quality regional mall is [also] probably a space where there’s a bit of a window of an opportunity for portfolio lenders now on those properties as CMBS is working through some of its issues.

Real estate fundamentals remain strong. There’s been more penetration from the growth in the economy that’s moved beyond the major markets into markets that are less primary. It is driven still strongly by larger transactions, portfolio transactions and we are continuing to work with borrowers who are active on a global scale. And frankly, we’ve still been active in the multifamily space with the agency business. We’re seeing the strongest demand ever in our enhanced agency gateway program [EAGP]. There are two aspects to it: one where we make equity investments with real estate funds—it’s part of a larger relationship that we develop with them on the lending side—and the other part of the relationship is where we will finance properties that are targeted for a future agency permanent execution, but the property may need renovations or upgrades.

Beyond picking up where CMBS cannot, where are you seeing the most opportunity?

So those are bridge loans? Yes. [They’re] not a stabilized properties [yet]. Our

portfolio has really grown well there. We’ve probably had the busiest six months that we’ve ever had in that program.

high-street retail, which can have some attractive parts to it, but it’s not something we know as well.

Does that program have a focus on affordable housing? I think there’s affordable with maybe a small “a” and a big “A”. What the agencies are really focused on is affordability, the big “A,” which is defined by certain area median incomes. But I think more broadly what their mission is is serving workforce housing. That’s something that specifically we finance in our agency gateway program. It’s possible that we might do a more high-end project, but a lot of these are unstabilized projects that are taking place. An example of a transaction is a property in the southeast that is sort of 1990s-vintage that will need about 10,000 units of upgrades with all new appliances and the kitchens redone, all the siding has to be redone, roofs have to be redone. But even today it’s 90 percent occupied, so there’ll be some increase in rents that will come from the fact that it’s going to be a higher quality property once it’s been renovated, but it’ll still be catering to a market with rents that are affordable for regular Americans.

As far as retail goes domestically, we are seeing so many issues with big-box store closures. Are you seeing retail across the board in the U.S. as less attractive now? We’re being more selective. We’re very careful in the places we invest in, which is why we are much less likely to invest in what people have called power centers or lifestyle centers or big-box centers. We just haven’t seen the performance there to be as strong as what we’ve seen in the regional shopping centers.

COURTESY DAVID DURNING

Will PMCC be more active on a global scale this year? On one hand, we’re building out our infrastructure so that we have the ability to invest more broadly, globally. We’ve already done transactions in virtually all of the major markets in Europe, but there are some of the smaller markets, like the Nordics and other places, where we need to do our spadework and we would anticipate having a broader footprint. And again, the strategy there is to serve borrowers who are involved in Pan-European investment strategies, and who may have a bulk of their portfolio in the U.K. or in Germany but they may have a project that’s in Stockholm, or they may have something in Belgium or even in Dublin. It’s almost a little bit of housekeeping in rounding out what we have. What else will dictate your activity abroad? From a market-timing base, we do get impacted by what’s happening in the currency markets and the swap markets. As it turns out right now, our ability to lend can be impacted in places on the continent. We are probably more competitive in the U.S. than we are in the U.K. That doesn’t mean we don’t like the U.K. We have some investor funds in native currency in the U.K., and in other cases we’re swapping dollars, so that has an impact. If I had to guess, I think it’s going to be a challenge to replicate the international volume that we had last year because of those market factors. As far as the properties you have been lending on in other countries, what types of assets are they? We’ve actually had more diversity in what we’ve lent on internationally than maybe I would have expected. In London, [we’ve done] large core office buildings. We’ve actually found that residential doesn’t exist in the same way in Europe as an investment type in any kind of scale. As a proxy for that we’ve done student housing finance and logistics, industrial buildings. In Australia we’ve done a student-housing deal; we’ve done self-storage transactions in Europe and Japan. A big part of our lending activity in Japan has been residential, so that is a market we continue to focus on. Japan would remind you more of like a New York. They’re smaller units, but it’s more regular multifamily. In general, a place where we do less—and it’s harder to find—is retail. We have done some, but a lot of what we do in retail domestically is regional shopping centers and neighborhood centers that are grocery-anchored and the like. That is not what we see as much in international markets. It’s more

‘What the agencies are really focused on is affordability, the big “A,” which is defined by certain area median incomes. But I think more broadly what their mission is serving workforce housing. That’s something that specifically we finance in our agency gateway program.’

The other thing is it’s very operator and owner dependent. We have relationships with firms where we will finance pools of retail assets, so you get the diversity of these different property types, and you’re able to in some cases smooth out the risk associated with an individual center where the volatiles might be higher along the way. The challenge of big-box retailers is internet-driven. The penetration of the internet and people’s shopping patterns is more profound than people expected. On the logistics side, and I’d say the latest move is this move toward sameday delivery, has had an impact on the market. I can’t say that we’ve done as much of that as some others. Part of it is our own concerns about a rapidly changing sector, and in some cases, there are very, very large logistics building, and it might be outside the generic scope. With our apartment owners, whether it’s Japan or the United States, they have adapted to having to service Amazontype delivery customers where in some cases they have some really cool technology where the Amazon [delivery] person can come in, and there are these lockers, and they’ll put them in, and they’ll email you a code so you can get your stuff. It’s a labor issue that the apartment owners have to deal with. Now it’s part of their marketing pitch.

Where do you feel like we are in the real estate cycle? People say innings...I would say we’re in between the sixth and seventh inning. Part of the nature of this recovery, and the fact that the Fed has not been able to sustain the raising of interest rates and to be able to get inflation at a place where they want to yet, is supportive of real estate and real estate values. Typically, when the Fed starts raising rates, somewhere between 18 and 24 months later [there is] a downturn. But the consensus is there’s not going to be a [rate increase] in the first quarter. And with activities in the world today, I think that tends to lengthen the cycle. Some of the air has been let out of the balloon because of the turmoil in the capital markets, which I think will prevent a downturn even as the U.S. economy continues to strength. I still think we’re okay for another couple of years. I don’t see any major problems over the next 24 months. The more broad point is that we’re well into the recovery, and job growth is persisting, so the fundamentals are still pretty strong. The market volatility I think has potentially halted the compression in cap rates and given investors pause in some of the valuations that they were seeing, but it’s not related to the cash flow of the properties. That ultimately is healthy for the market. What’s the company’s focus on agricultural lending like? Agriculture is a very important industry for the United States, and it’s one in which the federal government is highly involved. And historically, it’s been highly fragmented in its ownership. But the demand for agricultural products is as constant as people’s need to eat. You have a factor where there is a secular trend of a growing middle class across the world which is seeking a diet that has higher quality foods and more proteins. The United States is very well positioned from a competitive standpoint in the world to compete in the global economy for food. Within that context, the farm system is one that used to have a lot more volatility. Farmers have become a lot more conservative in terms of how they leverage themselves. There’s been more recent institutionalization of the space, and we participate in that as both an equity player and a lender, and we’ve had very strong performance in that sector. You can get yourself diversified. It’s not just apartment, retail, logistics, etc. It’s permanent planting and annual crops. And it’s permanent planting—that’s nuts and fruits. It’s various types of nuts along the way. It’s vineyards. You can get pretty well diversified within the agricultural sector from both a lending and equity perspective across these different crop types and across those different markets. You try to immunize yourself from water risk or weather risk across the country. And because of the federal government, there are insurance programs and the like that help you minimize specific property risks in terms of what might happen if there was a blight on a particular crop or something like that. You put that all together, and you have world demand for this underlying product, whether it’s corn or soybeans or fruit and nuts or wine, and you’ve got a need for capital, and you’ve got a user of capital who are people who are committed to the businesses that they’re in for long periods of time. For us it’s a growing sector that grows with worldwide demographic trends and fewer private investors are involved in it. In both debt and equity, it’s a place where we have the embedded expertise, and it creates barriers of entry for others to invest in the space in the same way. Until the 1950s, we had more agricultural loans than we had commercial real estate loans. COMMERCIALOBSERVER.COM | APRIL 20, 2016 | 29

Congratulations to the 2016 Commercial Observer Real Estate Power 100

212.326.1000 | savills-studley.com

POWER 100

POWER

100 By Danielle Balbi • Terence Cullen • Larry Getlen • Max Gross David Jones • Liam La Guerre • Lauren Elkies Schram

ast week, as we were conducting the final interviews for Power 100, we got on the phone with one of the city’s bigwigs to ask him what he had been up to over the last year. He used the opportunity to list every grievance he held against the names on last year’s Power 100—one by one. The call lasted 45 minutes, approximately half an hour of it devoted to trashing last year’s rankings. One name we put in the 20s was way too high for such a small-timer. Another was a terrific broker, but how powerful is a broker, really? One name couldn’t really be considered a great power broker in New York—New Jersey, maybe. And, dammit, why was our interviewee so frickin’ low? In exasperation our friend finally barked, “I don’t know how you define power!” Well, we replied, that’s the $64,000 question. As we embarked on this year’s Power 100, the first thing we asked ourselves was what was the story of the last year? Certainly, talking to any broker or property owner about the state of the market, you sense a certain hesitation that you didn’t get last year. The market is softening, they say. The crazy overheated hunger for $90 million condominium units is finally cooling. Cap rates are too low. The loss of 421a makes it impossible to build any new

construction. All fair arguments. But despite all of this, one couldn’t help but notice a penchant for the big, crazy, smash-all-records deals. The biggest of these deals was the $5.46 billion sale of Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village to the Blackstone Group and Ivanhoé Cambridge. However, that was just two properties trading hands. Blackstone made another massive bet when it, and Wells Fargo, purchased General Electric’s commercial real estate loan portfolio for $23 billion. Blackstone’s global head of real estate, Jonathan Gray, certainly hasn’t shrunk from a challenge. If anything, he has stepped up and set the tone. It was the reason we ranked him No. 1 this year. Across the street from Hudson Yards in a building that Related Companies uses as office space is a countdown clock to its city-within-a-city. Every day this visionary project gets closer to reality. Stephen M. Ross, Jeff T. Blau and Bruce A. Beal, Jr. have certainly earned a No. 2 place on our list. In a normal year, SL Green Realty Corp.’s purchase of 11 Madison Avenue for $2.29 billion from the Sapir Organization and CIM Group would have been the deal

of the year. But we’re not sure if this was even the most significant thing SL Green has done. It’s also working on its big, visionary plan for One Vanderbilt, the 1.6-millionsquare-foot tower across from Grand Central Terminal. It seems only right that SL Green’s Marc Holliday and Andrew Mathias should get the No. 3 spot. This year’s list is definitely somewhat skewed to the people who made big bets on a grand vision. Sometimes we’re not sure how—or even if—the vision will be fully realized. Hopes rose last year when Bjarke Ingels unveiled his design for 2 World Trade Center, and Silverstein Properties announced that it had secured News Corp. and 21st Century Fox as an anchor tenant, only to be deflated when Rupert Murdoch announced that they were pulling out of the deal. But Silverstein Properties head Larry Silverstein is left with a pretty spectacular design. And he’s on the hunt for a golden tenant who can take several hundred thousand square feet of space. Some names on this list have the power to build cities. Some have the power to persuade tenants to move to some unheralded corner of Gotham. A few have the power to shape municipal or state budgets. But they all share a grand vision of real estate and the city. It is a powerful vision.—Max Gross COMMERCIALOBSERVER.COM | APRIL 20, 2016 | 31

POWER 100

Jonathan Gray Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Real Estate at Blackstone Group Last Year’s Rank: 2

FROM LEFT: JENNIFER LU/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER; YVONNE ALBINOWSKI/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

It’s hard to go up when you’re already at the top. But under the leadership of Jonathan Gray, Blackstone Group has done just that. As global head of real estate for the private equity giant, Mr. Gray oversees a real estate platform with $94 billion in investor capital under management. In New York City alone, the company completed $17 billion in deals last year, with some of the most iconic properties trading hands. Blackstone invested billions in some of RXR Realty’s properties, including the Helmsley Building at 230 Park Avenue, swept up a 24-building multifamily portfolio from the Caiola family for $690 million and sold off the old New York Times Building at 229 West 43rd Street for $526 million, four years after scooping it up for $160 million. And of course, Blackstone acquired the coveted Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village for $5.46 billion with partner Ivanhoé Cambridge.

Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village.

| APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

“I think all real estate investors in New York have had an attraction to Stuy Town,” said Mr. Gray. “It’s 80 acres, fee simple, with 11,000 apartments on the East Side of Manhattan. It’s hard not to be attracted to that real estate. We were not unique in the sense of trying to talk with the servicer and trying to find a way we could find an investment opportunity.” Instead, what set Blackstone apart in the Stuy Town deal and many others, Mr. Gray said, is the firm’s range of investment vehicles—its public mortgage real estate investment trust, its mezzanine debt fund and its dedicated opportunity funds in the U.S. and Europe. Those came in handy, especially when closing on the $23 billion GE Capital real estate portfolio in mid-2015, he said, which was done in a mere three weeks. As for the real estate giant’s future plans, Mr. Gray has faith in the market’s supply and demand fundamentals, which fueled Blackstone’s balanced buying and selling of assets last year. “We still see opportunity, but at the same time there’s liquidity for mature assets,” he said. “We’ve been active sellers the last two years. I wouldn’t be surprised if we continue on that pace this year.”—Danielle Balbi

Jonathan Gray.

COMMERCIALOBSERVER.COM

| APRIL 20, 2016 | 33

POWER 100

Chairman, CEO and President of Related Companies Last Year’s Rank: 6

Staying in the upper circles of New York City real estate usually requires either a lot of square footage or creative ways to keep people’s jaws dropping. Related Companies can check off both boxes. Under the leadership of Stephen M. Ross, Jeff T. Blau and Bruce A. Beal, Jr., the global developer has more than half of its 17-million-square-foot Hudson Yards project under construction. Related, which is building the five-tower development with Oxford Properties Group, has leased out 6 million square feet of the site. In the last year, that included filling 10 Hudson Yards and neighboring 30 Hudson Yards, where Wells Fargo Securities and private equity firm KKR bought office condominiums last year. Related last year closed on $5 billion in financing for 30 Hudson Yards and the retail component of the project, as well as a $1.3 billion raise for 15 Hudson Yards, the first residential tower at the site. With tenants moving into 10 Hudson

Yards starting next month and 30 Hudson Yards under construction, the focus is now on filling up the 1.6-million-square-foot 55 Hudson Yards. “It’s been probably our biggest year ever if you really think about major accomplishments,” Mr. Blau said. The activity can be seen as “really giving our site, the West Side and Hudson Yards [in general] all the credibility and confirmation in the market that we’ve been talking about for quite some time.” In December, Related sold 11 floors of MiMA Tower in Hell’s Kitchen to Kuafu Properties for a reported $260.8 million. The company is currently developing its eighth of nine projects with Hudson Companies on Roosevelt Island, as well as redeveloping the islet’s retail. Related’s Hunters Point South project in Long Island City, Queens opened in May 2015, bringing online nearly 1,000 affordable and middle-class units.—Terence Cullen

Marc Holliday.

10 and 30 Hudson Yards.

Jeff T. Blau.

Bruce A. Beal, Jr.

Andrew Mathias.

Marc Holliday and Andrew Mathias CEO and President at SL Green Realty Corp. Last Year’s Rank: 4

One Vanderbilt.

| APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

Tower 45.

Whether it’s investing in or financing commercial real estate in New York City, SL Green Realty Corp. finds a way to be a part of the deal. The 19-year-old, Manhattan-based real estate investment trust has ownership interest in 30.5 million square feet and

Stephen M. Ross.

preferred equity investments in 17.8 million square feet of buildings in New York City alone. SL Green CEO Marc Holliday described the company’s strategy as “integrated,” and pointed to its $2.6 billion purchase of the iconic 11 Madison Avenue. The company sold, joint-ventured, refinanced and recapitalized assets and “used all of the proceeds of those activities to acquire what was one of the best acquisitions in 2015,” Mr. Holliday said. Indeed, SL Green shed a number of assets to fund the purchase of the landmarked Midtown South building. Just to name a few, the REIT sold its stake in the Lipstick Building for $453 million and the entire Tower 45 for $365 million. That didn’t stop the company from buying a 90 percent stake in 110 Greene Street in Soho for $229.5 million, as well as two Downtown Manhattan buildings at 187 Broadway and 5-7 Dey Street for a combined $63.7 million. Beyond buying and selling, SL Green made progress on its development at One Vanderbilt, receiving permitting, rezoning of the site and commencing demolition. Andrew Mathias said that the company expects to have a formal groundbreaking and begin foundation work in the fall of this year. SL Green executives are in the process of nailing down financing for the project, and the “reception has been terrific,” Mr. Mathias said. “It will be the most significant development in Midtown Manhattan in the last 40 years or so.”—D.B.

BUILDING PHOTOS FROM TOP: COURTESY RELATED OXFORD; COURTESY COSTAR GROUP JEFF BLAU: ARMAN DZIDZOVIC

Stephen M. Ross, Jeff T. Blau and Bruce A. Beal, Jr.

Ownership & Acquisitions

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Ric Clark.

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| APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

Brookfield Place.

Ric Clark Senior Managing Partner and Chairman of Brookfield Property Partners Last Year’s Rank: 11

Ric Clark is heavily invested in Downtown Manhattan. Not only is he a resident of Tribeca, he heads the company that developed Brookfield Place in Lower Manhattan, which opened a year ago. Mr. Clark told Commercial Observer earlier this year that retailers are faring well at the 8.5-million-square-foot commercial complex formerly known as the World Financial Center. “So I’ll come on a Sunday morning at 10 o’clock, and the Winter Garden is packed, and I’ll be working late on a Friday,” Mr. Clark said. “Or once in a while I’ll be here on a Saturday night, and there’s just a ton

of people at all times.” His company, Brookfield Property Partners, is developing an 844-unit residential building at the 5.4-million-square-foot mixed-use Manhattan West and two residential towers in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, at Greenpoint Landing, a 22-acre development site along the East River. That’s all part of the company’s $140 billion global portfolio. On the investment side, the company is slated to close soon on a $650 million-plus bid for the rest of mall owner Rouse’s stock after already owning one-third of it. —Lauren Elkies Schram

BUILDING PHOTOS FROM TOP: COURTESY COSTAR GROUP; EMILY ASSIRAN/COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

Sam Zell

POWER 100

Scott Rechler CEO and Chairman of RXR Realty Last Year’s Rank: 1

RXR Realty has grown a reputation as a big-time redeveloper. “In general, I am proudest that RXR has positioned itself as the New York region’s premier redeveloper, redeveloping iconic New York City buildings and historic downtowns throughout the region,” Mr. Rechler told Commercial Observer. Projects of note in the last year include the company’s acquisition of the landmark Helmsley Building at 230 Park Avenue in August 2015 for $1.2 billion. “The Helmsley Building has long been neglected and our plan is to re-energize and upgrade it so that it is once again considered one of Manhattan’s most sought after addresses,” Mr. Rechler said in a company annual letter he prepared for his team. The same month, RXR sealed a deal to purchase a 49 percent interest in 5 Times Square at a $1.6 billion valuation, closing the

deal this January. “We had previously provided $150 million of mezzanine financing to the existing owners when they acquired this property in 2013,” Mr. Rechler wrote in the annual letter. “Due to our connection with 5 Times Square and the belief that RXR would enhance the property’s future repositioning efforts, we were able to acquire this stake in the property off-market and at the same investment basis as the existing owners.” Other big deals within the last 15 months include paying $675 million to Beacon Capital Partners for 32 Old Slip in Lower Manhattan and closing on a 97-year ground-lease for Pier 57, a 900-foot-long historic structure along the Hudson River. Google will become the anchor tenant with a 250,000-square-foot lease and Anthony Bourdain will be establishing a public food market in 140,000 square feet.—L.E.S.

5 Times Square.

Scott Rechler.

Douglas and Jonathan “Jody” Durst Chairman and President of Durst Organization

Leasing across Durst Organization’s portfolio totaled 1.3 million square feet in 2015. Company head Douglas Durst said that was a pretty good year, although he would have liked to have seen a deal or two close at the vacant space at the company’s 4 Times Square. A big chunk of the Midtown tower was vacated when Condé Nast moved Downtown to 1 World Trade Center last year, which Durst owns with the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey. Mr. Durst said a new deal at the space should be finalized in the near future. “We’re pleased with where our portfolio stands,” Mr. Durst said. “We wish we had been a little more active at 4 Times Square, but we have a lot of things underway, which we’ll be announcing very shortly.” In the meantime, Durst has had luck this year filling part of the 285,000 square feet at 1133 Avenue of the Americas vacated by the Internal Revenue Service, with Dutch banking giant ING Financial Holdings taking 132,400 square feet. Durst also kicked off construction at Halletts Point in Astoria, Queens, in January. But because only the first few phases of the rental project are covered by the 421a tax

| APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

Douglas and Jonathan "Jody" DouglasDurst. Durst.

1 World Trade Center. abatement, Durst has publicly said that later phases of the affordable housing-driven project would not be economically viable. If, however, some alternative manages to pass in Albany, it promises to be one of the biggest projects in the city.—T.C.

Hallets Point.

Jonathan Durst.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: COURTESY COSTAR GROUP; AARON ADLER/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER; ARMAN DZIDZOVIC/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER; COURETSY COSTAR GROUP; ANDREW BURTON/GETTY IMAGES

Last Year’s Rank: 5

• • • • • •

• •

POWER 100

Jerry Speyer.

Rob Speyer.

66 Hudson Boulevard.

Macy’s Brooklyn.

Anthony E. Malkin.

Chairman and CEO of Empire State Realty Trust

Last year, Empire State Realty Trust may have been outbid on a property it was hoping to buy, but in August, the company “got a $2.5 million termination payment, which was a penny per share of profit for us,” Anthony E. Malkin said. And the company is open to other building buys. “We’re maintaining our discipline but we are actively looking,” Mr. Malkin said. For the last three years, the company has raised asking rents portfolio-wide by 10 percent. And when tenants’ leases have expired, ESRT has upgraded the spaces and increased the rents by more than 50 percent. Last year, ESRT polished its crown jewel Empire State Building with deals like the expansion of LinkedIn to 280,000 square feet, Mr. Malkin said, and the opening of a “new Starbucks which delivers within the building so people can phone down and have Starbucks delivered upstairs.” In February 2015, ESRT brought in a new president and chief operating officer, John B. Kessler. “He’s been tremendous in building the organization,” Mr. Malkin said. ESRT has also launched a repositioning of 250 West 57th Street to “focus on fullfloor tenancies now.” Such tenants include CookFox Architects and GuildNet. “We also launched the rebranding of 112 West 34th Street as 111 West 33rd Street, which also includes a new lobby by Studios Architecture,” Mr. Malkin said. His company will be relocating to and consolidating in space at the building in June.—L.E.S. 40

Last Year’s Rank: 10

| APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

Empire State Building and 111 West 33rd Street.

Jerry and Rob Speyer Chairman and President and CEO of Tishman Speyer Last Year’s Rank: 9

After sharing the reins of the company he founded in 1978, Jerry Speyer gave full control of the CEO position to his 46-year-old son, Rob, last September as part of a phased transition plan. The father-son real estate duo had split duties as top executive for the seven years prior. The 75-year-old Jerry, who founded the company with his father-in-law, Robert Tishman, is still active in the company as it continues to expand across New York City and the globe. Last August, Tishman Speyer was named the long-awaited buyer of the Macy’s in Downtown Brooklyn at 422 Fulton Street. The Rockefeller Centerbased developer will create 10 floors of office space above a truncated version of the department store in a $270 million agreement. Tishman Speyer is developing a 1,789-unit residential complex a bit north in Long Island City, Queens, where the company has been building for roughly 10 years. The new

1.2-million-square-foot project will also include 15,500 square feet of retail for the shopping-starved neighborhood. The company has not shied away from the Far West Side, either. An original bidder for the Hudson Yards site, Tishman Speyer is now working on two projects practically across the street: a 2.9-million-square-foot, Bjarke Ingels Group-designed tower dubbed The Spiral; and an assembled site across from the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center for a planned 1.3-million-squarefoot office building. Both father and son have remained active in civic life. Jerry is the chairman of the Museum of Modern Art and vice chairman of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. Rob, meanwhile, is in his rare fourth year as chairman of the Real Estate Board of New York (chairs usually serve only three years). The real estate scion also chairs the advisory board for the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City.—T.C. and Liam La Guerre

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: YVONNE ALBINOWSKI/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER; J GRASSI/ PMC; SASHA MASLOV/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER; COURTESY COSTAR GROUP

Anthony E. Malkin

THE

POWER

100

We are 70,000 men and women proud to help clean, maintain and protect our city’s buildings for all New Yorkers. Congratulations to the Power 100 from the members of 32BJ SEIU.

32BJSEIU

32BJ SEIU

32BJ SEIU is the largest property service workers union in the country. 25 West 18th Street, New York, NY 10011 • www.seiu32bj.org

POWER 100

Chairman and CEO of Vornado Realty Trust Last Year’s Rank: 7

During a recent Vornado Realty Trust earnings call, Steven Roth called Penn Plaza “our Big Kahuna.” The firm, which is one of the biggest landlords in the country, is trying to bring new life to the Pennsylvania Station area. Vornado recently announced plans to combine the office buildings at 1 and 2 Penn Plaza into a 4.2-million-square-foot complex. It will also completely rip off the façade at 2 Penn Plaza and replace it with glass. Vornado, which owns 9 million square feet around Penn Station, is capitalizing on the excitement brewing along the West Side of Manhattan—and the company got a boost when Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced plans to overhaul the crumbling hub. “The timing of this submarket is perfect now,” Mr. Roth said in the earnings call. “The confluence of the events surrounding Penn Plaza is nothing short of extraordinary and validate our investment strategy, and so I have said before, the island of Manhattan is

Steven Roth.

Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey Co-Founder and CEO and Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of WeWork Last Year’s Rank: 22

WeWork has been getting bigger and bigger since the company’s inception in 2010. In 2015, the company grew to over 40,000 members from roughly 16,000 the year prior (and is now at 55,000), according to WeWork, with over 9,000 businesses, up from 4,000, that call their WeWork digs home, or office home. The $16 billion co-working giant run by Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey opened 40 new WeWork locations all over the world in 2015, including in Austin, Amsterdam, Berkeley, Chicago, Miami, Portland, Herzliya and Be’er Sheva. Plus, WeWork has been expanding with new spaces in New York City, like the 60,000-square-foot fourth floor at the post office building at 450 Lexington Avenue between East 44th and East 45th Streets, as Commercial Observer previously reported. WeWork’s employees number 1,400, according to a company spokeswoman. And there are 90 WeWork locations in 67

changing to the west.” Besides the Big Kahuna, Vornado has been very active within the last year around the city, where it owns more than 20 million square feet of office space. In August 2015, Vornado acquired a 99-year ground lease at 260 11th Avenue, also known as the Otis Elevator Building, using stock units valued at $80 million. The site currently is home to a 235,000-square-foot office building with a 10,000-square-foot parking lot, and Vornado plans to redevelop and expand the structure to meet the demand for office space in Chelsea. It will make annual payments of $3.9 million for the ground lease, and Vornado has the option to buy the property for $110 million. The company isn’t overlooking the outer-boroughs either. It picked up the 437,000-square-foot Center Building in Long Island City, Queens, at 33-00 Northern Boulevard for $142 million in March 2015. —L.L.G.

| APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

countries as of earlier this month—but WeWork has been on such a tear, it’s not likely that number is still good. The company expects to open another 100 locations by the end of the year. WeWork purchased the 63-person building information consultancy CASE, which had been working with WeWork for several years, David Fano, a co-founder of CASE, previously told CO. WeWork and the CASE employees moved into new 115,600-square-foot WeWork headquarters last August at 115 West 18th Street. And there are exciting things ahead for WeWork, as the company has launched its residential offering, WeLive, including a location at 110 Wall Street. On June 1 the first WeWork space will open in China, in Shanghai. And WeWork is working with Rudin Management and Boston Properties to develop a 675,000-squarefoot office project called Dock 72 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard—L.E.S.

Miguel McKelvey and Adam Neumann.

Inside WeWork Chelsea.

FROM TOP: PETER ROSS; COURTESY WEWORK

Steven Roth

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$35 BILLION

IN 2015

Thank you to the owners, developers and lenders whose continued confidence and trust allowed Meridian to close more than $35 billion in financing last year and remain America’s most active debt broker.

MeridianCapital.com

POWER 100

Founder and President of Wharton Properties Last Year’s Rank: 12

Last year, Jeff Sutton’s Wharton Properties completed one of the biggest and most talked about purchases in New York City real estate: the Crown Building at 730 Fifth Avenue, a shining star in the firmament of New York’s most coveted and luxurious strip of retail. The price tag was an unfathomable $1.78 billion. The hard part was never making a deal; it was always making a big (and somewhat scary) investment like that pay off by keeping some of the best brands at the address and, with them, the ludicrous rents. It has been remarkable to watch Mr. Sutton pull it off, but last year he signed a deal with Bulgari that reduced its amount of frontage from 46 feet to 28 feet while at the same time taking the rent from an already stratospheric $9.5 million per year to $16.5 million a year for the 3,000-square-foot space, working out to $5,500 per foot. It makes the $4,000-a-foot lease he signed with

William Rudin Vice Chairman and CEO of Rudin Management Last Year’s Rank: 14

William Rudin kicked off 2015 signing a monster 580,000-square-foot lease at 1675 Broadway with Publicis Groupe in January in the mid-$70s per square foot—but the year only seemed to get better from there. “The Greenwich Lane project was very strong in terms of sales,” Mr. Rudin told Commercial Observer, referring to the FXFOWLE-designed 199-unit luxury condominium in Greenwich Village at the old St. Vincent’s Hospital, where the average apartment was listed at a whopping $3,584 per square foot, according to StreetEasy. “We started moving people in [in the fourth

William Rudin.

| APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

Ermenegildo Zegna at the same building look sort of shabby by comparison. We hear that with real estate that valuable at his fingertips, he plans on transforming the Crown’s lobby into yet another retail space. It’s sort of been the story of the rest of Mr. Sutton’s portfolio; nine years ago, he signed Giorgio Armani at 717 Fifth Avenue for what was then considered a high $1,000 per foot. He has been raising the bar ever since. Mr. Sutton, who still lives in the Gravesend section of Brooklyn where he grew up, appears to be moving with the tide of the market; since seizing the Crown, he has purchased a handful of buildings (notably 511 Fifth Avenue and 85 Fifth Avenue) but overall he seems to be focused on getting the premier tenants to his 123-property portfolio. In addition to his Fifth Avenue properties, Mr. Sutton has addresses in Soho (he brought Canada Goose to 101 Wooster Street and Nike to 529 Broadway), Times Square (his alma mater, the Wharton School, is planning on doing a case study about how he tiptoed around the landmarking rules to advertise alongside one of these properties) and Harlem, where he’s bringing a Whole Foods, a Burlington Coat Factory, an Olive Garden and a TD Bank, among others.—M.G.

quarter of 2015] and we’re almost at 90 percent sold now. We sold 180 units and by the time you go to press, we’ll have closed 75 units.” Greenwich Lane was the culmination of many years of labor. But there were other initiatives in 2015, and so far in 2016 that were just as exciting. For instance there was Rudin’s collaboration with WeWork at 110 Wall Street for its initial WeLive project, which opened earlier this month. And at the Brooklyn Navy Yard last May, Rudin embarked on an extremely ambitious project with Boston Properties and WeWork (again) to build out a 675,000-square-foot office project called Dock 72. All the while, Rudin has continued leasing its heart out. “The metrics of the city seem very strong, job growth continues and there’s a lot of activity in construction and renovation,” Mr. Rudin said. “The energy in the city is very vibrant; it’s all very positive signs.”—M.G.

Jeff Sutton.

Larry Silverstein.

Marty Burger.

Larry Silverstein and Marty Burger Chairman and CEO of Silverstein Properties Last Year’s Rank: 3

Few names stand out Downtown like Silverstein Properties, which is led by Larry Silverstein and Marty Burger. The developer is finishing up 30 Park Place, which will be anchored by the Four Seasons Downtown at the base with luxury condominium units upstairs. Work on the hotel should finish up this summer, and it is slated to be operational by this fall, Mr. Silverstein said. Group M, 3 World Trade Center’s anchor tenant, signed an expansion—a total of 650,000 square feet, or 28 percent, of the under-construction tower. The building will top out this summer. Mr. Silverstein said he wouldn’t be surprised if the company signed on for more space before the building opens in 2018. Neighboring 4 World Trade Center is now more than 70 percent spoken for. One big lease at the skyscraper includes SNY, the

cable network that carries the New York Mets games, which inked an 83,000-square-foot deal to relocate Downtown from Midtown. The last year would have been a grand slam, however, if one of the city’s largest deals had gone through. Silverstein had been in talks with News Corp. and 21st Century Fox to anchor more than half of the 2.8-millionsquare-foot 2 WTC. But the media companies backed out of the negotiations this January over concerns that it couldn’t facilitate a massive headquarters move. Mr. Silverstein has remained optimistic that a tenant will sign to the yet-to-be-built tower, which got a new Bjarke Ingels design last year. “Any occupant requiring a large amount of space is going to look at this building, and I simply have to tell you, they are,” he said. “It wouldn’t surprise me if this happens this year.”—T.C.

LARRY SILVERSTEIN: ADAM JONES/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER; WILLIAM RUDIN: KRISTY LEIBOWITZ/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

Jeff Sutton

POWER 100

Gary Barnett.

Gary Barnett Founder and President of Extell Development Company Last Year’s Rank: 8

Last week, Gary Barnett reversed course at One57, announcing that he would try to sell 38 unsold units at the building instead of putting them on the luxury rental market. Those apartments at 157 West 57th Street include one, two and three bedrooms and will range from $3.5 million to $10 million, Mr. Barnett said. “Even after taxes, we see the opportunity to do better than we would do as a rental,” he said. The property is home to the five-star Park Hyatt New York, which in January was ranked as the top hotel in New

Andrew Cuomo

Andrew Cuomo.

Governor of New York Last Year’s Rank: 28

He’s been called the Prince of Darkness, The Contender…but Master Builder? It had remained to be seen which of New York’s top Democrats—Gov. Andrew Cuomo or Mayor Bill de Blasio—would leave the biggest physical mark on the city, but just in the last few months the governor announced a string of projects that would make Robert Moses’ head spin: $100 billion worth of infrastructure projects in New York State, which include a revamp and addition to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, sprucing up and expanding Pennsylvania Station and a brand new LaGuardia Airport. “Together, we will build an even smarter, stronger and fairer New York than ever before—and we will show the nation the way forward once again,” he said in his Jan. 13 State of the State address. Questions remain on how the

Manhattan Square and rental buildings at 500 East 14th Street and 555 10th Avenue. This month Extell plans to start marketing its 80-unit condo at 1681 Third Avenue at East 94th Street that is under construction. And he has under construction a ground-up development at 1010 Park Avenue, which Mr. Barnett called “one of the few new buildings to be built on Park Avenue.” And in its first foray into Brooklyn, Extell is working on a 500-unit residential tower at City Point.—L.E.S.

| APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

second-term Democrat plans to pay for all of these programs, but the real estate community applauded his commitment to overhauling Gotham’s crumbling infrastructure. Mr. Cuomo also showed how much influence his perch has over the five boroughs when it comes to real estate policy. The governor pushed through a six-month renewal of the 421a tax break in June 2015 after it expired for about a week. He tied the continuation of the program to a prevailing construction wage, which had to be agreed upon by landlords and labor unions by this January. Because talks broke down, the abatement crucial to building rental market-rate and affordable apartments in New York City expired. Mr. Cuomo’s office has said that a 421a replacement could be forthcoming.—T.C.

GARY BARNETT: SASHA MASLOV/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

York City by U.S. News & World Report. Extell Development Company has been on a tear assembling properties in the Diamond District from West 46th to West 47th Streets and Fifth Avenue to Avenue of the Americas. “We basically have site control,” Mr. Barnett said, noting he is not sure what Extell will do at the site. In March, Mr. Barnett said he went to Israel to do a bond issue and to explain to his institutional investors his deal with RXR Realty. RXR is lending Extell $463.2 million for the construction of a condo at 250 South Street called One

“An extremely talented real estate group with an impressively deep bench: the team is ideal for handling the most complex matters.” – Chambers USA

Fried Frank Real Estate Where major real estate transactions happen

Macy’s Downtown Brooklyn

Eleven Madison Avenue

Miami Design District

Counsel to Tishman Speyer in the closing of its US$270 million real estate transaction with Macy’s, Inc. to enable the re-creation of Macy’s Downtown Brooklyn store.

Counsel to SL Green in the financing of its acquisition of Eleven Madison Avenue for US$2.285 billion, plus approximately US$300 million in costs associated with lease stipulated improvements to the property, the largest single-building transaction in New York City history.

Counsel to Blackstone Real Estate Group in connection with a US$590M construction loan by Blackstone, Bank of China, Deutsche Bank, and Credit Agricole for the development of the Miami Design District, a creative neighborhood and shopping destination in Miami, Florida.

Time Warner

Exeter Property Group

Hudson Yards Counsel to The Related Companies in connection with the development of the 26-acre Hudson Yards on the West Side, the largest private development in Manhattan since Rockefeller Center.

Manhattan West Counsel to Brookfield Property Partners in connection with all aspects of the development of Manhattan West, a proposed US$20 billion development that is expected to include seven million square feet of office space in three buildings, and residential, hotel, retail and open space spanning five acres in the Hudson Yards District.

Attorney Advertising.

Counsel to Time Warner Inc. in connection with the US$1.3 billion sale of its office condo unit at Time Warner Center, and in the development and purchase of a new headquarters at 30 Hudson Yards.

Fannie Mae Counsel to Carr Properties as landlord in a 700,000-square-foot lease of a building that will be constructed for Fannie Mae’s new headquarters at 15th and L Streets in Washington DC, the largest-ever non-government lease in Washington DC.

Counsel to Exeter Property Group in the US$3.15 billion sale of a 58-million-square-foot portfolio of core industrial properties to a joint venture of Henley Holding Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), and one of the largest Canadian pension investment managers.

One Vanderbilt Counsel to SL Green in connection with the proposed development of One Vanderbilt, a 1,200-foot, 65-story office tower to be located directly across from Grand Central Terminal. friedfrank.com

POWER 100

You’re on the list… O

ver the last few weeks we’ve had quite a few people anxiously calling to find out if their name is on the Power 100—and sometimes we’ve had to assume the less-than-likable role of bouncer: “Your name’s not on the list.” Commercial Observer tries to keep every Power 100 interesting. We admit a few rookies every year—which comes with the accompanying duty of having to turn a few veterans away. (Sorry dude, our inner-bouncer says. The fire department says that “106 most powerful people in real estate” sounds really stupid.) The highest new entry into the Power 100 was Charles Cohen of Cohen Brothers Realty Corporation, whom we awarded 48 | APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

the No. 30 spot. But right next to Mr. Cohen, coming in at No. 32, is an unlikelier pair: Jonathan Butler and Eric Demby. Mr. Butler is a familiar name to anybody who follows residential real estate (he founded Brownstoner); a few years ago, he and Mr. Demby started a project which would shake up New York retail in a very dramatic way: They founded Brooklyn Flea, the largest public market in the city, and followed it up with Smorgasburg, the outdoor artisan food fair. This new model of having a ton of different high-quality chefs doing relatively inexpensive street food has singlehandedly spawned tens of millions of dollars worth of imitations. Some names are returning to the list

after a brief hiatus. We didn’t have a particularly good reason why Tommy Craig from Hines wasn’t on the Power 100 last year—but with the opening of 7 Bryant Park, not to mention the development of the MoMA Tower at 53 West 53rd Street currently underway, you’d better believe Mr. Craig would be on this year. Construction is an important part of what we cover, and for this reason we felt that Dan Tishman and Jay Badame of Tishman Construction and Michael Horodniceanu, the president of MTA Capital Construction, should be on. Some of the names might sound unfamiliar—even to an educated reader. Most readers know, for instance, that the Jehovah’s Witnesses owns a huge

amount of real estate on the Brooklyn waterfront, but we decided to attach a name and a face (Daniel Rice, No. 64) to this real estate behemoth. Likewise, if you ask who bought the Waldorf Astoria New York, most real estate professionals will correctly answer Anbang, but little else about the company—including the name of its chairman, Wu Xiahui. When the deal between Silverstein Properties and News Corp. went south for 2 World Trade Center, many thought that might end 2 WTC once and for all. But Bjarke Ingels’ design for the building, makes you rethink it’s likelihood of success. At the very least Mr. Ingels earned a spot on the list.—Max Gross

ILLUSTRATION BY STEVEN BRODNER

From left: Michael Horodniceanu, Eric Denby, Bjarke Ingels and Jonathan Butler.

C O N G R ATU L AT I O N S TO

Marc Holliday

CEO

Andrew Mathias

President

on being recognized by The Commercial Observer for the ninth consecutive year among the Top 100 Most Powerful People in New York Real Estate. We salute all the honorees.

SLG-2239 Power 100 Congrats Ad 2016-Final_vander only.indd 1

4/18/16 12:30 PM

POWER 100

Douglas Harmon and Adam Spies Senior Managing Directors at Eastdil Secured Last Year’s Rank: 26

When it comes to billion-dollar deals, Douglas Harmon and Adam Spies know a thing or two about them, having done more than 20 of them last year in New York City alone. (Last year Mr. Harmon represented the sellers of the Willis Tower in Chicago for $1.3 billion, the highest-ever price paid for a U.S. tower outside of New York City, The Wall Street Journal reported.) Mr. Harmon brokered a doozy of a deal: the record Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village sale to Blackstone and Ivanhoé Cambridge for $5.46 billion. Messrs. Harmon and Spies negotiated the $1.78 billon deal in which developer Jeff Sutton and Chicago-based General Growth Properties bought the Crown Building at 730 Fifth Avenue from Spitzer Enterprises and

Adam Spies.

Barry Sternlicht Chairman and CEO of Starwood Capital Group and Starwood Property Trust Last Year’s Rank: 17

Barry Sternlicht’s Starwood Capital Group was on a spending spree in 2015. The firm negotiated 27 acquisitions around the globe (some of which closed in early 2016) for properties totaling $15 billion. Its purchases last year make Starwood one of the country’s largest apartment owners. Starwood picked up 23,262 residential units scattered through 72 communities around the nation from Equity Residential for $5.4 billion in October 2015. Then it purchased multifamily investment firm Landmark Apartment Trust in a $1.9 billion deal, which added another 19,615 units from eight states. Starwood now has approximately 90,000 units in its multifamily portfolio. The 25-year-old firm didn’t stop at just apartments last year, though. Starwood also picked up extended-stay hotel developer TMI Hospitality for $1.16 billion, adding 196 new hotels (88 percent of which were Marriott and Hilton-brands) to its real estate portfolio. Last year wasn’t all about acquisition. Starwood also sold off its Baccarat Hotel New York early in the year at 20 West 53rd Streets between Fifth Avenue and Avenue of the Americas to China-based Sunshine Insurance Group for more than $230 million. On the financing side, Starwood Property Trust—Starwood’s lending division— enlarged its portfolio to more than $9.1 billion in 2015 and is still the nation’s largest commercial mortgage real estate investment

Douglas Harmon.

| APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

Sandeep Mathrani CEO of General Growth Properties Last Year’s Rank: 19

Barry Sternlicht.

trust. The firm closed $5.8 billion in transactions last year. “We remain well positioned to take advantage of the most compelling commercial real estate opportunities globally as it relates to lending, acquisitions and development,” Mr. Sternlicht said. “Looking ahead, we will continue to shift between real estate asset classes, geographies and positions in the capital stack to find the best risk-adjusted returns.”—L.L.G.

The Stanley Cup-winning Chicago Blackhawks wasn’t the only Windy City entity to take home a crown in 2015. Chicago-based General Growth Properties, headed by Sandeep Mathrani, and Jeff Sutton of Wharton Properties together purchased the Crown Building at 730 Fifth Avenue from Spitzer Enterprises and Winter Properties. The transaction became one of New York City’s largest single-asset sales last year at a whopping $1.78 billion. That came with the help of a $1.25 billion acquisition loan from Deutsche Bank, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. The joint owners went on to renegotiate Bulgari’s lease at the building between West 56th and West 57th Streets—the asking rent in the deal was a jaw-dropping $5,500 per square foot. Italian menswear retailer Ermenegildo Zegna went on to sign a 9,000-square-foot deal that had an asking

Sandeep Mathrani. rent of $4,000 per square foot. Rumors swirled earlier this year that Brookfield Property Partners was considering a purchase of the retail-savvy GGP. But Brookfield executives shot down those suggestions in an investors call this February. That’s not to say there still isn’t a cozy relationship between the two companies. GGP was temporarily brought in to head up leasing at Brookfield Place along the Hudson River, following the departure of Brookfield’s leasing chief Ed Hogan.—T.C.

BARRY STERNLICHT: PATRICK MCMULLAN/PMC

Winter Properties. That set an all-time world record price per square foot—$4,551—for an entire commercial building, Bloomberg News reported. The duo also set a record for office space at $2,000 per square foot at 3 Bryant Park when Ivanhoé Cambridge and Callahan Capital Properties picked up the building at 1095 Avenue of the Americas from Blackstone Group for $2.2 billion. And they negotiated the deal in which Anbang Insurance Group nabbed the legendary and landmarked Waldorf Astoria New York for just shy of $2 billion from Hilton Worldwide. Messrs. Harmon and Spies, who have a team of eight, could not be reached for comment.—L.E.S.

When it comes to real estate, we see potential everywhere. CBRE turns scale into strength, expense into performance, and property into prosperity. How can we help you transform your real estate into real advantage?

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POWER 100

Andrew Farkas Founder, Managing Member, Chairman and CEO of Island Capital Group Last Year’s Rank: 15

Andrew Farkas is the head of Island Capital Group, a firm he founded in 2003. He previously worked as chairman and CEO of Insignia Financial Group, which later merged with (what is now) CBRE in 2003, to become the largest commercial real estate firm in the world. Island Capital is the parent or an affiliate of several major firms, including C-III Capital Partners, commercial brokerage EVO Real Estate Group and international real estate brokerage network NAI Global. C-III provides special servicing for about $100 billion in commercial loans and is the main servicer for more than $5 billion in loans, according to the company. C-III

also manages more than $3.8 billion in real estate assets and has a wide range of clients, including pension funds and major insurance firms. C-III is an active investor in the local real estate market. The firm has purchased 2,000 units across 15 buildings in Manhattan and Brooklyn in deals that either closed last year or are currently in contract. Mr. Farkas also sits on the board of Cadre, a real estate investment platform founded by Jared Kushner (head of Kushner Companies and the publisher of Commercial Observer) and his brother Joshua Kushner. —David Jones

Mary Ann Tighe.

CEO of the New York Tri-State Region at CBRE Last Year’s Rank: 18

For Mary Ann Tighe, 2016 started with a bigger bang than most brokers hear in their whole careers: Citadel, the Chicago-based hedge fund, took a 225,000-square-foot lease at 425 Park Avenue. It paid $300 per square foot for the space—a record. “Nothing has ever touched that before,” said Ms. Tighe, who handled the deal for the landlord, L&L Holding Company, with colleagues Evan Haskell, Sarah Pontius and Zak Snider. But it was hardly the only blockbuster deal Ms. Tighe worked on over the course of the last 12 months. For the past five years, she has been readying 7 Bryant Park to go on the market with its developer, Hines, and before the temporary certificate of occupancy was even ready, Bank of China

| APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

bought the 475,000-square-foot building for roughly $600 million. “It was big—and for me uncharacteristic,” Ms. Tighe said (she typically leases space and rarely sells them). If not for these two coups, we’d be talking about Ms. Tighe’s Gensler deal: 119,414 square feet that the architecture and design firm took at 1700 Broadway with an asking price of $59 per foot in which Ms. Tighe represented the tenant—or the 191,138 square feet at $58 per foot that the Teachers Retirement System of New York took at 55 Water Street in FiDi. Ms. Tighe represented the landlord, the Retirement Systems of Alabama. “When I looked at my overall numbers, I did 3.4 million square feet of leases last year,” Ms. Tighe said.—M.G.

Andrew Farkas.

FROM LEFT: KRISTY LEIBOWITZ/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER; STEVE FRIEDMAN

Mary Ann Tighe

POWER 100

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Mark Edelstein.

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Mark Hurel.

Power Lawyers The MVPs with a JD

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By Lauren Elkies Schram

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Mark Edelstein Chair of the Real Estate Practice at Morrison & Foerster

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Mark Edelstein oversees a team of more than 80 attorneys and numerous other professionals and represents some of the world’s biggest lenders and developers across the globe. Over the past year he and his team worked on numerous, skyline-changing, high-profile matters in the New York City area on the lender and equity side. His jobs have included representing Hines and Goldman Sachs in the $860 million construction financing of MoMA Tower at 53 West 53rd Street and Bank of New York Mellon and Wells Fargo in their $411.5 million construction loan for the Durst Organization’s Via 57 pyramid rental tower at 625 West 57th Street. “I am fortunate to have worked on so many amazing projects this past year and to be able to preside over such a remarkable team of uber-talented and adaptable partners, associates, legal assistants and staff, who make my job so much easier,” Mr. Edelstein said. Last November, Orlando, Fla.-based dinning chain operator Darden Restaurants completed its spinoff of

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more than 400 real estate and restaurant assets into the newly formed Four Corners Property Trust and tapped J.P. Morgan Chase to lead a $750 million financing for the entity. Mr. Edelstein was part of the legal team representing J.P. Morgan in the financing.

Dan Flanigan Chair of the Real Estate and Financial Services Department at Polsinelli as well as Managing Partner of the New York Office As chair of Polsinelli’s 165-attorney real estate and financial services department, Dan Flanigan oversees projects all over the United States. Not only does he handle financing transactions but troubled deals as well. Polsinelli’s New York based clients include Extell Development, Prime Finance, Feil Organization, Kamber Management, Colony Capital’s Net Leasing Group, Barclay’s, Natixis, Centennial Bank, People’s United Bank, Lance Capital, Benefit Street Partners, Cantor Commercial Real Estate, Ladder Capital, MC Five Mile and ACORE. Some of them are Mr. Flanigan’s clients, and they all fall under his oversight as chair. Polsinelli partnered with law firm Stark, Amron & Liner in three deals for Kamber last year, one in which Kamber bought Tower 45 at 120 West 45th Street from SL Green Realty Corp. for $365 million, another transaction in which Kamber sold 20 West 33rd Street to the Carlyle Group for $111 million and a third that involved Kamber selling off the leasehold interest in 1407 Broadway to Shorenstein Properties. That $300-per-square-foot deal also included the Lightstone Group selling its sub-leasehold at the building to Shorenstein. Kamber and Lightstone Group have sold their respective leasehold and sub-leasehold interests in the office building at 1407 Broadway in New York City for $330 million, or $300 per square foot, to Shorenstein Properties. According to Chambers USA, Mr. Flanigan’s clients call

him a “master strategist.” They say he’s “very practical.” The Kansas City, Mo.-based law firm, which has a big business in the commercial mortgage-backed securities space, first made its jump into New York in 2003. It cemented its physical presence when this February it moved into new New York headquarters in 40,592 square feet spread across three entire floors at the top of L&L Holding Company’s 600 Third Avenue.

Mark Hurel Partner at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan Mark Hurel, formerly a partner at DLA Piper, has been at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan for roughly 12 years. Since he began practicing law in 1984, Mr. Hurel has worked on a number of high-profile projects. He has worked with The New York Times on and off since 1987, including the development, financing and leasing of the 1.7-million-square foot New York Times building near Times Square. Last May he represented Verizon in the $650 million sale-leaseback of the company’s 1.4-million-squarefoot Basking Ridge, N.J., operations center, the largest sale-leaseback ever completed in suburban New Jersey. According to Cushman & Wakefield, which worked on the deal, “the salve value represented one of the highest sales prices per square foot of any suburban sale-leaseback in the United States.” He also worked on nearly 2 million square feet of leases at 11 Madison Avenue, representing the building owner in negotiations with Credit Suisse, Sony, Yelp and William Morris Endeavor. Finally, he represented the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey in negotiations for about 1.5 million square feet of leases at 1 World Trade Center, including 1.2 million square feet for Condé Nast, 270,000 square feet for the U.S. General Services Administration and 32,278 square feet (after shrinking the space in September 2015 from 202,000 square feet) for China Center, a unit of China’s Vantone Holdings Co.

FROM LEFT:EMILY ASSIRAN/COMERCIAL OBSERVER; COURTESY DAN FLANIGAN; CELESTE SLOMAN/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

he developers may build the properties and the brokers may sell or lease them, but it’s the real estate attorneys that make sure the deals close—and on time. In a year with a lot of eye-popping transactions, there were lawyers that had to do a lot of heavy lifting before their clients dotted their i’s and crossed their t’s. As Robert Ivanhoe, a partner and the chair of the global real estate practice at Greenberg Traurig, put it, “The New York market, in particular, saw an extraordinary amount of deal activity, and our clients continued to place their trust in us to execute complex transactions within a compressed timeframe.” Here are some of the biggest and baddest attorneys behind 2015’s most exciting transactions.

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Dan Flanigan.

Portrait by renowned illustrator Joseph Adolphe.

WILMINGTON TRUST RENOWNED INSIGHT

“Shouldn’t you decide what will become of your business?”

Bruce F. Hoffmeister Senior Wealth Strategist Bruce has more than two decades of experience in estate and financial planning for closely held business owners and their families. He is part of a seasoned team of professionals who exemplify Wilmington Trust’s 113-year heritage of successfully advising business owners. Our goal is to help you create a plan for each stage of your business and your life, offering key insights at critical times of transition. For access to knowledgeable professionals like Bruce and the rest of our team, contact

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This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the sale of any financial product or service. This article is not designed or intended to provide financial, tax, legal, accounting, or other professional advice since such advice always requires consideration of individual circumstances. If professional advice is needed, the services of your professional advisor should be sought. Private Banking is the marketing name for an offering of M&T Bank deposit and loan products and services. Investments: • Are NOT FDIC-Insured • Have NO Bank Guarantee • May Lose Value Wilmington Trust is a registered service mark. Wilmington Trust Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of M&T Bank Corporation (M&T). Investment management and fiduciary services are provided by Wilmington Trust Company, operating in Delaware only, and Wilmington Trust, N.A., a national bank. Loans, retail and business deposits, and other personal and business banking services and products are offered by M&T Bank, member FDIC. ©2016 Wilmington Trust Corporation and its affiliates. All rights reserved.

POWER 100

Robert Ivanhoe A Partner and Chair of the Global Real Estate Practice at Greenberg Traurig Robert Ivanhoe can take credit for helping shepherd through a number of complex and record-setting deals in 2015. He was co-counsel representing Chinese insurer Anbang Insurance Group Co in the $1.95 billion acquisition of the Waldorf Astoria New York, among the highest price ever paid for any hotel. Mr. Ivanhoe worked on behalf of General Growth Properties and Jeff Sutton in connection with the acquisition of the Crown Building located at 730 Fifth Avenue for $1.78 billion, which marked a new per-square-foot world record for an office building at $4,490. He also handled the joint venture between GGP and Mr. Sutton and new investors, Vladislav Doronin and Michael Shvo, who entered into a venture before the closing of the acquisition to jointly own and develop the property as a condominium with retail. Mr. Ivanhoe was on Starwood Capital Group’s side in the $230 million sale of the newly constructed Baccarat Hotel to the Sunshine Group. It represented the highest price per room for a hotel sale in the United States. SL Green Realty Group tapped Mr. Ivanhoe to represent the company in connection with an agreement to purchase 11 Madison Avenue for more than $2.25 billion, ranked the second-largest office building transaction ever. And outside of New York, Mr. Ivanhoe represented New York-based investors in the $1.3 billion sale of the former Sears Tower in Chicago to Blackstone. The acquisition is reported to be the highest price ever paid for a U.S. office tower outside of New York.

Jay Neveloff. he represented developers CIM Group and Harry Macklowe in securing a development permit. For the Nordstrom Tower, he represented Extell Development Company in acquiring development rights and landuse approvals at 217 West 57th Street. He also worked on a number of complex conversion offerings for HFZ Capital Group, new construction offerings for the Naftali Group and a creative condominium structure at 711 West End Avenue (he advised the development team, a joint venture between SJP Properties and P2B Ventures). He also is representing Forest City Ratner and Greenland Group in connection with the condominium-ization of Pacific Park, formerly Atlantic Yards. “The New York City real estate market continues to be extremely active for Kramer Levin, and the past few months suggest that more of the same is on tap,” Mr. Neveloff said. “While I predict that the quantity of deals may rise slightly in 2016, I think that recapitalizations and creative uses of space will be increasingly dominant themes throughout the market.”

Ronald Sernau Co-Chair of the Real Estate Department at Proskauer Rose With more than 25 years of experience in real estate law, Ronald Sernau has been involved in visible transactions involving trophy properties. At the beginning of 2015 he represented AvalonBay Communities, an equity real estate investment trust, in its purchase of the American Bible Society site at 1865 Broadway for $300 million. Plans call for turning the 12-story American Bible Society’s Columbus Circle headquarters into a 300,000-square-foot residential tower.

Jay Neveloff Chair of the Real Estate Practice at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel Jay Neveloff has perfected the art of the complex sale, development or condominium deal. Some of the recent transactions he has been involved in include the purchase of land underlying a leasehold cooperative at Trump Plaza (he represented the cooperative corporation), the foreclosure of a development by client Gamma Funding near Sutton Place (which is ongoing) and multiple acquisitions and joint ventures for New Valley, Westbrook Properties and Fortress Investment Group among other companies. In the condominium arena, Mr. Neveloff has helped shape the 57th Street corridor. For 432 Park Avenue

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Ronald Sernau.

Steven Simkin. He also represented Hines in the sale of the 30-story 7 Bryant Park, where East 40th Street and Avenue of the Americas meet, to the Bank of China for a reported $600 million through a long-term leasehold. At the end of 2014, Mr. Sernau represented Neiman Marcus in its 250,000-square-foot lease for a new flagship store in Hudson Yards (at 640 West 28th Street and slated to open in fall 2018) and represented Vornado Realty Trust in its redevelopment of 7 West 34th Street and its 470,000-square-foot lease to Amazon.

Steven Simkin Chair Emeritus of the Real Estate Department at Paul Weiss Steven Simkin may be chair emeritus of the real estate department at Paul Weiss, but that doesn’t mean he’s not active in major development projects, acquisitions and financings. He represented Rose Associates in several development projects Downtown and in Brooklyn, as well as SL Green Realty Corp. in a number of major refinancings. He is currently representing Kuafu Development Company in connection with its $1 billion development at 143-161 East 60th Street. He is working on the redevelopment and long-term ground lease on behalf of a major foreign investor for a site between 11th and 12th Avenues on West 29th Street which Douglaston Development is developing as well as the development of a 1.6-million-square-foot site in Hunters Point on behalf of the Holterbosch Family. Mr. Simkin was also part of a team that represented Melohn Properties last year in a $197.5 million fee interest in the 1.2-million-square foot Downtown office tower 32 Old Slip. It was a part of a deal in which RXR Realty bought the property from Beacon Capital Partners for $675 million. As Commercial Observer previously reported, RXR then sold the land to a group of investors led by Brooklyn-based David Werner and did a 150-year leaseback arrangement with them. But the one that he is proudest of, which won an ingenious deal award from the Real Estate Board of New York (honoring the brokers in the deal), was representing “Memorial Sloane Kettering in connection with a $1 billion development on East 74th Street,” Mr. Simkin said. “It involved acquiring the site from the [New York City Economic Development Corporation] and various related transactions with [the City of New York], which had to make available a site it owned on its Brookdale Campus so the [New York City Department of Sanitation] could relocate from its former site on 74th Street and also to enable MSK and CUNY to share the site for two separate major projects.”

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT:SASHA MASLOV/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER; AMANDA COHEN/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER; KAITLYN FLANNAGAN/COMMERCIAL OBSERVER; COURTESY RONALD SEMAU

Robert Ivanhoe.

Congratulations Mark Weiss recipient of REBNY’s Highest Honor Most Ingenious Deal of the Year Award Mark, who joined Cushman & Wakefield in January 2016 as an Executive Vice Chairman, and a team from his former firm won the coveted first place Henry Hart Rice award for New York City’s Most Ingenious Deal in 2015 for “Land Swap Between City of New York, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Hunter College.”

Congratulations Mark on this tremendous achievement.

cushmanwakefield.com

POWER 100

Jeffrey Gural, Jimmy Kuhn, Barry Gosin and David Falk Chairman, President, CEO and President of New York Tri-State Region of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank Last Year’s Rank: 32

Maybe we’re just distracted by the latest shiny piece of news, but last month when the New York Post reported that Facebook had taken 200,000 square feet at 225 Park Avenue South, we counted it as a big coup when we found Newmark Grubb Knight Frank’s fingerprints on the deal. (The firm represented the landlord.) Of course, that was last month. This month (last week, in fact) NGKF won the Henry Hart Rice Achievement Award (aka the Ingenious Deal of the Year Award) from the Real Estate Board of New York for a three-part transaction to turn a garbage truck depot at 525 East 73rd Street that was demolished in 2008 and slated to be turned into a City of New York Department of Sanitation parking garage into a 1.1-million-square-foot Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center hospital and nursing school. But beyond leases and sales, NGKF has been getting bigger and bolder in its real estate vision, which has extended well beyond New York; in 2014 it acquired

Jimmy Kuhn.

Barry Gosin.

Jeffrey Gural.

Christoph Kahl, Matt Bronfman and Michael Phillips Principal, CEO and President of Jamestown Last Year’s Rank: 29

Jamestown scored a real coup last year when Time Inc. decided it would move more than 300 employees to 55,000 square feet in Industry City in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn. The employees moved in in December 2015. The 16-building, 6-million-square-foot IC complex is home to 400 tenants, including furniture and accessories retailer Design Within Reach, 3D printing company MakerBot, the Brooklyn Nets’ practice facility and a community-based skills training center, which opened in early April. The waterfront property is undergoing a $1 billion revitalization, which is being led by Jamestown and Belvedere Capital. Jamestown’s other New York City holdings include the Falchi Building, a fivestory, 600,000-square-foot office building

David Falk.

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in Long Island City. Jamestown leased space there to the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission as well as rivals Lyft and Uber, which Michael Phillips called “the trifecta of transportation companies.” In February, Jamestown closed on 49 percent stakes in office buildings 63 Madison Avenue and 200 Madison Avenue, which have a $1.15 billion valuation, Mr. Phillips said. The firm’s portfolio spans beyond New York City to Washington, D.C., Boston, Atlanta, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Bogotá, Columbia and Lima, Peru. And it has hit $10 billion in assets under management now. “We grew a lot over the last four years,” Mr. Phillips said. The company also launched its first Latin America fund.—L.E.S.

Michael Phillips.

Matt Bronfman.

Christoph Kahl.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: SEAN ZANNI/PMC; YVONNE ALBINOWSKI/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER; COURTESY JEFF GURAL; ARMAN DZIDZOVIC/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER; COURTESY MATT BRONFMAN; J GRASSI/PMC

the California real estate firm Cornish & Carey. “We are No. 1 in the Bay Area,” NGKF’s Barry Gosin told Commercial Observer late last year, “No. 1 in Boston; No. 2 in New York and expected to be on the leaderboard in all major markets around the country.” And that wasn’t the only firm to be swept up in NGKF’s acquisitions kick: A little over a year ago NGKF picked up Apartments Realty Advisors, or ARA, making itself the second-largest multifamily sales company in the country; in May it nabbed Computerized Facility Integration, or CFI, which manages over 3 billion square feet of real estate globally; and in July it purchased the dispositions and lease-restructuring firm, Excess Space. Aside from that, Messrs Gosin and Gural are themselves owners of a considerable portfolio of real estate: They own a stake in about 50 buildings, including the Flatiron Building and 40 Worth Street.—M.G.

Timeless Design. Timeless Location. Time for You.

Mary Ann Tighe +1 212 984 8000 maryann.tighe@cbre.com

John Maher +1 212 984 8008 john.maher@cbre.com

Howard Fiddle +1 212 984 6525 howard.fiddle@cbre.com

Evan Haskell +1 212 984 8049 evan.haskell@cbre.com

Sarah Pontius +1 212 984 7196 sarah.pontius@cbre.com

David Caperna +1 212 656 0530 david.caperna@cbre.com

Ed Guiltinan +1 212 282 2018 eguiltinan@rockgrp.com

Jennifer Stein +1 212 282 2120 jstein@rockgrp.com

Joseph Sitt

President and CEO of Thor Equities Last Year’s Rank: 25

The elusive Joseph Sitt said through a spokesman that his Thor Equities is “one of the most active real estate companies in New York City right now.” What metric is he going off of? That isn’t clear. But it’s difficult to walk through this city and not notice the name Thor stamped on a dizzying array of properties. Thor is known for its retail holdings, which it has plenty of in the posh Soho and Noho neighborhoods. Many of those holdings are on Greene Street, where Thor has scooped up several retail condominiums, including the recent $9 million purchase of 45 Greene Street between Grand and Broome Streets. That site is one of 13 that

Michael Colacino.

PHOTO CREDIT

POWER 100

Thor owns a piece of along the Midtown South thoroughfare. The Thor spokesman also noted that the landlord has bought a slew of residential properties over the last year, totaling north of $1 billion. That includes 17 West 125th Street in Harlem, which Thor nabbed in August 2015 for $30.6 million. But Thor has become a global landlord and doesn’t want to discuss too much of its New York City roots. Mr. Sitt has increasingly been focused on the company’s holdings in Europe. So this January, he promoted 20-year Thor veteran Melissa Gliatta to serve as chief operating officer for the firm’s North America dealings.—T.C.

Mitchell Steir and Michael Colacino Chairman and CEO and President of Savills Studley Last Year’s Rank: 21

When evaluating a brokerage firm like Savills Studley and its pecking order in the New York City real estate universe, you have to look at the deals it inked. By any measure, 2015 was a great one for Mitchell Steir and Michael Colacino. There was the New York State Teachers Retirement System of New York, which expanded its footprint at 55 Water Street to a gargantuan 191,138-square-foot space. There was the Associated Press, which Savills Studley moved from its location at 450 West 33rd Street (which is being repurposed as 5 Manhattan West), down to Brookfield Place, in 172,352 square feet of space. And there were plenty of other transactions that broke the 100,000-square-foot mark—Nike for

| APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

142,954 at 855 Avenue of the Americas and Markit Group for 139,332 at 5 Manhattan West. This is all from a firm that has only 100 brokers in New York. According to Mr. Steir, there are 25-plus offices nationwide and 400 professionals manning them. But it was a record year for the firm for reasons beyond the leases. The company opened its first office in Canada, Phoenix, Austin and Minneapolis as well as picked up a Cresa office in Silicon Valley, which will be run under the Savills Studley banner. Savills Studley also bought the Tampa Bay-based occupier services company, Vertical Integration, and the New Yorkbased management consulting company, KLG Advisors.—M.G.

Joseph Sitt.

MICHAEL COLACINO: MICHAEL NAGLE/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER; JOSEPH SITT: PATRICK MCMULLAN/PMC

Mitchell Steir.

Congratulations to our own Arthur J. Mirante, II and A. Mitti Liebersohn. And thank you to our clients for helping us achieve this recognition.

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POWER 100

Principals of Two Trees Management Company Last Year’s Rank: 40

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, is all the rage these days, commanding some of the most expensive residential, office and retail rents in the borough. Developer Two Trees Management Company will likely help boost the value even more as it reshapes the Domino Sugar refinery along the waterfront of the Brooklyn enclave. The developer is turning the dilapidated site into a mixed-use complex over the next several years. Refining the old site will lead to 800 affordable apartments as well as 600,000 square feet of office space. Foundation work has already begun at the plot, which covers 11 acres. A little south along the East River,

David Walentas.

Jed Walentas.

William Shanahan.

Darcy Stacom.

Darcy Stacom and William Shanahan Vice Chairmen at CBRE Last Year’s Rank: 30

Darcy Stacom and William Shanahan head up one of the city’s top investment property teams. They have worked on some of the city’s biggest real estate deals, including last year’s sale of the Helmsley Building at 230 Park Avenue by Monday Properties to RXR Realty and Blackstone Group for $1.2 billion; the sale of 11 Madison Avenue by The Sapir Organization and CIM Group to SL Green Realty Corp. for $2.6 billion; and 787 11th Avenue for Ford Motor Company to the Georgetown Company and an Ackman family-controlled investment fund for $258 million. The duo also represented Edison Properties in the sale of 516 West 18th Street (aka 76 11th Avenue), which spans West 17th to West 18th Streets and from 10th to 11th Avenues, to HFZ Capital Group for $870 million, one of the

most expensive land deals ever recorded in the city. The Real Estate Board of New York awarded Ms. Stacom and Mr. Shanahan the first-place prize at the annual Ingenious Deal awards for closing a 70 percent recapitalization of Pacific Park. “It’s complicated. But between the guarantees and the equity, it was $780 million up front, and over the course of the investment it would be closer to $4.5 billion,” Mr. Shanahan said. And that was the fourth Ingenious award for the CBRE duo. “If you look at the types of transactions people get us for, they require special knowledge, high-level detail,” Mr. Shanahan said. “They’re not your run-of-the-mill transactions. People call us when the bar is high.”—L.E.S.

Blake Hutcheson and Andrew Trickett President and CEO and Senior Managing Director of Investments at Oxford Properties Last Year’s Rank: 36

If you ask the average investor if he’s ever worked with Oxford Properties, you might elicit a head scratch and a question about whether the firm is based in London. In reality, this Toronto-based firm has quietly emerged over the past year as one of the most powerful and influential players in New York real estate circles. Led by Blake Hutcheson, Oxford has grown into one of the top dealmakers at Hudson Yards, and while keeping its feet firmly grounded in smaller transactions, the company is quickly making a name for itself. “I think a lot of the market would be surprised to know that we now have over

Two Trees has had success in Dumbo—a neighborhood it converted from old warehouses to one of the most expensive enclaves in the borough over several decades. Two Trees is also leasing out its 17-story 60 Water Street, which currently has more than 15,000 square feet of retail on the market at the base of the building. Two Trees has also filled up its sole commercial holding across the river in Manhattan, at 50 West 23rd Street in the Flatiron District. “Bringing our Dumbo leasing approach to Midtown South, we signed top tenants, including DropBox and SoundCloud at our West 23rd Street building,” Jed Walentas said.—T.C.

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35 team members in New York and a fully integrated platform, including full property operations, leasing, development and investments in house,” said Andrew Trickett, the senior managing director of investments. Oxford first made a splash locally in 2012 by teaming up with Crown Acquisitions to buy a stake in Olympic Tower, the headquarters of the National Basketball Association, and then buying 450 Park Avenue in 2014 before dipping into the well again last year to buy out the Olympic Tower for a combined $1 billion. The firm also stepped up with Related Companies to score a total of $5 billion in debt for their 90-story office

Blake Hutcheson. condominium tower at 30 Hudson Yards and the Shops & Restaurants at Hudson Yards. “Oxford continues to be bullish on New York,” Mr. Trickett said. “We are principles and have a long-term horizon, so in addition to making smart investment, development and asset management decisions, delivering top-tier customer service and perpetually reinvesting in our assets are very important parts of our business.”

Andrew Trickett. Despite its sudden success here, Mr. Trickett cautioned that the company is “very thoughtful” about investing in New York and hasn’t started talking about itself in the third person. “We don’t want the biggest portfolio; we want the one that best fits our strategy and our risk profile,” he said. “We know which blocks fit for us and which don’t and which assets on which blocks fit.”—D.J.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: HARRY ZERNIKE/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER; COURTESY WILLIAM SHANAHAN; COURTESY OXFORD PROPERTIES; PRESLEY ANN/PATRICKMCMULLAN.COM; FRANCESCO SAPIENZA/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

David and Jed Walentas

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POWER 100

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Adam Neumann.

The Jumps T

he top 10 of Power 100 is largely a game of reshuffling. The names Durst, Ross, Roth and Speyer trade places with each other based on who had the bigger deals that particular year, but they’re almost always worthy of one of the top spots. Of course, it also feels good to have a newcomer crash the top of the list. This year, we jumped not one but two entries to the top 10. In 2015, Ric Clark, the head of Brookfield Property Partners came agonizingly close landing the No. 11 spot. But, honestly, when you consider what Brookfield did in FiDi with Brookfield Place and what they’re doing on the Far West Side of Manhattan with the 7-milion-squarefoot planned Manhattan West complex, 11 feels a little low. This year they’re officially in the top five. Back in 2014, WeWork’s Adam Neumann and Miguel

64 | APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

McKelvey weren’t on Power 100 at all. But after their shared workspace company was valued at $5 billion, we felt they deserved an extremely worthy 22nd place last year. It turns out, 22nd was way too low. (They got a more recent $16 billion valuation!) After popping leases like they were Tic Tacs and venturing into even new waters with WeLive, we feel they earned a spot on the top 10. Of course, Messrs. Clark, Neumann and McKelvey made significant jumps this year, but they were not the largest leap. That honor would have to go to the head of REBNY, John Banks, who went from No. 92 (he was new to REBNY last year, and all we had to go on was a little good will power) to No. 62 (with the exception of the 421a fiasco, REBNY had a good year). Just below Mr. Banks are Mitchell Hochberg and David Lichtenstein of the Lightstone Group, who made a nearly

as impressive jump from No. 90 to No. 63. Some of the big jumps might have been a little harder to pull off because the power player in question was already pretty high to begin with. Ziel Feldman and Nir Mier of HFZ Capital Group were a respectable No. 43 last year; but given the ambitious project they have set for themselves on the High Line, it sounded like they deserved to be somewhere in the 20s. (No. 28, to be exact.) Possibly the greatest player in the game of retail, Jeff Sutton, was No. 12 last year—which was a banner year for Mr. Sutton, having picked up the Crown Building for $1.78 billion with GGP. He’s now engaged in the difficult (and less glamorous) process of making sure he gets the right tenants in the space. We moved him up to No. 11. Hey, Mr. Sutton, you can’t say we didn’t move you up!— Max Gross

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Ziel Feldman and Nir Meir Chairman and Founder and Managing Principal of HFZ Capital Group Last Year’s Rank:43

HFZ Capital invested big last year— and nowhere did they go bigger than on the High Line. HFZ purchased the 850,000-squarefoot 516 West 18th Street, which spans West 17th to West 18th Streets and from 10th to 11th Avenues, for $870 million, one of the most expensive land deals ever recorded in the city. A month earlier, the company picked up the 550,000-square-foot Belnord apartment building at 225 West 86th Street between West 86th and West 87th Streets and Broadway to Amsterdam (a property Mr. Feldman previously owned in 1994). Mr. Meir said his company is one of “if not the only” developer to close on two full square blocks within a 60-day period. This quarter, the company will be breaking ground at 505 West 19th Street where two Bjarke Ingels-designed

towers will rise. HFZ has almost topped out at 20 West 40th Street, which will have a hotel at the base and 16 floors of residential condos above. But that doesn’t mean HFZ has only gone for the expensive parts of town—or only for this town. In the last year, HFZ made its first investment in Detroit, a market Mr. Feldman described as “sorely undervalued.” In partnership with Southfield, Mich.based development and management firm Redico, HFZ bought a pair of Detroit landmarks—the Fisher Building and the Albert Kahn Building—for $12.2 million on Auction.com HFZ is also doing its first project in Miami, having acquired the Shore Club for $175.3 million in December 2013. The company plans to reopen the hotel as Fasano Hotel + Residences at Shore Club at the end of 2017.—L.E.S.

Ziel Feldman.

Nir Meir.

Mortimer Zuckerman and Owen Thomas Co-Founder and Chairman and CEO and Director of Boston Properties

Mortimer Zuckerman.

| APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

Owen Thomas.

Billionaire Mortimer Zuckerman has capped off an illustrious year—and career—as co-founder and chairman of Boston Properties by announcing plans to step down from the chairmanship. CEO Owen Thomas will remain in charge. Boston Properties has been active on the development front, forging an agreement with Rudin Development and WeWork, in conjunction with the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp. for a 675,000-square-foot property called Dock 72 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard at a total cost of $380 million. The company entered a deal to redevelop the former Metropolitan Transportation Authority headquarters at 341347 Madison Avenue, but the project is on hold amid questions about whether the real estate investment trust will be able to avoid paying hundreds of millions of dollars in property taxes, according to reports. Media giant Al Jazeera paid a $45 million termination fee to Boston Properties after exiting an 85,000-square-foot lease at 250 West 55th Street. The lease, originally signed in 2014, was set to expire at the end of February 2035. Boston Properties has been very busy at the property, signing a series of financial and law firms, including a 10-year deal for a 14,542-square-foot space for Sachem Head Capital Management, a 5,800-square-foot lease for Dwight Capital and a 30,400-square-foot space for law firm Watson Farley & Williams.—D.J.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: AARON ADLER/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER; JONATHON ZIEGLER/PMC; GARETH JONES; TAYLOR HILL/GETTY IMAGES;

Last Year’s Rank:41

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POWER 100

Charles Cohen President and CEO of Cohen Brothers Realty Corporation New

Bruce Mosler.

Brett White.

Ron Lo Russo.

Brett White, Bruce Mosler and Ron Lo Russo Chairman and CEO, Chairman of Global Brokerage and President of New York TriState Region at Cushman & Wakefield

Cohen Brothers Realty Corporation was founded in the 1950s, but the “brothers” part of the business has now come down to one Cohen heir—Charles—who runs the real estate empire. It’s a particularly large one. When Commercial Observer sat down with Mr. Cohen in the fall, the company had 12 million square feet in its portfolio and stretched from some of the toniest sections of New York to the trendiest parts of Los Angeles. Mr. Cohen has been involved in real estate, he said, since he “started showing apartments when I was 13 or 14 years old” and has since segued into other aspects of the business, from writing leases, to management, to construction, to finance and development. On the development side, Mr. Cohen has been focusing on South Florida, partnering with Starwood Hotels & Resorts on a Le Meridien hotel in Fort Lauderdale, and he’s also got preliminary plans for an approximately 200-unit residential development in West Palm Beach. Closer to home, for the last five years, he has been sprucing up 475 Park Avenue South with his old collaborator, Cesar Pelli (Mr. Pelli worked on Mr. Cohen’s Pacific Design Center in

Charles Cohen. Los Angeles), making it one of the premier office properties in Midtown South, which is truly Cohen Brothers’ bailiwick. And the leases keep coming at Mr. Cohen’s existing Midtown properties: a 13,000-squarefoot deal for Brewer Attorneys and Counselors at 750 Lexington Avenue; a 9,000-square-foot Dean & DeLuca at 3 Park Avenue; an 8,200-square-foot space for the law firm Farrell Fritz at 622 Third Avenue and—a major coup for any landlord—a 56,000-square-foot lease to Saks & Co. in the old Daffy’s space at Tower57, aka 135 East 57th Street.—M.G.

Jonathan Butler and Eric Demby Co-Founders of Brooklyn Flea and Smorgasburg New

Last Year’s Rank: 58

the C&W moniker (although it’s got a new logo) but now has a combined workforce of 43,000 employees. Brett White, a former CBRE chief, took over as CEO following the completion of the merger in September 2015. Longtime C&W executive Bruce Mosler remained on his perch as the chairman of global brokerage, as did New York tri-state region President Ron Lo Russo. The consolidated brokerage is expected to now have $5 billion in annual revenue putting it behind CBRE and JLL in terms of income. “The company has come to a different level,” said Mr. Mosler, the CEO of the brokerage from 2004 to 2010. “If I could have drawn it up on a strategic piece of white paper I’m not sure I would have come to a better outcome.”—T.C.

| APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

Those delighted by the prospect of having over 75 varied and scrumptious food vendors to choose from in one place, not to mention more artisanal vendors than one could possibly buy from, have Brownstoner website founder Jonathan Butler and partner Eric Demby to thank. Founders of the Brooklyn Flea, the largest public market in New York City with about 100 vendors, as well as its culinary Smorgasburg offshoot, Messrs. Butler and Demby not only created two of the city’s more enjoyable shopping and eating destinations but also inspired a larger food hall trend in their wake. And the city absorbed a ton of their imitators in the last few years, from City Kitchen to Urbanspace Vanderbilt to Hudson Eats to Berg’n to Lord only knows. According to Mr. Butler, the pair spent 2015 “solidifying the long-term stability of our markets in Brooklyn while laying the groundwork for geographic expansion outside of the city.” While both markets had steady homes on Saturdays, they had been bouncing between different locations on Sundays, an issue the pair has now remedied. The Brooklyn Flea will remain in Fort Greene on Saturdays and operate at the Pearl Street Triangle in

Jonathan Butler and Eric Demby. Dumbo on Sundays. For Smorgasburg, which adds around 25 new vendors this year, their Saturday Williamsburg presence will be joined on Sundays by a market at Breeze Hill in Prospect Park. This will be the first time in the markets’ nine-year history that all are situated in permanent locations. This past winter saw a successful run for their Food Hall at Sunset Park’s Industry City, which had 100 vendors in a 50,000-square-foot space. There will also be versions of the markets at Central Park Summerstage and at the South Street Seaport for the spring and summer seasons. Now, the pair is looking to take its winning concepts on the road. Messrs. Butler and Demby are preparing a version of Smorgasburg in Kingston, N.Y., with 60 to 70 vendors, set to launch on June 4, and bringing the concept to Los Angeles, opening Smorgasburg L.A. 15 days later.—Larry Getlen

CHARLES COHEN: CELESTE SLOMAN/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

Forget the $1.78 billion sale of the Crown Building or the $2.29 billion buy of 11 Madison Avenue. One of the largest transactions last year was DTZ’s $2 billion purchase of Cushman & Wakefield—the latest in a string of brokerage consolidations for the two firms. Leading up to the merger, which was announced in May 2015, the two companies had been on a buying frenzy. Chicago-based DTZ scooped up Washington, D.C.based Cassidy Turley near the end of 2014. C&W around the same time bought Massey Knakal Realty Services for $100 million to boost its New York City investment sales presence. Insiders this year speculated the next step is for the brokerage to go public. The combined firm still carries

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POWER 100

Christopher Schlank and Nicholas Bienstock Founder and Co-Managing Partner and Co-Managing Partner at Savanna Last Year’s Rank: 39

Savanna tested the waters last year, putting its 1.5-million-square-foot One Court Square tower in Long Island City on the market, which could have been worth more than $500 million. But the private equity firm, which is run by Christopher Schlank and Nicholas Bienstock, decided to hold on to the trophy tower as the real estate explosion in Long Island City continues and instead refinanced the 50-story tower’s $315 million mortgage in September 2015. “You see ground-up developments by Tishman [Speyer] and Related [Companies]—the major players of New York—taking positions in Long Island City, so the scale of the capital and the investments going in there is just making the market better and better,” Mr. Bienstock said. “And our lease with Citi Corp. doesn’t expire for four years. So I think we are happy to ride the market.”

Nevertheless, it was another year of investing in under-the-radar properties for Savanna, which entered the young Bushwick, Brooklyn, office market with a $33.7 million purchase of the old Schlitz Brewery at 95 Evergreen Avenue in January 2015. Savanna began transforming the property from an industrial building to high-end office space, which is set to open this year. And staying within the outer-boroughs, Savanna picked up 2415 Third Avenue in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx in March 2015 for $31 million. It is engaged in a $12 million renovation of the property. Savanna is, of course, not leaving Manhattan out of the conversation. It purchased a 24,682-square-foot retail property in the Meatpacking District under the High Line at 461 West 14th Street for $47.6 million, aiming to take advantage of the mass exodus to Manhattan’s West Side.—L.L.G.

Christopher Schlank.

Nicholas Bienstock.

Aby Rosen and Michael Fuchs Co-Founders and Principals at RFR Realty

Aby Rosen.

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Michael Fuchs.

Aby Rosen and Michael Fuchs, both co-founders and principals at RFR Realty, are very much into having iconic properties. In January 2015, Messrs. Rosen and Fuchs’ firm closed the $55 million buy of the old Germania Bank building at 190 Bowery. By April, the firm inked a lease with a group of creative agencies for 30,000 square feet of space in the 37,000-square-foot graffitied property. Meanwhile, RFR went into maturity default on a $100 million commercial mortgage-backed securities note for the landmarked Lever House at 390 Park Avenue in March 2015. Just down the street, RFR’s Seagram Building at 375 Park Avenue will be losing the Four Seasons Restaurant, but Mr. Rosen is well on his way to replacing the historic tenant, which has yet to find a new home, with his own restaurant concept. He launched a campaign to raise $30 million for a new eatery concept led by Mario Carbone, Jeff Zalaznick and Rich Torrisi. And most recently, it was reported that RFR would be partnering with Kushner Companies and LIVWRK to buy two of the best-known Brooklyn properties from the Jehovah’s Witnesses—the Watchtower at 25-30 Columbia Heights in Downtown Brooklyn and 85 Jay Street in Dumbo—for $700 million.—D.B.

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Last Year’s Rank: 47

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POWER 100

Power Politics

The top dogs of government—as far as real estate is concerned By Terence Cullen compared with a year earlier, according to New York Police Department statistics released in January. “Last year’s record-low crime rate is further proof that the NYPD is the best police force in the world,” Mr. Bratton said in a statement at the time. Mr. Bratton, 68, has vowed he’ll only serve one full term as police commissioner, regardless of whether Mr. de Blasio wins a second term in November 2017. The same probably can’t be said for some of his chiefs, who have come under fire in the last week over allegations that some of the department’s top brass accepted trips to the Super Bowl from real estate player Jona Rechnitz of JSR Capital and Brooklyn businessman Jeremy Reichberg in exchange for favors.

William Bratton Commissioner of the New York City Police Department Ever wonder what a real-life nightmare looks like? Google a picture of the New York City Transit system in the 1980s. That’s what the city’s millionaires and billionaires were most afraid of when Mayor Bill de Blasio took office two years ago: the bad old days of his ex-boss David Dinkins when crime was rampant and people were afraid to travel to New York City. More than halfway through his second tour as Gotham’s top cop, the Boston native has kept crime low in America’s safest big city. Overall crime decreased 1.7 percent in 2015,

Bill Bratton.

72 | APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

Daniel Garodnick.

that any special permit for zoning included investment in the transportation infrastructure for the Lexington Avenue subway line. “We recognized the need to rejuvenate the commercial office space in East Midtown,” he said. “And it is a top priority. We have proposed tying public benefits to development opportunities in a way that is sensible and which will promote growth.”

Jessica Lappin President of the Alliance for Downtown New York This isn’t your grandfather’s Lower Manhattan anymore. With the south side of Wall Street almost entirely residential and new companies relocating to Downtown by the busload, the city’s oldest business district is becoming a 24/7 community. Enter Jessica Lappin and the Alliance for Downtown New York, the business improvement district that continues encouraging tourists, firms and families to come south of Chambers Street. In the last year, Ms. Lappin’s group has set up LMHQ, a sort of coworking space for young companies kicking off Downtown. The organization also produced a video about the neighborhood with resident and The Roots drummer Questlove, which Ms. Lappin said is played on airplanes, in taxis and in the Fulton Center subway station. The Downtown Alliance also released a report this year that projects 40,000 private sector jobs will come to Lower

Daniel Garodnick New York City Councilman Nearly all of Daniel Garodnick’s three terms have been consumed by keeping Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village, where he’s lived his entire life, affordable for New Yorkers. That decade-long saga might’ve finally come to an end in December 2015 when Blackstone Group and Ivanhoé Cambridge ponied up $5.46 billion to purchase the 11,232-unit complex. Mr. Garodnick helped broker the most recent agreement between the city and the new buyers that ensures 5,000 units will remain affordable over the next 20 years. Mr. Garodnick has also been involved in the rezoning of Midtown East, for which he and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer co-chair a steering committee. That entity released its recommendations last fall. The three-term Democrat said those rezoning plans could enter the uniform land use review procedure by the end of this year. The first step was rezoning Vanderbilt Avenue, which mandated

Jessica Lappin.

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hether it’s tax codes, zoning or public safety, the real estate industry has a big stake in the political process. So it’s no surprise that the city and state’s most prominent elected leaders and political appointees wound up on our Power 100. Of course, not everyone can make it, nor does every position have the glamour of, say, the governor’s mansion, or City Hall. But there’s the police commissioner, whose policies have tried to keep crime low and the city livable. There are the councilmembers who in many ways are involved with real estate and land use policy. And there are the business leaders who attempt to work between the halls of politics and the boardrooms. As the 2017 mayoral election creeps up on us, this year’s political power list also features one prominent real estate figure-turned-political hopeful. (No, it’s not that guy.) Paul Massey, the co-founder of Massey Knakal Realty Services (now part of Cushman & Wakefield), has poked around political circles of the city’s Republican Party hoping to take Gracie Mansion.

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Vanderbilt tower, which will be built next to Grand Central Terminal. Her office has also been active in bringing residents impacted by a project together with a developer before permits are filed to streamline the review process.

Carl Weisbrod Chairman of the City Planning Commission and Commissioner of the New York City Department of City Planning Carl Weisbrod’s dual roles give him a lot of say over zoning changes—whether, say, a few blocks here, or an entire swath of Brooklyn there gets upzoned. The longtime urban planner has had his hands full in the two and a half years since taking office, and the coming months are expected to be no different. Mr. Weisbrod and the City Planning Commission pushed through the special permit last year that allows One Vanderbilt to be constructed and rezoned the Vanderbilt Corridor from East 42nd to East 47th Streets for commercial use. Developer SL Green Realty Corp. agreed as part of the One Vanderbilt deal to invest $220 million into subway infrastructure below Grand Central Terminal. Future developers looking to build along the five-block strip and who would require a special permit can do the same. CPC is now mulling a similar option for the rest of Midtown East, which could enter the uniform land use review procedure later this year. On the housing front, Mr. Weisbrod has been vocal for a replacement to the 421a tax abatement, which expired in mid-January. Two months later, he testified during a City Council budget hearing that rental housing was dead without the lucrative break. Condominiums would be built in its place, he added. “The absence of 421a is going to put a thumb on the scale against rental housing,” he said, “and that’s unfortunate.”

Gale Brewer.

Gale Brewer Manhattan Borough President As Manhattan borough president, Gale Brewer holds sway over a lot of real estate decisions in the city. For starters, Ms. Brewer holds a nonbinding vote in the uniform land use review procedure—recommending to the City Council if an item should pass. She used that perch in the last year to voice her support of the mayor’s mandatory inclusionary housing plan, which ensured on-site affordable units for a residential building that requires a zoning change. She also voted against the zoning for quality and affordability, she said, because it still needed more work. Along with Councilman Daniel Garodnick, Ms. Brewer has led the steering committee on a plan to rezone Midtown East. Ms. Brewer has been active in ensuring that landmarks can sell their unusable air rights in exchange for capital improvement money, along with a portion of the funds going to public works. The Manhattan beep has also been active in pushing community input on projects such as the South Street Seaport and SL Green Realty Corp.’s One

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Carl Weisbrod.

Paul Massey.

Paul Massey President of New York Investment Sales at Cushman & Wakefield and Chairman of 1NY You’ve heard a lot about the real estate industry wrapping its arms around Mayor Bill de Blasio. But that’s not a hard and fast rule. Take for instance Paul Massey, the longtime investment sales executive who announced earlier this year that he’s mulling a run for mayor as a Republican in 2017. His political ambition began publically earlier this year when he formed 1NY, a tough-on-crime nonprofit against the mayor. Mr. Massey serves as chairman of the organization, which promotes “the common good and general welfare of all citizens of New York City by advocating for social improvement through the creation of new opportunities for sustainable economic growth, academic betterment, increased public safety and cultural advancement,” according to its website. New York magazine reported in late-March that Mr. Massey was considering challenging hizzoner next year. Mr. Massey said the following day that while it was too early to make a full-throated declaration, he was seriously considering his candidacy. “Those discussions have indeed occurred, but it is way too early for me to comment on whether I would, in fact, undergo such an undertaking,” Mr. Massey said in prepared remarks. “I am a businessman; not a politician, and there are so many considerations I would have to make in my personal and business life before actively deciding on a move of that magnitude.”

FROM LEFT: AARON ADLER/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER; MICHAEL LOCCISANO/GETTY IMAGES; RYAN MCCUNE/PMC

Manhattan by 2020. “We have now for the first time hit employment levels that we haven’t seen since 9/11 in the private sector,” Ms. Lappin said. The Alliance has also elected two chairmen over the last year. First Brookfield Property Partners’ Dennis Friedrich took up the mantle last June before leaving the company—and thus the Downtown Alliance—this January. Deutsche Bank’s Allan Scott, a longtime member of the group’s executive committee, was subsequently chosen in Mr. Friedrich’s place.

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S E A S O N S H OT E L S L I M I T E D . CO R CO R A N S U N S H I N E M A R K E T I N G G R O U P I S T H E R E A L E S TAT E AG E N T R E S P O N S I B L E F O R T H E M A R K E T I N G O F 3 0 PA R K P L AC E , F O U R S E A S O N S P R I VAT E R E S I D E N C E S N E W YO R K D O W N TO W N . T H E M A R K S “ F O U R S E A S O N S , ” “ F O U R S E A S O N S H OT E L S A N D R E S O R T S , ” A N Y

YO R K D O W N TO W N W I L L B E M A N AG E D BY F O U R S E A S O N S H OT E L S L I M I T E D A N D/O R I T S A F F I L I AT E S ( F O U R S E A S O N S ) , T H O U G H T H E Y W I L L N OT B E O W N E D , D E V E LO P E D O R S O L D BY F O U R S E A S O N S . S P O N S O R U S E S T H E F O U R S E A S O N S T R A D E M A R K S A N D T R A D E N A M E S U N D E R A L I C E N S E F R O M F O U R

CO M B I N AT I O N T H E R E O F A N D T H E T R E E D E S I G N A R E R E G I S T E R E D T R A D E M A R K S O F F O U R S E A S O N S H OT E L S L I M I T E D I N C A N A DA A N D U . S . A . A N D O F F O U R S E A S O N S H OT E L S ( B A R B A D O S ) LT D . E L S E W H E R E .

POWER 100

Chairman and CEO of LeFrak Last Year’s Rank: 34

Jay Anderson.

| APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

Chairman and President of the Tri-State Region of JLL

Last Year’s Rank: 38

In 2015, LeFrak (which has dropped “Organization” from its name) expanded on its already sprawling, three-decade-old Jersey City mega-complex, Newport, and made big strides to built another mega-community in a sunnier climate. The firm, led by Richard LeFrak—the great-grandson of Aaron, who started the company in 1905—began construction of Ellipse, a 43-story rental apartment tower on the Jersey City waterfront in December 2015. The nearly 600,000-square-foot property will have 376 apartments and was designed by Miami-based architect Arquitectonica. The tower will be completed in 2017. Ellipse adds to the approximately 9,000 units already in the Newport complex, which also includes 5.5 million square feet of office space, two hotels and two malls. On a waterfront community hundreds of miles south, the landlord purchased 55 acres of land from the City of North Miami for $22 million in November 2015 for a $4 billion mixed-use, 183-acre monster development. LeFrak broke ground on the new community, SoLe Mia, which is being built in partnership with Turnberry Associates. It will have about a dozen residential buildings with 4,390 units and more than 1 million square feet for commercial uses and green space. The project is slated for completion in 2018. But LeFrak didn’t stop there in the Sunshine State. The firm opened a new 426-key 1 Hotel in South Beach, in a joint venture with Barry Sternlicht’s Starwood Capital Group, in March 2015. In New York City, LeFrak continues to own a number of Midtown office towers such as 40 West 57th Street and, on the residential side, the 20-building LeFrak City in Queens.—L.L.G

Jeffrey Feil.

Peter Riguardi

Providing an anchor tenant at one of the city’s headline properties is a tricky business— but Peter Riguardi proved a master of the game when he brought the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom to anchor Brookfield Properties’ 2.1-million-square-foot One Manhattan West last spring. The law firm snapped up a 20-year lease for 550,000 square feet in the 67-story tower, which cast the whole Far West Side’s future in sharp relief. Of course, that wasn’t the whole of 2015. JLL scored two major new clients, Morgan Stanley Peter Riguardi.

Richard LeFrak.

Jeffrey Feil and Jay Anderson CEO and COO of Feil Organization Last Year’s Rank: 33

For Jeffrey Feil and Jay Anderson, 2015 might have left their heads spinning—literally and figuratively. To take the literal stuff first, Feil Organization is an investor behind the $250 million New York Wheel in Staten Island near the planned Empire Outlets mall. It broke ground on the 630-foot wheel last year, however, investors of the project are fighting in court over cost overruns, mismanagement and the lack of a business plan. The 60-story Ferris wheel, which hopes to attract 3.5 million tourists annually, will allow for 1,440 riders at once when it opens in 2017. To speak figuratively, the 65-yearold, family-owned investment, development and management firm had some family problems, which got resolved this year. Jeffrey Feil, who runs the company and its multibillion-dollar, 26-million-square-foot portfolio scattered around the country, won a court

victory against his brother-in-law Stanley Barry in January. Mr. Barry, who is related to the family by way of Mr. Feil’s sister, Marilyn Barry, sued the CEO in 2012 for a reported $10 million in damages over mismanagement of the Upper East Side residential buildings Clermont York at 445 East 80th Street and Clermont at 444 East 82nd Street. (Ms. Barry has a stake in the company.) But there were plenty of more positive highlights for Feil in 2015. Together with Boston-based private equity firm Rockpoint Group, Feil paid more than $120 million for an 83.5 percent stake in the office building at 200 West 57th Street. And in December 2015, it purchased a 28,000-square-foot office and retail building in Downtown Brooklyn at 356 Fulton Street from Capital One for $43 million. The property has about 104,000 of buildable square feet for commercial use and 87,000 buildable square feet for residences.—L.L.G.

and BlackRock. For Morgan Stanley, JLL is handling all its brokerage offices in North America. In the case of Blackrock, Mr. Riguardi is going to be representing it in a 1-million-square-foot office space assignment in Manhattan. Is it going to be staying put or moving? “We’re evaluating the New York real estate occupancy strategy,” is all Mr. Riguardi would say. All in all, it was a very good year for JLL—and for Mr. Riguardi, who took on the role as chairman and president of the tri-state region for JLL in January. (The new position will mostly mean taking control of the firm’s capital markets and corporate solutions offices.) “In New York, business was slightly more than $300 million,” Mr. Riguardi said. “It’s a big business. And we’re the leasing agent for 55 million square feet of office space in New York.”—M.G.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: PATRICK MCMULLAN/PMC; ARMAN DZIDZOVIC/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER; TWITTER

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POWER 100

39 Isaac, Richard and Haim Chera.

Stanley Chera.

Stanley, Isaac, Haim and Richard Chera Principals of Crown Acquisitions Last Year’s Rank: 37

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: ILIR BAJRAKTARI/PMC; MICHAEL NAGLE/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER; ANDREW BURTON/GETTY IMAGES; SASHA MASLOV/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

Continuing along from its busy 2014, veteran retail developer Crown Acquisitions, led by the Chera family, was no less buzzing in 2015. Crown completed the transformation of the five-story 490 Fulton Street in Downtown Brooklyn, including returning fashion retailer Forever 21 to the area (it had been at 1 DeKalb Avenue until 2007) with its red store concept for a 40,000-square-foot space. Rents for the lower-level space were $55 per square foot, rising to $325 per square foot for the main floor. Forever 21 joins Planet Fitness, Raymour & Flanigan, Express, Swarovski, Chase Bank and IHOP at the property. Long Island University dorms take up the upper floors. Other Crown lessees last year included the shoe and accessories store Journeys, coming to 452 Fulton in a 4,000-square-foot space, and Burger King, which will occupy 3,500 square feet at 522 Fulton Street. The company also partnered with Oxford Properties Group last May to buy the remaining 50 percent of Olympic Tower in Midtown

for $652 million. Crown had purchased a 49.9 percent stake in the four-building complex in 2012. Thanks to Crown, global fashion powerhouse Balmain, which recently opened its first store in London, will introduce its haute couture fashions to Americans in a 2,600-square-foot ground-floor space at 100 Wooster Street, in a deal that also includes lower-level storage space. The company is already off to the races for a busy 2016. In January, Crown signed a 99-year ground lease at 136-50 Roosevelt Avenue in Flushing, Queens, currently home to a Macy’s store. Future plans for the site are as yet unannounced. The following month, Adidas signed a lease for a 4,500-square-foot Brooklyn flagship at 452 Fulton Street for $350 per square foot, which, as Commercial Observer reported at the time, marks a high for the borough. The space was vacant at the time of signing, having previously served as a Bakers Shoes. The new store is scheduled to open in late spring.—L.G.

Bill de Blasio Mayor of New York City Last Year’s Rank: 16

Creating affordable and middle-income housing has been a tall order for the towering Mayor Bill de Blasio. The 6-foot-5 mayor was able to pass through two key housing initiatives—mandatory inclusionary housing, or MIH, and zoning for quality and affordability—that essentially allow for more affordable and below-market units. But the first plan, MIH, is dependent on the 421a tax abatement, which expired in mid-January. If and when a replacement for the affordable housing-creating incentive will be enacted is still up in the air. Hizzoner helped broker an agreement with Blackstone Group during its $5.46 billion purchase of Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village. Blackstone agreed to keep 5,000 of the 11,232 rental apartments affordable over the next 20 years. The mayor, the first City Hall leader to hail from Brooklyn since Abraham Beame in 1974,

has been active in promoting the outer-boroughs. This February he unveiled a study and a plan to build a streetcar between Astoria in northwest Queens and the Sunset Park section of Brooklyn. All in all, the once weary real estate industry has warmed to Mr. de Blasio, who has also courted the industry for campaign funds. His administration has come under fire in 2016 for a real estate-tinged snafu. The New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services lifted the deed restriction on the Rivington House nursing home on the Lower East Side so it could be sold to a developer, making way for new luxury condominiums. U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara announced he’s investigating if the administration might be involved in some wrongdoing. The mayor said he’s had his lawyer reach out to the prosecutor’s office and said he wasn’t aware of the deed restriction being lifted.—T.C.

Bill de Blasio.

Tommy Craig Senior Managing Director at Hines New

Hines has a hand in many of the newest iconic towers rising around the city, and last year the Texas-based firm hit a number of significant milestones. Headlining the year for Hines was the (somewhat unusual) completion of 7 Bryant Park’s construction after selling the property in May 2015 to Bank of China for approximately $600 million. Hines’ tri-state office, led by Tommy Craig, manages a portfolio of $13.5 billion in real estate assets and remains as the property manager of the 30-story tower near Bryant Park. Also, the firm began selling residential condominiums last year in its 82-story tower 53W53, also known as the MoMA Expansion Tower, which is currently under construction at 53 West 53rd Street between Avenue of the Americas and Fifth Avenue. “Our goal last year was to be in a position where we would start

selling units [at 53W53],” Mr. Craig said. “We’re not only building the building, but we are selling units, and I think in a market that clearly doesn’t have the exuberance that it did a couple years ago, we are pleased.” The firm is also the development manager with SL Green Realty Corp. for the 1.7-million-square-foot One Vanderbilt across from Grand Central Terminal. The planned mega-tower, which will stretch 1,501 feet high, received the permits last year, and demolition has already begun. Hines topped out on the 60-story, 145-unit condo at 56 Leonard Street last year and hopes to complete the building this year. And partnering with Aby Rosen’s RFR Realty, Hines is building a 63-story condo at 100 East 53rd Street, which Mr. Craig expects to be completed in 2017.—L.L.G.

Tommy Craig.

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| APRIL 20, 2016 | 81

POWER 100

Charlie Malet.

Brandon Shorenstein.

Mark Portner.

Charlie Malet, Brandon Shorenstein and Mark Portner President and Chief Investment Officer, Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Shorenstein Properties Last Year’s Rank: 42

No company in real estate experienced the juxtaposition of the business world with the cold realities of real life as did San Francisco-based Shorenstein Properties. The privately held real estate firm lost Douglas Shorenstein, its chairman, CEO and most importantly, husband, dad, brother and legacy bearer to cancer at the age of 60. The impact on the firm was profound. “Doug’s loss was felt deeply throughout our organization,” Mark Portner said. “He

was a leader who was both pragmatic and visionary. He was also a wonderful colleague and friend.” Before his death last November, Shorenstein put together a thoughtful transition plan, according to Mr. Portner, and the senior leadership at the company had an average tenure of 18 years, so the company was as prepared as it could humanly be. Under the new leadership structure, board member Mike Rossi became chairman;

Glenn Shannon, the president of Shorenstein Properties, was named president of a new family office that advises the family on its business interests; Charlie Malet was promoted from chief investment officer to president and Brandon Shorenstein (Douglas’ son), who oversaw multifamily residential investment, was promoted to executive vice president. The company sold its 21-story office tower at 850 Third Avenue to MHP Real Estate

Services for $460 million this January after completing a value-add program and leasing the property to 99 percent occupancy. Shorenstein is set to complete lobby storefront renovations at 1407 Broadway, where it acquired the leasehold and sub-leasehold for $330 million in 2015 by the end of the summer and officials expect to announce new retail tenants, which Mr. Portner said will not only change the feel of the property but the neighborhood.—D.J.

Charles Bendit and Paul Pariser Co-CEOs of Taconic Investment Partners Last Year’s Rank: 50

Under the leadership of its co-CEOs, Taconic spent much of the year developing existing sites but was relatively quiet in the area of new acquisitions. The firm began development on 525 West 52nd Street, where it is building a 450,000-square-foot residential property with 392 apartments. Mitsui Fudosan acquired a majority stake in the property, which will have a strong affordable housing component. Leasing is scheduled to begin in 2017. Construction is also underway at Essex Crossing, where Taconic, L+M Development Partners and BFC Partners are redeveloping a 1.87-million-square-foot mixed-use site into a full residential and commercial neighborhood with multifamily, office space, retail and community space. (Taconic’s affiliate, the Prusik Group, is doing the leasing.) In January, NYU Langone Medical Center signed a 15-year lease for 55,000 square feet of space on Site 6 of

| APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

Charles Bendit. the site. Taconic also teamed up with Cogswell-Lee Development Group to acquire the ground lease at a former Pathmark site at 410 West 207th Street, where the developers plan to redevelop the retail and are considering building residential. Mr. Bendit said the company has taken a cautious

Paul Pariser. approach to the New York market, particularly the office sector, in favor of residential rental projects. He expects to see more “consolidation” in the market over the next year or two as the “froth in the market we’ve seen in the last couple of years” is expected to wane. “I think there will be a flattening in the growth curve of values and rents,” he said.—D.J.

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POWER 100

Constantine (Dean) Dakolias and Ben Michelson Co-Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director of the Credit & Real Estate Business at Fortress Investment Group Last Year’s Rank: 46

Ben Michelson.

Santiago Calatrava.

Santiago Calatrava Founder and Chief Architect of Santiago Calatrava Last Year’s Rank: 71

Instagram went wild when the first part of the futuristic new Oculus transit hub at the World Trade Center opened in March with its spikes casting a winged shadow on the new Downtown.

| APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

Given everything from the project’s symbolic importance to its tremendous cost—almost double the original $2 billion estimate—the Hub at WTC is one of interest to all New Yorkers. (Mr. Calatrava

CWCapital claimed entitlement to 3 percent of the debt on the massive housing complex, which eventually exceeded the original $3 billion. Estimates pegged the servicer’s profit at up to $615 million from the sale, and yields didn’t end there. In August, Westbrook Partners bought out Fortress’ stake in the 1.1-million-squarefoot St. John’s Terminal for $200 million. Fortress also participated on the lending front, in December originating a $115 million floating-rate loan to Chetrit Group and JDS Development Group to refinance debt on 9 DeKalb Avenue and to fund the buy of 340 Flatbush Avenue Extension in Downtown Brooklyn.—D.B.

told Commercial Observer in the past that aside from security additions following rail attacks in Madrid and London, which were a small part of the additional expenditures, the cost increases were out of his control.) With roughly 800,000 square feet of space, including 225,000 square feet of retail, the station could come to equal Grand Central Terminal in its importance and significance to New York City, especially as its March completion will be a further sign that, post 9/11, the area is not only back but experiencing the beginnings of a grand new phase. For all its grandeur and significance, the WTC center is only one project on Mr. Calatrava’s overflowing plate as of late. Other significant projects in 2015: Seven large-scale public aluminum sculptures, painted red, black and silver, which were on display along the Park Avenue median from June to November; beating out five competitors in his bid to design an observation tower in Dubai Creek Harbor; the opening of the Museum of Tomorrow in Rio De Janeiro; beginning work on three road and pedestrian bridges in Huashan, China; winning awards for projects including the Innovation, Science and Technology building at Florida Polytechnic University; and becoming the recipient of the 2015 European Prize for Architecture For 2016, Mr. Calatrava is looking forward to the full opening of the WTC terminal, as well as that of the nearby St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church.—L.G.

Joseph Chetrit.

Joseph Chetrit Principal of Chetrit Group Last Year’s Rank: 27

Beyond putting a lawsuit to bed that alleged Joseph Chetrit laundered $40 million in two real estate developments from two individuals who stole billions of dollars from Kazakhstan, it’s been a busy year for the Manhattan-based company. Mr. Chetrit—the principal and co-founder of Chetrit Group along with his brothers Meyer, Jacob and Judah—has a number of developments in the works. And if anyone has been riding out the condominium wave, it’s this family-run firm. One of its most notable condo projects is the conversion of the former Sony headquarters at 550 Madison Avenue, which will soon house a total of 96 residences with an average asking price of $4,791 per square foot. The penthouse triplex at the luxury development is expected to hit the market for a mere $150 million. And $150 million might be a lucky number for Chetrit Group. After partnering with Clipper Equity to buy the shuttered Cabrini Medical Center in Midtown South for just over $150 million in 2013, the duo received $280 million in construction financing and went public with its plans for the block-through project dubbed “Gramercy Square” last year. Once completed, the project will hold 256 units across four buildings at 215 East 19th Street, 225 East 19th Street, 220 East 20th Street and 230 East 20th Street. A little farther north, the company filed plans for a 33-story, 300-key hotel at 255 West 34th Street. But it’s not all about Manhattan for Chetrit Group. The company, which historically invested in the outer-boroughs, is going back to its roots. The developer partnered with Keith Rubenstein’s Somerset Partners to buy two waterfront development sites in the Mott Haven neighborhood of the Bronx for $58 million. In Brooklyn, Chetrit Group is pairing up with Michael Stern’s JDS Development Group to construct a 73-story residential building at 340 Flatbush Avenue Extension, which will be the borough’s tallest tower at 1,000 feet.—D.B.

SANTIAGO CALATRAVA: ARMAN DZIDZOVIC/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER; JOSEPH CHETRIT: RYAN MCCUNE/PMC

If any company personifies its name, it’s Fortress Investment Group. Impenetrable is a fair adjective to describe the firm, which has more than $70.5 billion of assets under management and very limited media coverage about what it actually does. But Fortress couldn’t manage to stay entirely out of the spotlight this past year. Being the owner of special servicer CWCapital Asset Management, the investment giant benefited from the $5.46 billion sale of Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village. According to an article by The Wall Street Journal, special servicers typically collect a 0.25 percent fee on the total debt yield when a property is sold, whereas

Constantine Dakolias.

POWER 100

Last Year’s Rank: 49

Leonard Litwin and Gary Jacob Chairman and Executive Vice President of Glenwood Management

| APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

Speaker Sheldon Silver and ex-State Senate Leader Dean Skelos. Unsurprisingly, this has not slowed Glenwood, the city’s third-largest owner of residential property with almost 9 million square feet of space in 26 buildings across the city, down in the slightest. The Encore, a 256-unit building at 160 West 62nd Street near Lincoln Center and complete with marble bathrooms and nine-foot ceilings, is preparing to open this spring.—L.G.

Leonard Litwin.

Gary Jacob.

STEVE WITKOFF: SASHA MASLOV/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

Last Year’s Rank: 31

There have been few survivors in New York real estate as strong and steadfast as Leonard Litwin—which is good because the octogenarian real estate pioneer has not had the easiest past few years. While never charged with illegal activity, Mr. Litwin’s company, Glenwood Management, one of the largest residential landlords and political donors in the city, has recently been tied with the two notorious corruption scandals of former Assembly

CEO of the Witkoff Group

At a time when questions have been raised about excess hotel capacity in New York, the Witkoff Group is placing a huge bet that it can find success with a couple of proven commodities. The company is working with Marriott International and legendary hotelier Ian Schrager on Edition, a 452-room luxury hotel and the first hotel of this scale to rise in Times Square in more than two decades. Steve Witkoff is so committed to the concept that he’s working with New Valley, which handles real estate for the Vector Group, led by Howard Lorber, on another Edition property on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood. Beyond the luxury hotel development, Mr. Witkoff is also ready to debut his conversion of a 350,000-square-foot office tower at 10 Madison Square West, which will debut as 122 high-end condos and ground-floor retail. Mr. Witkoff is also working with Vector and Fisher Bros. on a 157-unit condo development at 111 Murray Street. —D.J.

Steve Witkoff.

Steve Witkoff

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POWER 100

Founder and Principal of Property Markets Group New

Among the towers planned for 57th Street, aka Billionaire’s Row, the most architecturally complex might be 111 West 57th Street. It will be 1,428 feet tall and only 60 feet wide. It has a slick design by SHoP Architects and promises full floors and duplexes to all potential buyers. Marketing hasn’t started yet, but prices promise to be high, though maybe not as high as at some of 111 West 57th Street’s neighbors. If Kevin Maloney, who’s building the tower with JDS Development Group, pulls 111 West 57th Street off, he will be a 57th Street hero—especially when you consider that the luxury condominium market has begun to soften. Nonetheless, this project is only one of many balls that PMG has in the air, all of

Kevin Maloney.

Kevin Maloney

David Levinson.

which tend toward the ambitious. In Queens, for instance, Mr. Maloney is at work on the 830-unit Queens Plaza Park and a 391-unit rental Queens Plaza South. In Manhattan he just began closings at 10 Sullivan Street, a condominium where the average price is around $3,500 per square foot. And that’s just New York; Mr. Maloney has a second empire in South Florida and a third in Chicago. “This cycle, we’ll probably do about $4 billion, $5 billion in business,” Mr. Maloney told Commercial Observer from his new Chelsea office earlier this year, “depending on what we actually get built. And the retail component [of PMG’s portfolio] could be as much as $1 billion.”—M.G.

Robert Lapidus.

David Levinson and Robert Lapidus Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and President and Chief Investment Officer of L&L Holding Company

David Levinson is a little bit Town & Country; Robert Lapidus is a little more rock ‘n’ roll. But together the founders of L&L Holding Company have gotten the highest asking rents in New York City as they create the first new block-front office building along Park Avenue in 50 years. The 16-year-old company is converting 425 Park Avenue from a short, squat building into a tall, thin skyscraper. Chicago-based hedge fund Citadel has signed a deal for its New York City offices to anchor the building, a transaction in which the asking rent was a record-breaking $300 per square foot. L&L also plans to move its offices to the building when it’s completed in 2018. “We’re negotiating with ourselves,” Mr. Levinson said of L&L’s own lease at the office tower. “It’s an arm’s length transaction. It has to be looked at by the partners to approve. I never imagined I’d be paying so much rent.” At the same time, L&L is employing a similar technique at 380 Madison Avenue— or 390 Madison Avenue, as it’ll be called once the conversion is done of the hulky Midtown building into something taller with roughly the same square footage. “All our projects are moving forward as planned,” Mr. Levinson said. “They’re big, wonderful projects, and it’s very exciting.”—T.C.

| APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

FROM LEFT: YVONNE ALBINOWSKI/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER; SASHA MASLOV/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER; YVONNE ALBINOWSKI/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

Last Year’s Rank: 52

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POWER 100

51 Kenneth Bernstein.

Kenneth Bernstein and Christopher Conlon President and CEO, Executive Vice President and COO of Acadia Realty Trust New

It often seems that people clamored for the redevelopment of Downtown Brooklyn for years without doing much about it. Kenneth Bernstein and Christopher Conlon are the ones doing something about it, and their vision is now transforming an essential section of the borough. That effort, the 1.8-million-square-foot, mixed-use City Point, which consists of residential, retail and office components, is slated to bring a 675,000-foot shopping center plus three adjoining residential towers to the area. So far, indie movie theater innovator Alamo Drafthouse will start screening films there this summer, and fashion retailer Century 21 is set to open in the fall. Target and Trader Joe’s are also planned for the location with opening dates to be deteremined. Below ground, the 26,000-squarefoot food hub DeKalb Market Hall will open sometime in late summer or early fall. In addition to the buildings, the

developers announced in December 2015 the addition of the Prince Street Passage, a corridor between Fulton Street and Flatbush Avenue that will be open to the public. In June, Mr. Bernstein announced the sale of the project’s final residential development rights to Extell Development Company for $115.5 million, about $217 per buildable square foot. Extell is developing a 665,000-square-foot tower, which will be divided into 600,000 square feet of residential and 65,000 square feet of commercial use on Willoughby Street between Gold Street and Flatbush Avenue Extension. This joined two residential towers already in development. Construction is scheduled for a 2017 kickoff with completion three years later. Mr. Bernstein has said that once complete, the tower will be “one of the most prominent residential buildings in the borough.”—L.G.

Last Year’s Rank: 60

Meridian Capital Group kicked off its 25th anniversary with a bang. The Manhattanbased brokerage, founded by Ralph Herzka and Aaron Birnbaum in 1991, closed $35 billion across more than 3,900 loans in 2015, up $5 billion from the year prior. While the firm operates nationally, it stayed true to its home roots of New York City, closing $21 billion in debt deals within the confines of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. The firm arranged a $785 million loan for Scott Rechler’s RXR Realty on the Helmsley Building at 230 Park Avenue, a $592 million loan for Blackstone Group and Fairstead Capital for a 24-building residential complex in Manhattan and a $345 million mortgage for Chetrit Group and Clipper Equity’s Gramercy Park condominium conversion. But this year Meridian Capital took its commitment to the real estate market a step further. In April 2015, nearly 12 months to the date, the group launched Meridian Investment Sales. Eastern Consolidated’s David Schechtman, Lipa Lieberman and Abie Kassin as well as Cushman & Wakefield’s Helen Hwang joined Meridian to spearhead its newest division. Mr. Herzka felt it was the right time to launch the new division because of the firm’s clients. “Our client base relies on us for trusted advice, and it became increasingly important that this advice did not stop with financing but that it also include the sales service line delivered in the same best-in-class fashion to them as our mortgage platform,” he said. Now, the acquisitions the investment team brings are largely being funded through Meridian’s

Ralph Herzka.

Aaron Birnbaum. financing arm. In addition to the brokerage’s growth, Mr. Herzka is pleased with the work environment he’s helped foster. “We always had great expectations in our ability to grow and expand, but the thing I am most proud of is our people and their commitment to our clients and the firm,” he said. “Of our 290 employees across both platforms, 85 have been with us for over 10 years and 15 have been with us for more than 20 years.”—D.B.

Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz Chairman, Co-Founder and Senior Partner and President, Co-Founder and Senior Partner at Sterling Equities New

Sterling Equities, the family-owned real estate giant led by New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon and brother-in-law Saul Katz, had a traditionally busy year, making moves across the city’s retail, commercial and residential real estate sectors. Sterling’s stellar year began at Citi Field, where the pennant-winning Mets saw attendance grow by almost 20 percent over 2014 (and their post-season run generated over $46 million for the local economy). But outside of baseball, Sterling continued to build its presence in the outer-boroughs with 15 projects throughout Brooklyn, including in Carroll Gardens, Williamsburg and Crown Heights. In November 2015, Sterling paid $20.5 million for a two-story warehouse on North 7th Street in

Chairman and CEO and Executive Vice President at Meridian Capital Group

| APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

Williamsburg, hoping to reposition its 15,000 buildable square feet into a mixed-use retail and residential site. The company also continues its behind-the-scenes work on the redevelopment of the Willets Point area via the Queens Development Group, Sterling’s joint venture with Related Companies. Exact timelines have yet to be determined, but the project’s Phase 1 plan for 5 million square feet of local development—encompassing a $3 billion investment—surrounding Citi Field includes 2,500 housing units (875 affordable) and the creation of 7,100 permanent jobs and 12,000 construction jobs. As Commercial Observer reported in 2014, the New York City Economic Development Corporation expects the project

Saul Katz and Fred Wilpon. to “yield a 30-year total economic impact of $25 billion.” Toward year’s end, Sterling made news on the other side of the real estate divide, announcing its own move, along with its SNY cable network, from the Time & Life Building to 4 World Trade Center. The move is scheduled for early 2017.—L.G.

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Christopher Conlon.

Ralph Herzka and Aaron Birnbaum

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POWER 100

Stumped by Trump

hen a list attempts to comprehensively rank the most powerful men and women of real estate, what do you do with the real estate mogul who is vying for the position of most powerful man on earth? Moreover, what if that whole situation is complicated by the fact that said mogul is the father-in-law of your publisher? We’re speaking, of course, about Donald Trump, the current frontrunner for the GOP nomination for president, longtime real estate developer, reality TV black belt and the father of Ivanka Trump (who is married

| APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

to Commercial Observer’s publisher, Jared Kushner). An argument could be made that Jonathan Gray and the rest of his cohorts should step aside for the real estate professional who could one day carry the nuclear football around with him—not to mention appoint a secretary of housing and urban development, write a budget and name governors to the Federal Reserve, all of which have an indelible effect on real estate. But the argument wasn’t quite persuasive. (President Obama never appeared on the Power 100—why should Donald Trump be treated differently?) The other argument is that we should try to rank

Mr. Trump roughly where he fits into the pecking order of who builds what, where and how well in commercial real estate. (On last year’s list, he landed the No. 13 spot.) After much deliberation, we decided that we’re the wrong publication to evaluate him. At least this year. Next year, we’ll return Donald Trump to his rightful place on the Power 100. Or in the event that he’s no longer in the real estate business, his children Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric, who will no doubt be running the Trump Organization during a four-year absence. —Max Gross

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Donald Trump.

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POWER 100

Peter Hauspurg.

If you want to travel the world with any real estate folks, it’s probably the ones at Eastern Consolidated. The employees at the firm are fluent in a total of 17 languages from Russian to Albanian to Korean. Last year, husband-and-wife duo Peter Hauspurg and Daun Paris oversaw significant growth mode at the company with the brokerage nearly doubling its number of brokers to 84 from 45 in 2014. Eastern Consolidated closed roughly $2.1 billion in deals through its investment sales arm, up 27 percent from the year prior, and roughly $850 million through its capital advisory division, with $180 million currently in the pipeline. Eastern has also focused on growing its retail leasing division, which jumped up to 20 brokers from eight. The company even launched a national medical office division, which closed more than $124 million in transactions in 2015 and currently has nine deals in contract. The company has gotten so busy that it expanded its space by another floor and installed an internal staircase to “ensure maximum interaction between divisions,” Ms. Paris said. “Unless you have proximity, it doesn’t facilitate interaction.” She attributes

2015’s success to “synergies between different divisions.” Eastern Consolidated is no newcomer to real estate and its cycles, and Mr. Hauspurg said that its capital advisory team just recapitalized its first stalled condominium deal. “We’re seeing some unsettled conditions in the land market because of two factors,” he said. “One is the expiration of 421a, which has brought market rental and affordable housing rental [development] pretty much to a halt and the glut in the high-end market.” Now more than ever, it’s important for executives at the firm to encourage interaction between the different divisions. “We’ve been known to be very nimble,” Ms. Paris said. “In each downturn, we’ve identified areas on which to be focused, and I feel it is appropriate to be aware and make sure that for us we focus not on having silos of information but on making sure each department works closely together.” “2015 was one of our best years ever, and 2016 is shaping up to be on par or possibly better,” she added.—D.B.

Robert Knakal.

Robert Knakal Chairman of New York Investment Sales at Cushman & Wakefield Last Year’s Rank: 57

Arthur J. Mirante II and A. Mitti Liebersohn Principal and Tri-State President and President and Managing Director of Avison Young Last Year’s Rank: 68

About four years ago, Arthur J. Mirante II opened up Canada-based Avison Young’s first New York City office. Since then the firm has exploded, employing more than 200 people (including brokers and other staff) in the tri-state region. Among the management hires last year, Mr. Mirante brought in A. Mitti Liebersohn in April from JLL, where he was a vice chairman, to further expand the brokerage and manage the New York office. While the firm has been expanding physically, so have its deals. Mr. Mirante

Arthur J. Mirante II.

Last Year’s Rank: 61

| APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

and Martin Cottingham represented the National Basketball Players Association in its move to 1133 Avenue of the Americas in a nearly 48,000-square-foot lease last year. The new offices include a 10,000-squarefoot basketball court, and the transaction was up for (but didn’t win) the Real Estate Board of New York’s Most Ingenious Deal of the Year Award. After completing the NBPA deal, Avison Young represented the players union in a sale of its Harlem building at 310 Lenox Avenue for a little more than $20 million.

A. Mitti Liebersohn.

In addition to its deals, Avison Young has secured assignments to represent a number of high-profile buildings in Manhattan, including Kamber Management Company’s Tower 45 at 120 West 24th Street, Moinian Group’s 3 Hudson Boulevard and the 800,000-square-foot Paramount Building at 1501 Broadway. Mr. Mirante and Michael Gottlieb recently represented the Paramount Building in a 12,000-square-foot lease for casting agency Telsey + Company and a 35,000-square-foot deal for engineering firm Hardesty & Hanover.—L.L.G.

Robert Knakal had a difficult-to-top 2014, when he and partner Paul Massey sold their firm, Massey Knakal Realty Services, to Cushman & Wakefield for $100 million. So how did he follow up such an accomplished year? With a slew of deals. “In 2015, my team and I sold 72 properties with an aggregate consideration of $1.7 billion,” Mr. Knakal said. “Already in firstquarter 2016, my team and I have closed $750 million in sales volume.” Mr. Knakal’s significant recent transactions include the $300 million sale of 143161 East 60th Street, six attached low-rise properties with almost 282,000 buildable square feet, from the World Wide Group to Kuafu Properties, which plans a massive (possibly more than 1,000 feet tall) luxury residential tower for the site, and a $310 million multifamily portfolio on the Upper East Side. Mr. Knakal is currently representing the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania in the sale of $700 million in Brooklyn properties bordering Brooklyn Heights and Dumbo, and the Empire State Development Corp. in the sale of 1.5 million square feet of development rights at the Farley Building. “Under the new Cushman & Wakefield umbrella,” Mr. Knakal said, “we have seen the size and scope of our transactions greatly enhanced and believe that what we have done so far is just the tip of the iceberg.”—L.G.

MELISSA MARK-VIVERITO: NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL/FLICKR

Chairman and CEO and President of Eastern Consolidated

C LOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: WILL O’HARE/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER; COMMERCIAL OBSERVER; MICHAEL NAGLE/ FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER; ADAM JONES/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER; COURTESY DAUN PARIS

Daun Paris.

Peter Hauspurg and Daun Paris

POWER 100

Mitchell Rudin and Michael DeMarco CEO, President and COO at Mack-Cali Realty Corporation New

While nearly all of the real estate folks on this list have been making a big play in New York City and other gateway markets, Mack-Cali Realty Corporation is doing just the opposite. The company’s CEO Mitchell Rudin and President and COO Michael DeMarco have been shifting efforts and actually sold some of Mack-Cali’s assets in New York City and Washington, D.C., for a total of $365.5 million. “Those are good markets and good buildings, but we felt we could focus on markets where we had a dominance,” Mr. DeMarco said. Indeed, Mack-Cali currently owns one-quarter of the properties along the New Jersey waterfront, according to Mr. DeMarco.

Mitchell Rudin.

Michael DeMarco.

The company also relocated its offices from suburban New Jersey to Jersey City, as a means to be more “on the ground.” The firm, which currently owns 273 properties, is developing URL Harborside, a 765unit apartment building on the waterfront in Jersey City. The first of three buildings at the complex is currently under construction and once completed will bring a total of 2,500 units to the neighborhood. “[The company] is well on its way to being a dominant apartment platform in the northeast,” Mr. DeMarco said. “We’ve been able to significantly improve rent in the markets and add to cash flow, which has enabled us to have the stock market return we currently have.”—D.B.

Daniel Rashin.

Daniel Rashin Co-President and CEO at the Rockefeller Group New

Melissa Mark-Viverito City Council Speaker

MELISSA MARK-VIVERITO: NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL/FLICKR

C LOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: WILL O’HARE/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER; COMMERCIAL OBSERVER; MICHAEL NAGLE/ FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER; ADAM JONES/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER; COURTESY DAUN PARIS

Last Year’s Rank: 51

City Council Speaker Melissa MarkViverito has been busy working to increase affordable housing in the city. In March, the council voted to approve the mayor’s Mandatory Inclusionary Housing and Zoning for Quality and Affordability programs after substantially modifying the proposals to provide deeper affordability, close loopholes, protect neighborhood context, improve transparency. A month prior, Ms. Mark-Viverito released a report on rezoning East Harlem, including efforts to designate more affordable housing in the neighborhood. It’s a comprehensive blueprint for how East Harlem can maximize the opportunities presented by development to meet longstanding neighborhood needs and concerns. In an effort to clamp down on the aggressive Times Square costumed characters, the council gave the New York City Department of Transportation the authority to regulate the public plazas in the city, which will make it easier to control Spiderman, the Joker and the like. Mayor Bill de Blasio and Ms. MarkViverito took steps to boost the city’s dying manufacturing industry, making zoning changes to limit new hotels in Industrial

Melissa Mark-Viverito. Business Zones, or IBZs. The deal came after months of negotiations between the mayor’s office, the Department of City Planning, the council and other stakeholders. Ms. Mark-Viverito also proposed a $1.4 million in baseline funding to protect IBZs last May. It marks the most substantial change to the city’s industrial policy in the last half century. Ms. Mark-Viverito, who won the speaker seat in January 2014, said in early April that the council is looking into details of the lifting of a deed restriction at 45 Rivington Street, which allowed developers to buy the property in February. The New York City Department of Buildings issued the developers of the Lower East Side building a stop-work order for an allegedly illegal

conversion. “In a livable city, physical development and human capital development must go hand-in-hand,” Ms. Mark-Viverito said via a spokeswoman. “We need to be as focused on supporting neighborhood economies, reinvesting in schools and open space and creating room for social service and cultural organizations as we are on urban renewal, rezoning and housing production. We live in the neighborhoods we represent, and we are at the frontline of the challenges our communities face. We don’t see the world in silos; we see neighborhoods in all of their complexity and specificity every day. And this, I believe, is one of the central challenges of community development moving forward.”—L.E.S.

If any company is in the business of creating iconic, mixed-use developments, it’s the Rockefeller Group. The family-founded firm has continually demonstrated that it has more and more to offer New York City, even as Rockefeller Center continues to flourish. “In New York especially, mixed-use makes a lot of sense,” said Daniel Rashin. “Mixed-use is a clear direction for both ourselves [and the city].” Just last month, the Rockefeller Group, in partnership with F&T Group and AECOM Capital, topped out phase one of Flushing Commons, a ground-up, $300 million development that will house office and residential condominiums via two phases. “What’s very exciting there is the reaction of the market,” Mr. Rashin said. “ We had high hopes, but before topping out, we were 90 percent sold off in both office and residential condos at prices that are record for the downtown Flushing market.” The Rockefeller Group is also focusing on redeveloping and has invested tens of millions of dollars in 1211 Avenue of the Americas and the Time & Life Building at 1271 Avenue of the Americas. “For over 50 years that building was occupied by Time Inc., and then all of a sudden it’s a vacant building, which presented a terrific opportunity because it had been obviously a modern, Class A Rockefeller Center west project when constructed and now we have the opportunity to make sure it remains a Class A, well-received building,” Mr. Rashin said. It’s rumored that Major League Baseball is negotiating to take a huge chunk of space and consolidate its operations under one roof. Mr. Rashin said he couldn’t comment on any specifics, but that the firm is “seeing a lot of interest from very large tenants because as you can imagine, there aren’t that many opportunities in New York like this one, where you’ve got 2 million square feet of space.”—D.B.

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POWER 100

Stephen Siegel.

Last Year’s Rank: 67

Stephen Siegel is part of the team that has leased about 750,000 square feet at 3 and 4 World Trade Center with about a million square feet between Group M and Media Math alone. But one deal that has really stuck out over the last year is finding a new laboratory and office for New York Stem Cell Foundation. The nonprofit, a leader in stem cell research and the development of stem cell technologies, inked 42,000 square feet at Taconic Investment Partners’ 619 West 54th Street in Hell’s Kitchen. The new lab “will save thousands and thousands of lives,” Mr. Siegel said. “We were looking for space for them for two years.” He also was on the team representing well-known architecture firm Perkins Eastman in its 77,000-square-foot renewal at 115 Fifth Avenue between East 18th and East 19th Streets at the end of last year. Outside of CBRE, Mr. Siegel is a partner at multifamily investment and asset management firm Fairstead Capital. Last September, Fairstead partnered with Blackstone Group to buy a $690 million multifamily portfolio in Chelsea and on the Upper East Side and will soon be closing on the purchase of the 1,790-unit rent-stabilized complex Savoy Park in Harlem for $340 million. Mr. Siegel is an investor in restaurants, including the Knickerbocker, three Sarabeth’s and four Schnippers. He also has an interest in the Tri-City ValleyCats, a minor league baseball team based in Troy, N.Y.—L.E.S.

Eliot Spitzer Head of Spitzer Enterprises New

In New York City there is a great deal of intersection between politics and real estate—but there’s very little crossover in terms of the real estate moguls becoming government officials, or vice versa. The two big exceptions would have to be the current frontrunner for the GOP nomination and former Gov. Eliot Spitzer who has given up politics to go into the family business. The real estate scion left the governor’s mansion in March 2008 amid ties to a prostitution ring that ended a promising political career. He re-emerged in 2013 in a bid to become New York City’s comptroller, during which he lost a close Democratic primary race to Scott Stringer. But Mr. Spitzer wound up taking over the family Spitzer Enterprises after his

Chairman of Global Brokerage at CBRE

| APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

father, Bernard Spitzer, died in November 2014. And since taking the helm, Mr. Spitzer has been making some unmistakably bold moves. One of his first acts was selling off the company’s Crown Building at 730 Fifth Avenue between West 56th and West 57th Streets. Jeff Sutton of Wharton Properties and Chicago-based General Growth Properties paid $1.78 billion for the property in a deal that closed last April. Like many longtime Manhattan developers, Mr. Spitzer has also ventured across the East River and into Brooklyn. Spitzer Enterprises is doing its first ground-up development in almost 20 years at 420 Kent Avenue in the posh Williamsburg section of the borough. The three-tower development will include 856 rental apartments on the waterfront.—T.C.

Eliot Spitzer.

FROM TOP: SASHA MASLOV/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER; ANDREW BURTON/GETTY IMAGES

Stephen Siegel

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Dean Skelos, Adam Skelos.

A Dubious Achievement

ast year Commercial Observer bestowed our first dubious award to then Assemblyman Sheldon Silver, the ex-speaker who was arrested in a web of corruption and has since been convicted. (We didn’t know Silver was also, apparently, a philanderer. For more on this, see the News Briefs, starting on page 6.) This year another once-powerful New York State political figure earned this less-than-flattering distinction, presented by the United States Attorney’s office. Former State Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos was arrested not long after last year’s issue came out in a case that was heavily tied to the real estate industry. He and his son, Adam, were found guilty on a slew of charges last December. The father-son duo is awaiting sentencing. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the scandal, it’s worth revisiting a few of the things the Long Island Republican and his short-fused son were convicted of. Federal prosecutors essentially alleged that the elder Skelos used his powerful position to pressure

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Glenwood Management executives to help get his son no-show jobs. Glenwood’s Charles Dorego took the stand during the trial, as a cooperating witness, and throughout Mr. Dorego’s testimony, prosecutors brought up that in 2011 Skelos was pressuring the company into finding Adam a job as the fate of a renewed 421a hung in the hands of the Legislature. There were downright embarrassing moments revealed. Feds played wiretaps that revealed a very angry Adam, who would randomly call potential customers and begin cursing them out, and Dean calling his sometimes pal Gov. Andrew Cuomo names we won’t repeat here. (He also threatened to run against him when he was up for re-election.) Because Skelos was found guilty of eight felony counts, he was immediately tossed out of the state Senate (yes, you can technically serve in the Legislature if you’ve been convicted of a misdemeanor). It ended a 30-year career that saw the Long

Islander rise to the pinnacle of the Empire State’s upper chamber. His fall was steeper and swifter than others before him who have since traded in their tailored suits for prison jumpers. Skelos was part of the “three men in the room” gang traditionally associated with how New York’s budget and key laws are brokered (the others being the governor and the assembly speaker). The Republican brokered deals on not just 421a but also rent regulation and other tax rules that Albany has over the five boroughs. Last year’s arrests of Silver and the Skeloses sent a shivering wave through the real estate community. Between January and November 2015, Glenwood only donated a mere $61,000 to candidates. Most would say the company, which donates heavily in election years, was taking a breather. But even in the last off year for an election, 2011, Glenwood donated $447,184, according to campaign finance records filed with the state. —Terence Cullen

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POWER 100

Chairman and CEO of Aurora Capital Associates and Founder and Chairman of Midtown Equities Last Year’s Rank: 62

Bobby Cayre may be the most caffeinated man in New York real estate. One of the younger members of the real estate family of the same name, Mr. Cayre has enjoyed somewhat of a coming-out party of late, as his companies are quickly becoming some of the fastest-growing entities in New York real estate. Earlier this month, his Aurora Capital Associates teamed up with Vornado Realty Trust to land the largest Starbucks store in the world. The Seattle-based coffeehouse chain will open a 20,000-square-foot store at 61 Ninth Avenue and that is just the latest in a series of major deals coming from Mr. Cayre’s firm. Aurora is working with William Gottlieb Real Estate to redevelop 46-74 Gansevoort Street into almost 111,000 square feet of commercial space, under

a controversial plan that has met some resistance from the Landmarks Preservation Commission due to height issues but is expected to get through after modifications. In December 2015, Aurora Capital, A&H Acquisitions and Crown Acquisitions refinanced a $120 million loan at 600 Broadway, a six-story retail building in Soho, with Iron Hound Management and Bank of New York Mellon. Mr. Cayre’s uncle, Joseph Cayre, who runs Midtown Equities has been busy with his own more-thanfledgling empire. He spent most of 2015 taking dead aim at an 11-acre development site in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, one of the most highly sought-after parcels of land outside of Manhattan.—D.J.

John Banks.

John Banks President of the Real Estate Board of New York Last Year’s Rank: 92

Last year, a significant amount of talk around the Real Estate Board of New York was the departure of Steven Spinola, who led the lobbying arm of the industry for 30 years. But John Banks has come into his own since taking the reins of REBNY in July 2015. In less than a year, the former Consolidated Edison executive has already begun to leave his own footprint on the industry. That includes working with preservation groups on a timetable for the city’s landmarking process, suing the Big Apple over a controversial two-year halt to converting hotel rooms into condominiums and negotiating new terms of

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a 421a tax abatement. “I think now, given that the program has been sunset for a few months, people are starting to take a second look at the variety of issues that make up any 421a program,” Mr. Banks said. “There’s a healthy debate that’s taking place, but there’s no time frame.” Despite the lawsuit against Gotham’s government, Mr. Banks and REBNY have been working with the city on reducing its carbon footprint 80 percent by 2050. REBNY has hosted a sustainability boot camp for landlords to learn ways to reduce building emissions and cut energy costs.—T.C.

Bobby Cayre.

Joseph Cayre.

Mitchell Hochberg and David Lichtenstein President and Chairman of Lightstone Last Year’s Rank: 90

Amidst the $2.5 billion, or so, of real estate that Lightstone is currently working on in New York, one of the most intriguing projects that it opened three weeks ago was 365 Bond Street, the 430-unit rental with 30,000 square feet of green space along the waterfront in Gowanus. It was intriguing because this feels like the first tremor in the great Gowanus earthquake poised to hit Brooklyn real estate in the next few years. Plenty of developers like Property Markets Group and Kushner Companies (which is owned by Commercial Observer’s publisher, Jared Kushner) have also begun buying land near the canal. “I think we saw something earlier than a lot of people did,” Mitchell Hochberg said. “We felt that the canal was a nonissue.” Mr. Hochberg and David Lichtenstein picked up 365 Bond Street after the recession hit; the project had originally been envisioned by Toll Brothers as a condominium, but Lightstone repurposed it as a rental. (According to StreetEasy, a six-bedroom is on the market for $7,500 per month.) But Gowanus was the tip of the iceberg for Lightstone this past year; it’s spending about $700 million on four Moxy hotels, two of which are currently under construction. “We forged a partnership with Marriott to launch this new brand called Moxy to millennials, which are focused on small rooms and very active public spaces,” Mr. Hochberg said. “They way I’ve described it, it’s like a cruise ship turned on its side. On a cruise ship nobody stays in their room. They do the activities or they’re in the ports.”

Mitchell Hochberg.

David Lichtenstein.

The two Moxys currently under construction are a 618-key hotel at 485 Seventh Avenue between West 36th and West 37th Streets and a 350-key hotel at 105 West 28th Street between Seventh Avenue and Avenue of the Americas. Each is slated to open in 2017. (Another two are also in the planning stages, one near Union Square and the other on Chrystie Street.) And that’s not even mentioning the 30-unit boutique condo on the corner of East End Avenue and East 82nd Street or the 450-unit project in Queens Plaza North.—M.G.

JOHN BANKS:ADAM JONES/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

Bobby Cayre and Joseph Cayre

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POWER 100

Head of Real Estate at Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania (Jehovah’s Witnesses) New

It’s no miracle that the Jehovah’s Witnesses, whose businesses and real estate holdings are carried out by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, is on this list. Instead, it’s the sheer number of New York real estate holdings it has and deals in Brooklyn that the religious group has done. These transactions are part of the organization’s effort to move upstate. To many real estate observers, the doings of the Witnesses are largely a mystery. So is its head of real estate, Daniel Rice (who politely declined

to be interviewed via a spokesperson and asked to be taken off Power 100). But one cannot deny the impact that it’s had in Kings County. The Jehovah’s Witnesses recently completed the sale of its international headquarters at 25-30 Columbia Heights, a 733,000-square-foot complex, and a 1.1-million-square-foot development site at 85 Jay Street to Kushner Companies (run by the publisher of Commercial Observer, Jared Kushner), LIVWRK and RFR Realty for $700 million. (The same group of buyers also purchased a five-building Dumbo complex for $375 million

66 65

Francis Greenburger.

Francis Greenburger Founder and Chairman of Time Equities Last Year’s Rank: 63

Francis Greenburger’s Time Equities, which controls about 20 million square feet of property around the world, topped out its skyline-changing 50 West Street luxury residential condominium in Downtown last year. The 64-story, 780-foot tower, which will have 191 units, features an all-glass façade designed by architect Helmut Jahn. Units are already selling, and the building is expected to be completed this year. Time Equities also began construction last year of a conversion of the St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral School in Nolita into a residential building. Being done in collaboration with Hamlin Ventures, the structure will feature seven high-end condos and two townhouses. Marketing for the units began last year as well. But one of the nearly 50-year-old firm’s biggest milestones last year was to get approvals from various city agencies in Chicago for a 73-story residential development at 1000 South Michigan Avenue, which will also be designed by Mr. Jahn. It is planned as a rental (one-third) and luxury condo (two-thirds) with a total of 480 units. The property is expected to take 36 months to build after Time Equities breaks ground next year. And searching for more opportunities across the Atlantic Ocean, Time Equities started investing in the Netherlands with the purchase of 12 office buildings in 2015 (11 purchased at one time and the 12th bought later) for a total of 35 million euros, or $39.5 million. “We just think it’s an interesting moment to be in the market there, because Holland has just gone through a difficult recession and they are recovering,” Mr. Greenburger said.—L.L.G.

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from the religious group in 2013.) Despite what kind of future profit the buyers make on this, the Witnesses did extremely well—it bought the property at 25-30 Columbia Heights for $3 million nearly 50 years ago. And in a follow up to its latest sale, the organization also began shopping another north Brooklyn property from its portfolio at 107 Columbia Heights. The 154,000-square-foot residential building is expected to trade for about $1,000 per square foot, or around $154 million.—L.L.G.

Daniel Rice.

MaryAnne Gilmartin and Bruce Ratner President and CEO of Forest City Ratner Companies and Chairman of Forest City Ratner Companies and Executive Vice President of Forest City Enterprises Last Year’s Rank: 79

“If I have to leave my kids everyday, it better be good,” MaryAnne Gilmartin said. And as president and CEO of Forest City Ratner Companies, she certainly makes it worthwhile. Ms. Gilmartin, who is in charge of the New York City office wing of its Ohio-based parent company, works closely with Bruce Ratner, together spearheading many of the $1.5 billion in projects FCRC has under development. The company officially started operating as a real estate investment trust under the moniker Forest City Realty Trust on Jan. 1 of this year, which Ms. Gilmartin said has helped the company align with its peers in the public markets and exposes it to a different set of dedicated investors. “We get more velocity and trading on our stock, and it’s a much more tax-efficient structure which really allows us to drive shareholder value,” she said. As for Ms. Gilmartin’s first love—building and operating—there is plenty going on. FCRC currently has 1,800 units of residential, 800 of which are affordable, under development at Pacific Park in Brooklyn and is topping

out at the Bridge at Cornell Tech on Roosevelt Island (a project that Ms. Gilmartin is particularly excited for because it will “change the way we think about spaces”). “As I say, there’s no favorite child, but certainly the one we’ve been doing for well over a decade is Pacific Park,” Ms. Gilmartin said. “It’s an extraordinary amount of work, and only some of it is visible. It’s not just what you see and is in some ways the tip of the iceberg.” The company also regained control of the modular factory in Brooklyn, allowing it to push forward with the construction of 461 Dean Street, which will be the tallest prefabricated building in the world when it opens in the fall. FCRC is also priming site five of Pacific Park for development and is exploring different ideas of how to use the space. Earlier this month it was reported that FCRC and its partner Greenland USA are looking to sell a stake in three of their Pacific Park buildings. “As a company, we decided we could do more with less of our equity and align our equity with others,” she said.—D.B.

MaryAnne Gilmartin.

Bruce Ratner.

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: COMMERCIAL OBSERVER; J GRASSI/PMC; ANDREW BURTON/GETTY IMAGES; SASHA MASLOV/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

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We Can’t Go Home Again

nyone who peruses the pages of Commercial Observer has to realize that past editions of Power 100 had something slightly askew in about 20 to 25 percent of the names. They were residential, not commercial, professionals. It’s true, these were some of the most important names in New York’s real estate scene, from Dolly Lenz to Kathy Korte to Paula Del Nunzio to Elizabeth Stribling. All masters of the field. All worthy of praise and respect. But they’re also people that we almost never write about in CO.

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Residential is a very different animal than commercial real estate. Residential is the story that our sister publication, Observer, excels at telling. It’s the story of New York’s gilded townhouses and condominiums in the sky—and the people who live in them. CO, on the other hand, tells the business part of the story: the leases signed, the office buildings sold, the debt and the equity parts of real estate. Of course, plenty of people in commercial real estate have their fingers in more than one pie. Howard Lorber is the chairman of Douglas Elliman, the largest real estate brokerage in the city, but

Mr. Lorber invests in real estate, too, which is why we kept him on the list. And a master builder like, say, Gary Barnett or Kevin Maloney, has a place on Power 100 even if what they’re building is largely residential. For this reason, we hashed things out with our friends over at Observer and decided they should do their own list of residential power players in the fall. We’ll miss having the excuse to follow these players. But it gave us a golden excuse to add another two dozen or so names to our list!—Max Gross

ILLUSTRATION BY MICHELLE THOMPSON

POWER 100

CONGRATULATIONS

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POWER 100

Albert Behler Chairman, CEO and President of Paramount Group Last Year’s Rank: 87

While Paramount Group is celebrating its first year as a public company, it’s no newcomer to the real estate game. Under the leadership of Albert Behler, who joined the firm as CEO and president in 1991, Paramount has grown its presence on a national scale. In 2015, the company focused on raising capital for its Fund VIII, which will be used to originate mezzanine loans. It also became the full owner of 31 West 52nd Street by purchasing the remaining 35.8 percent ownership stake in the building and bought 670 Broadway, a 77,000-squarefoot office building in Noho. All in all, Mr. Behler said that Paramount experienced “significant momentum in New York.” The one-year-old real estate investment trust leased 1.4 million square feet last year, exceeding its goal of 1 million. Paramount’s portfolio is now 95.3 percent leased, a 140-basis point increase from 2014, and beyond volume,

the company managed to diversify its tenant base, according to Mr. Behler. (More than half of Paramount’s leasing volume took place at 1633 Broadway and 1301 Avenue of the Americas.) “We remain focused on taking advantage of the substantial embedded rent growth opportunities within our portfolio through strategic leasing,” Mr. Behler said. “Additionally, we will work to strengthen our balance sheet through refinancings, advance our award-winning sustainability initiatives and maintain a disciplined acquisition and capital allocation approach to evaluate new investment opportunities. “The significant progress we achieved in 2015 is a direct result of the high quality and intense focus of our talented team of professionals,” he said. “Together, we continue to work tirelessly towards advancing our internal goals and enhancing shareholder value.”—D.B.

Albert Behler.

Partners at Fisher Brothers New

Fisher Brothers is in the process of a $130 million asset renewal program to modernize three of its properties. There is the renovated lobby and plaza designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill at 1345 Avenue of the Americas, a David Rockwell-designed lobby nearing completion at 605 Third Avenue and the renovation of the arcade at Park Avenue Plaza, which is also almost done. “Fisher Brothers is making terrific progress on our ongoing reinvention plan for our portfolio of trophy Midtown office properties, highlighted by the installation of an amazing, state-of-the-art lobby for 605 Third Avenue, which was designed by David Rockwell,” Ken Fisher said. Fisher Brothers commenced construction last year on a 37-story, 372-unit rental building at 225 East 39th Street between Second and Third Avenues. Construction has also started at 111 Murray Street in Tribeca, where Fisher Brothers has teamed with Witkoff Group and the Howard Lorber-led New Valley to

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develop a 157-unit condominium. “With the successful launch of sales for 111 Murray and full-scale construction on our amenity-filled 225 East 39th Street rental project, Fisher Brothers has successfully returned to its roots as a developer of distinctive residential properties,” Winston Fisher said. Fisher Brothers reached a deal in early January with the owners of Gotham Hall to create the Ziegfeld Ballroom to replace the Ziegfeld Theatre at 141 West 54th Street between Avenue of the Americas and Seventh Avenue. In 2015, Gov. Andrew Cuomo appointed Winston as chair of the New York City Regional Economic Development Council, which is tasked with developing strategic plans for economic growth in the region. At the end of last year, Fisher Brothers became an early investor in Move Systems, a startup that builds food carts that use natural gas and solar power, and Winston joined its board.

Ken Fisher. Winston also agreed to underwrite the Middle Class Jobs Project, an initiative of the Center for an Urban Future designed to spur middle-class job creation in New York City. Ken, who is co-chair of the Intrepid

Winston Fisher. Museum and the Fisher House Foundation, is serving as chairman of the 2016 Invictus Games, to be held in Orlando, Fla., in May, a Paralympic-style, multinational event open to wounded, injured and ill military personnel and veterans.—L.E.S.

ALBERT BEHLER: PRESLEY ANN/PMC; WINSTON FISHER: KAITLYN FLANNAGAN/COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

Ken and Winston Fisher

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POWER 100

Alicia Glen Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Last Year’s Rank: 20

Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration has made its signature policy to overcome the city’s housing crisis by preserving or building more than 200,000 affordable units by 2025. And Alicia Glen, the city’s deputy mayor for housing and economic development, would be his first general on the front lines in charge of promoting this mission. But given the 421a debacle, which was out of Ms. Glen’s hands, her firepower to push more affordable housing in mega-developments has been substantially reduced. Despite the troubles on the battlefields of affordable housing, Ms. Glen fought hard last year with other development and housing plans. She helped oversee NextGeneration NYCHA, a 15-point plan to reduce the city public housing agency’s projected $2.5 billion operating deficit for the next decade and generate revenue to pay for the nearly $17 billion in unmet renovations. The plan includes changes to management practices, such as increasing NYCHA parking lot rates and ramping up rent collection efforts, to reduce capital needs by $4.6 billion over 10 years and produce an operating surplus of over $200 million. Another of Ms. Glen’s achievements was working with various Queens representatives and community leaders to announce

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Last Year’s Rank: 73

Seeds planted along 11th Avenue by The Moinian Group continue to bloom. Joseph Moinian first started scooping up properties along the western street in the 1990s. Today, he said, the developer is nearing completion of the 1,175-unit Sky at 605 West 42nd Street at the corner of 11th Avenue. Five hundred of the rental apartments are already occupied, he added, and the building’s 70,000-squarefoot fitness club will open this May. The Moinian Group recently broke ground across the street at 572 11th Avenue between West 43rd and West 44th Streets. The 165-unit building should be completed in May 2018. Residents of that property will be able to enjoy the amenities offered across the street at Sky. Down 11th Avenue at West 34th Street, The Moinian Group is gearing up to break ground on the 2-million-square-foot office and retail tower at 3 Hudson Boulevard. Mr. Moinian said the building, which has not yet secured an anchor tenant, offered some of the clearest views in town and would become the developer’s flagship property. “The tenants that we are working with right now consist of media, finance and fashion,” Mr. Moinian said. “The building has a design that offers good floor plates and a variety of floor plates that are good for those types of tenants. And I must tell you that we stand not only tall, but we will have the best curb appeal due to open views from all directions.” Speaking of flagships: The NBA’s three-level main store opened in 25,000 square feet in December 2015 at Mr. Moinian’s 535-545 Fifth Avenue between East 44th and East 45th Streets.—T.C.

Joseph Moinian.

CEO of The Moinian Group

| APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

Alicia Glen. the Jamaica Now Action Plan in April 2015, which will rejuvenate the emerging, but still under-the-radar west Queens community. The $153 million plan includes initiatives designed to promote job creation, events, change the perception of Jamaica and increase development. The city expects the plan to help bring 3,000 housing units, 500,000 square feet of retail and 800 hotel rooms to the neighborhood in five years.—L.L.G.

Wu Xiaohui.

Wu Xiaohui Chairman and CEO of Anbang Insurance Group New

If the last few months have proven anything, it’s that Anbang Insurance Group’s $1.95 billion acquisition of the Waldorf Astoria New York was not a one-off deal. The Chinese insurance giant, led by Wu Xiaohui, has proven it’s here to stay—especially when it comes to high-end hospitality. What the draw is for the firm is not entirely apparent, as Anbang itself, as well as its internal structure, is shrouded in mystery. Last month, the company signed a $6.5 billion agreement to scoop up 16 U.S. hotels and resorts from Blackstone Group, shortly after Blackstone purchased the portfolio for $6 billion. Then, Anbang started a bidding war with Marriott International over the purchase of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. Anbang brought a fully financed offer to the table and continually upped its bid, though Starwood eventually struck the deal with its original suitor. Despite the failure to complete a merger with one of the U.S.’ largest hotels, the persistence is not something that went unnoticed. Anbang’s play extends beyond the hotel market and beyond real estate. In November of last year, the insurer announced an agreement to buy Des Moines, Iowa-based Fidelity & Guaranty Life—a deal that will make Anbang one of the largest insurers by market share in fixed indexed annuity products in the U.S. As for what’s next for Anbang, the crystal ball remains unclear, but if one thing is certain, it’s that the Chinese firm is here for the long run.—D.B.

FROM LEFT: SASHA MASLOV/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER; AARON ADLER/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER; YOUTUBE

Joseph Moinian

SUPERIOR AC C E S S C OAS T T O C OAST

TRUST O NE F I R M

$500,000,000

$290,600,000

CONSTRUCTION DEBT & JV EQUITY

DEBT & JV EQUITY, ACQUISITION FINANCING

MIXED USE

MULTIFAMILY

WASHINGTON, DC

SILICON VALLEY, CA

$228,000,000

$100,000,000

CONSTRUCTION FINANCING

MIXED USE

HOTEL

NEW YORK, NY

BROOKLYN, NY

$50,000,000

$41,050,000

DEVELOPMENT FINANCING

REFINANCING

LAND

7-ASSET RETAIL PORTFOLIO

WESTCHESTER, NY

SOUTHEAST US

N E W YO RK . BOSTO N . LOS A NGELES . MI A MI . SA N FR A N C ISCO

W W W. A C K M A N Z I F F.C O M

POWER 100

Founder of Ian Schrager Company Last Year’s Rank: 93

Ian Schrager has been making his mark on New York’s cultural landscape for four decades, and if 2015 is any indication, he’s showing no signs of slowing down. After purchasing the land at 215 Chrystie Street for $50 million in 2012, his 28-story Public Hotel on that site is on its way to completion. The 200,000-plus-square-foot hotel and residence, once described by Mr. Schrager as “tough luxe” for its gritty take on luxury, is being designed by Herzog and de Meuron, which also designed Mr. Schrager’s 40 Bond (the interiors will be designed by acclaimed British designer John Pawson), and will feature a 370-room hotel and 11 high-end (eight half-floor, three full-floor) condominium units with asks for the penthouses as high as $18.75 million. (Mr. Schrager announced early on that he’d be seeking up to $4,000 per square foot.) The menu for the location’s ground-floor restaurant, which is expected to serve over 240, will be dictated by Jean-Georges Vongerichten.

Mr. Schrager is aiming even higher at curved-wall 160 Leroy Street, where the five-bedroom, 12,200-square-foot penthouse is asking between $75 million and $80 million. The 49-unit building, also a Herzog and de Meuron project described on Mr. Schrager’s website as “curvaceous, sensual, free-flowing, seductive and sexy,” offers 1,100-square-foot one-bedrooms, starting at $2.6 million, up to

President of Hudson Companies

Arthur W. Zeckendorf

Arthur W. and William Lie Zeckendorf

Last Year’s Rank: 53

New

| APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

William Lie Zeckendorf.

Co-Chairmen of Terra Holdings and Zeckendorf Development

David Kramer

Hudson Companies does not shy from projects with hair on them, like the redevelopment of the site of Brooklyn Heights Library at 280 Cadman Plaza West, which people complaining about the size of the replacement library at the site. The developer has received Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, or ULURP, approvals for the $400 million project and is gearing up for construction to start this year. Upon completion, a 36-story residential condominium will rise at the location and will include a new library branch as well as a 9,000-square-foot STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) lab administered by the New York City Department of Education. Hudson Companies faced opposition, including a lawsuit to stop the project, at its 626 Flatbush Avenue site where it is near completion of an as-of-right 22-story 80/20 affordable housing rental building. It completed and leased up 22 Caton Place, a new 73-unit residential building in Windsor Terrace. And it’s in the midst of building a three-phase 700

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Ian Schrager.

6,000-square-foot five-bedrooms, begining at $25 million. But Mr. Schrager’s grand achievement here is the penthouse, which he has previously told Commercial Observer was “the most spectacular penthouse in all of New York,” including a private pool and a 7,500-square-foot roof deck. Other amenities for the project include 11- to 13-foot-high ceilings with “floor-toceiling windows that reflect the sky and the water”; marble, which Mr. Schrager has called the same used in “Roman baths”; and selective amenities, including a 70-foot pool and sauna. Half of the building was sold only two weeks following the start of sales. As if this wasn’t enough—since Mr. Schrager sounds like a man with lots of free time—he’s been hard at work expanding his Edition Hotel chain, currently working, he says, on over 20 of them. In the year to come, he’ll continue working on the Public and Edition projects, including bringing the Public brand to Brooklyn, as well as a “new kind of secret resort” we’ll be hearing more about in the future. Asked for a statement about his endeavors, Mr. Scharger simply said, “I’m just as hungry and ambitious and optimistic as ever.” If there were any doubters, the city’s luxury real estate landscape will be his proof.—L.G.

David Kramer. unit, affordable housing project in Spring Creek, Brooklyn, called Gateway Estates, which features the most solar panels for multifamily buildings in the state. The solar panels provide 1,000 kilowatts, or 1 Megawatt. This April, Hudson Companies and Related Companies nabbed a $105 million construction loan from Wells Fargo for a residential building on the Cornell Tech campus on Roosevelt Island. The

building, which has topped out, will be the largest and tallest building in the world built to Passive House standards. “It’s been a great 15 months in terms of the sheer breadth and variety of our developments, from the largest passive house development in the world, to our ULURP success with the Brooklyn Public Library to 1 Megawatt of solar power in Spring Creek to our new rental buildings in Brooklyn,” Mr. Kramer said.—L.E.S.

The Zeckendorf brothers don’t roll often, but when they do they always roll hard and with a purpose. The team behind 50 U.N. Plaza and the iconic 15 Central Park West is determined to withstand the headwinds and win over skeptics at its latest ultra-luxury project, 520 Park Avenue between East 60th and East 61st Streets. The Robert A.M. Sterndesigned condominium tower, featuring 33 residences, is on course to debut in 2018 in a market that is increasingly wary that the upper echelon of elite real estate can maintain course. “We are focused on building 520 Park Avenue on the Upper East Side and creating the finest new luxury building in Manhattan, as we did with 15 Central Park West,” the brothers said in a statement. Zeckendorf Development, in partnership with Park Sixty and Global Holdings, has $450 million in financing on hand from the Children’s Investment Fund dating back to 2014. Now the real test will be in generating sales—and holding prices—at the 54-story tower in time for the grand opening. In addition to Zeckendorf Development, Messrs. Zeckendorf co-chair Terra Holdings, the parent firm of Brown Harris Stevens and Halstead Property, along with David Burris and Kent Swig.—D.J.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: PATRICK MCMULLAN/PMC; PATRICK MCMULLAN/PMC; JIMI CELESTE/PMC; MELODY MELAMED/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

Ian Schrager

POWER 100

Norman and David Sturner and David Greene

Founding Principal and CEO, Principal and COO and President of Brokerage Services at MHP Real Estate Services Last Year’s Rank: 77

Fans of fried chicken sandwiches owe MHP Real Estate Services a debt of gratitude that they will never adequately repay; in January Chick-fil-A took a space in 1180 Avenue of the Americas, a building which MHP has a stake in—and it was MHP broker James Tamborlane who inked the deal. But, of course, that was just one lease in one building. In the last four months MHP has been on a mad spree signing deals at its 1.2-million-square-foot Financial District building, 180 Maiden Lane, which the company purchased in 2014 and has been sprucing up ever since: The law firm Wade Clark Mulcahy took 17,702 square feet; Abt SRBI, the global research organization, snapped up 13,596 square feet

office building,” Mr. Sturner continued. “It has to be on the island of Manhattan. And it has to be off-market. Not an easy focus, which is why we only do two or three buildings a year.” Simple—but in MHP’s case, effective. In January, MHP picked up the 614,000-square-foot, 21-story 850 Third Avenue with HNA Group (which

is also the owner of 1180 Avenue of the Americas) for more than $460 million from Shorenstein Properties. MHP had approached Shorenstein about nabbing the property last fall and turned the deal around at a breathless pace. And MHP just began raising money for its next round of buildings (the fund should raise $200 million.)—M.G.

Stephen Meringoff and Leslie Wohlman Himmel Co-Managing Partners of Himmel + Meringoff Properties Last Year’s Rank: 78

Leslie Wohlman Himmel and Stephen Meringoff are riding the crest of their third cycle in the real estate market together. And despite concerns about the market in the coming year, the co-founders of Himmel + Meringoff Properties are planning to double their current portfolio of 2 million square feet within the next decade, a time frame they disagree on. The bullish Ms. Wohlman Himmel leans toward five years, while the conservative Mr. Meringoff plays it safe by saying 10 years. That all began last year with the company’s purchase of the controlling stake in 1460 Broadway between West 41st and West 42nd Streets. The duo went on to sign WeWork to the entire office portion of the building and Foot Locker to the 36,000-square-foot retail section.

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and online jeweler Chloe + Isabel grabbed 30,000 square feet. Sitting in his Midtown office last month, Norman Sturner summed up his business plan for MHP fairly neatly: “We do two buildings a year,” Mr. Sturner said. “Maybe a third if we can find it.” The two to three buildings MHP goes after are highly specific: “It has to be an

David Greene.

| APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

The deals were the seventh-largest office and seventh-largest retail leases in 2015, respectively, Mr. Meringoff said. In total, Himmel + Meringoff leased 350,000 square feet across the 14 buildings it owns. “We have been reinvesting significantly in our properties,” Ms. Wohlman Himmel said. The company is also preparing for its planned buying spree. Himmel + Meringoff Properties has done so, the co-founders said, by selling such properties as 88 University Place, which property records show fetched $70 million last summer. The partners said they’re also doing five refinancings right now to capitalize on lower interest rates as the firm looks to add to its existing portfolio. “We’re looking at this point in the market as a point of consolidation,” Mr. Meringoff said.—T.C.

Stephen Meringoff.

Leslie Wohlman Himmel.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: SASHA MASLOV/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER; J GRASSI/PMC; CHRIS SORENSEN/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

Norman Sturner, David Sturner.

DEVELOPMENT

NEW YORK

10 MADISON SQUARE WEST, NY

NEW WORLD TOWER, MIAMI

RE AL ESTATE

LOS ANGELES

150 CHARLES STREET, NY

PARK LANE HOTEL, NY

111 MURR AY STREET, NY

INVESTMENT

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WEST HOLLY WOOD EDITION, LA

701 SEVENTH AVENUE, NY

WOOLWORTH BUILDING, NY

A NEW ER A IN LUXURY PROPERTIES AND FORWARD THINKING DEVELOPMENT

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POWER 100

Howard Lorber President and CEO of the Vector Group Last Year’s Rank: 44

Ron Moelis Co-Founder of L+M Development Partners Last Year’s Rank: 89

Howard Lorber. ambitious prices, like $18.9 million for a penthouse, according to StreetEasy. This is hardly Mr. Lorber’s first dance— or even his first dance with Witkoff’s Steve Witkoff as a partner. In 2011, they rescued the International Toy Center out of bankruptcy and converted it to 10 Madison Square West. Listings at that building average $3,495 per foot, StreetEasy indicates. Of course, if development didn’t work out for Mr. Lorber, he’s still the chairman of Nathan’s Famous, as well as the Liggett Group (the tobacco company). But we doubt that Mr. Lorber will need to fall back on hotdogs and cigarettes. As The Real Deal reported last month, he took home some $42.5 million in compensation for 2015.—L.G. and M.G.

Donald Capoccia, Joseph Ferrara and Brandon Baron Principals at BFC Partners New

Brandon Baron.

Donald Capoccia.

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Joseph Ferrara.

When everybody talks up the big new projects of the city—the One Vanderbilts, the Hudson Yards, the Manhattan Wests—a project that usually doesn’t get the attention it deserves is Essex Crossing. At 1.9 million square feet, this is a residential and commercial atom bomb for the Lower East Side, a neighborhood which, aside from a few boutique condominiums and rentals, is ripe for the kind of game-changing project that Essex Crossing represents. Ron Moelis, the head of L+M Development Partners, is one of the players making Essex Crossing happen, along with BFC Partners and Taconic Investment Partners. “It’s the most visible project we’ve done,” Mr. Moelis told Commercial Observer last summer. “It’s also an enormous commitment of capital. In phase one alone we have $150 million of equity and $415 million in debt in the project. There’s going to be a lot of political visibility on how we do it. And there will be a lot of criticism as well as accolades. To me what’s most important is how these

BFC Partners is responsible for developing (alone or as part of a joint venture) three of the city’s most neighborhood-changing projects and all in different boroughs. And “being involved in game-changer transformative development projects throughout New York City” is not a point that has gone unnoticed by Joseph Ferrara, who called it a “privilege” and a fact “that I hold dear.” At Essex Crossing on the Lower East Side, BFC is developing 1,000 apartments, 600,000 square feet of retail and office space, a 15,000-square-foot park, a 98-space parking garage and a new 40,000-square-foot Essex Market. BFC is partnering with L+M Development Partners and Taconic Investment Partners to develop the 1.9-million-square-foot mixed-use site spanning nine long-neglected parcels. The first phase of the $1 billion project “comes online within the next 12 months and continues over the next several years,” Mr. Ferrara said. BFC broke ground on the 340,000square-foot retail complex Empire Outlets in Staten Island last April. Empire Outlets is part of BFC’s 1-million-squarefoot development, which will include a 140,000-square-foot hotel with 200 keys, 12 restaurant concepts and a 1,250-space

Ron Moelis. uses are integrated and how it’s perceived by the people who live there.” But Essex Crossing is not the only big development on L+M’s horizon; last summer L+M broke ground on Greenpoint Landing, a 22-acre project where it is constructing 294 affordable apartments, and it is also at work on another 625 affordable units in Brownsville.—M.G.

parking garage. The mall’s grand opening is slated for next year. And at City Point, tenants have started moving into 7 DeKalb Avenue, formerly known as Tower 1, at the sprawling Downtown Brooklyn complex. The 230,000-square-foot building is comprised of 250 mixed-income rental units. BFC developed the structure along with Washington Square Partners and Acadia Realty Trust. “Starting vertical construction on day one of 7 DeKalb Avenue, 100 feet in the air above the City Point complex in the heart of Downtown Brooklyn, was an unprecedented hit-the-ground-running experience for our entire team,” Brandon Baron said. And those are just a few of the company’s projects, which also include renovating 1,900 residential units. “Between Empire Outlets, Essex Crossing and our affordable preservation work, we broke ground on over $1 billion in new work,” Donald Capoccia said. “Although the impact of these investments won’t be felt for several years, each project has already been a catalyst for renewed market interest in the North Shore of Staten Island and the Lower East Side and East Village.”—L.E.S.

RON MOELIS AND JOSEPH FERRARA: SASHA MAZLOV/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

Many people who follow New York real estate and hear the name “Howard Lorber” immediately associate it with the name “Douglas Elliman.” It’s true, Mr. Lorber is the chairman of Douglas Elliman, the largest residential real estate firm in New York. And, Douglas Elliman had a banner year, raking in some $637 million and marketing some of the priciest apartments and townhouses of the city (including the highest price ever paid in Brooklyn for a 27-foot-wide, three-story townhouse in Cobble Hill for which photographer Jay Maisel paid $15.5 million.) But Mr. Lorber has not just been marketing some of the best real estate in the city; he’s had a hand in developing it, too. For instance, along with Witkoff Group and Fisher Brothers, Mr. Lorber is putting up one of the most beautifully conceived new condominiums at 111 Murray Street, a sleek, glass, curvy, 800-foot tower designed by Kohn Pederson Fox, with interiors by David Mann and public space by David Rockwell. The building (which should be finished in 2018) is also asking some

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ONE NAME IN COMMON

TRANSFORMING the RETAIL LANDSCAPE | RKF.COM

POWER 100

Harry Macklowe Founder and Chairman of Macklowe Properties Last Year’s Rank: 56

After about a decade, Harry Macklowe is finally close to completing his residential condominium at 432 Park Avenue, which received its certificate of occupancy in November 2015—allowing wealthy condominium unit buyers to close contracts and move in. The tower, which at 96 stories and 1,400 feet is the tallest residential building in the Western Hemisphere, is mostly owned by Los Angeles-based CIM Group. CIM purchased the debt on the property after Macklowe Properties defaulted on it during the recession. Mr. Macklowe remained on as a minority developing partner. Nevertheless, Macklowe Properties owns 432 Park’s extremely valuable retail portion, a six-story office and retail building under construction on a site in front of the skyscraper.

Constructing 432 Park was an up-anddown adventure, but never one to let the cycles of the real estate market limit him. The 55-year real estate veteran filed permits with the New York City Department of Buildings for a $1.5 billion residential conversion of the 50-story Art Deco tower 1 Wall Street last year. Macklowe Properties purchased the building from Bank of New York Mellon for $585 million in 2014. And Macklowe Properties began construction on yet another luxury residential building in Manhattan last year. A planned 35-story, 490-foot property will rise at 200 East 59th Street, the result of an assemblage that Macklowe Properties purchased from SL Green Realty Corp. in 2014 for $100 million. This property will have 14,861 square feet of retail and 67 residential condos.—L.L.G.

Timothy King.

Managing Partner of CPEX Real Estate New

Timothy King is an expert on where Brooklyn has come from and often has a lot of ideas on where the borough is going. He should know since he’s doing the transactions that keep putting his native county on the global map. CPEX Real Estate, the firm he co-founded with Brian Leary in 2008 in the dog days of the recession, did 22 leases last year that had an aggregate value of $1 billion. That includes December’s 30,000-square-foot deal at the 100-yearold Liberty View Industrial Complex in the Sunset Park section of Brooklyn, which Mr. King brokered. It is the first of the discount offshoots of Saks Fifth Avenue headed for the borough. Retail rents paid by Saks, as

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well as Bed, Bath & Beyond and other tenants, will subsidize the cheaper rents for light manufacturing tenants upstairs. “That is a complete and total gamechanger for the neighborhood,” Mr. King said. CPEX also made a key hire in the last year on the advisory services side: Robert Walsh, the commissioner of the New York City Department of Small Business Services during the entire 12-year Bloomberg administration. “We had a trophy hire with Rob Walsh,” he said. “He really has a tremendous grasp of every neighborhood. He has his finger on the pulse of a lot of retail districts.” —T.C.

Harry Macklowe.

TIM KING: EMILY ASSIRAN/COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

Timothy King

Taconic Investment Partners is proud to be honored by th

The Commercial Observerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 9 Annual Power 100 Feature

Taconic congratulates the other ninety eight winners of this prestigious recognition!

Charles Bendit & Paul Pariser

POWER 100

Power Emeritus

Richard Anderson.

By Terence Cullen

ew York City’s skyline has changed a great deal in the last 22 years. Over that time, the World Trade Center has been rebuilt, a hulking 1,550-foot residential condominium tower juts out on Park Avenue and some of the hottest new office product is over a rail yard on the Far West Side. One stalwart through those years has been Richard Anderson, who took over the New York Building Congress as president in 1994. The longtime urban planner will retire from the construction organization later this year after more than 20 years of advocating for infrastructure investment and diversity in the workforce. So this year, we’ve named Mr. Anderson as the Power Emeritus of the Year. His work has focused on representing all the industries related to construction. Mr. Anderson hates the term “state of good repair” because he said it’s defeatist and the city should be building new product and infrastructure whenever possible.

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The Building Congress—an entity made up of 400 organizations, such as construction companies, trades groups and architects—regularly has released reports that forecast how much is spent on construction as well as drilled down on sectors such as education and hospital construction. Mr. Anderson is leaving behind an organization that he built back up and restructured over the last 20 years. In an interview with Commercial Observer earlier this year, he recalled how he worked to boost membership when he took over a weakened Building Congress in 1994. One of his first acts was to focus less on membership dues and more on paid-for events, such as its annual membership luncheon. “It was in a weakened state, but the concept was good,” he said. “What I had to do was reestablish it. The thing I always said, which made it relatively easy, was we had a natural constituency. The New York City design, construction and real

estate industry wanted and was willing to support a Building Congress as long as it was one that was working in ways that it would be attracted to.” In a parting act, Mr. Anderson increased the annual membership dues to $1,650 from $1,500 per year—the first such uptick in 25 years. He said it was a necessary evil he would rather do than make his incoming replacement face (a successor has yet to be named). Mr. Anderson has also used his bully pulpit to call on more infrastructure investment. He applauded the January announcement that Pennsylvania Station would be overhauled in the coming years, along with last year’s soup-to-nuts rebuilding of LaGuardia Airport. The most important of these projects: the Gateway Tunnel under the Hudson River, he told CO earlier this year. Next up for Mr. Anderson is his own firm in which he plans to advise corporate boards and developers with his expertise. Lining up one of his first clients wasn’t too difficult; it’s the Building Congress.

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Richard Anderson

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100

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POWER 100

President of MTA Capital Construction New

Michael Horodniceanu is digging up tunnels across Manhattan. As the president of MTA Capital Construction, the longtime engineer oversees new subway projects throughout the five boroughs. Construction of the new West 34th Street Hudson Yards station finished up last summer, extending the 7 Train into the herd of all the development on the Far West Side. But that’s just part of the many capital projects Mr. Horodniceanu oversees. He’s also working on the East Side Access project, which will eventually bring Long Island Railroad trains to Grand Central Terminal, as well as the Second Avenue subway—a nearly century-old proposal that only got underway in the last few years. In a July

2015 interview with Commercial Observer, Mr. Horodniceanu said bringing the LIRR to Grand Central will put 160,000 riders directly in Midtown East, as opposed to having to schlep up from Pennsylvania Station. As the MTA has toiled in working out a fiveyear capital budget, Mr. Horodniceanu has been vocal about new ways to fund MTA construction. He has argued that since the industry is reliant on trains, getting people into its buildings, there should be a real estate tax directly tied to funding capital projects. “You have to maintain a [steady] source of dollars that comes in to maintain and expand our system,” he said in last year’s interview. “That needs to be done through a kind of taxation.”—T.C.

Michael Horodniceanu.

Dan Tishman and Jay Badame Chairman and CEO and President and COO of Tishman Construction of New York

Jason Pizer.

New

To say that the past year has been a busy one for Dan Tishman and Jay Badame, together and separately, is an understatement. Mr. Tishman has been serving as an informal adviser to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, laying out a much-lauded plan for renovating LaGuardia Airport and currently working on a similar plan for John F. Kennedy International Airport. AECOM and Tishman Construction of New York have five projects, each worth over $1 billion, currently underway in Manhattan: the 84-story 3 World Trade Center; a 65-story office tower, complete with spiraling terraced gardens, at Hudson Yards; the 63-story One Vanderbilt property; Citi’s Greenwich Street headquarters; and One Manhattan West. There is also the 550,000-square-foot Public Safety Answer Center II in the Bronx, which Tishman delivered ahead of schedule and under budget. Dan Tishman also made waves with Tishman Realty—the real estate owner, developer and operator—including the acquisition of a $16 million parking garage in Union Square East for which the company

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Jason Pizer President and CEO of Trinity Real Estate Last Year’s Rank: 65

Dan Tishman. is still weighing development options. The many upcoming projects include its development of the retractable roof at the United States Tennis Center, home of the annual U.S. Open, in Flushing, Queens. “The continued expansion of Tishman Realty’s portfolio gives us opportunities to create tremendous value,” Mr. Tishman said. “I am proud of the work Gov. [Andrew] Cuomo’s airport panel did on planning for LaGuardia, and the fact that we came up with a path forward to bring such a sorely

Jay Badame. neglected regional asset into the modern era. We’ve also successfully managed Tishman Construction’s, and more recently Hunt Construction Group’s, integration into AECOM and have maintained our status as the go-to builder for big complicated projects in New York and around the country. Whether we are building the retractable roof at the U.S. Tennis Center, or executing our work at the World Trade Center and Hudson Yards, no one is as good at managing complexity as we are.”—L.G.

Jason Pizer, who runs Trinity Real Estate, the real estate arm of Trinity Church Wall Street, which entered some divine financial circles last year, when it formed a partnership with Norges Bank Investment Management, the sovereign-wealth fund of Norway. The $830 billion fund is now a partner on the church’s 11-building portfolio in Hudson Square, which includes 1 Hudson Square, 100 Avenue of the Americas, 10 Hudson Square, 200 and 205 Hudson Street among others. The portfolio totals about 5 million square feet of space. Trinity and Norges are now reportedly looking for a managing operator for the portfolio with RXR Realty, Tishman Speyer, Hines and Silverstein Properties reportedly among those making pitches on the deal. Mr. Pizer was elected chairman of the board of the Hudson Square Connection, the local business improvement district, in 2014.—D.J.

MICHAEL HORODNICEANU: CELESTE SLOMAN/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER; JASON PIZER: SASHA MASLOV/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

Michael Horodniceanu

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POWER 100

Power Designers The architects that everyone has an eye on By Liam La Guerre T.J. Gottesdiener.

n just about every corner and crevice of New York City, there’s some sort of massive project under construction or in the planning stages—so it’s time to get excited for design as the world’s top architects reshape many parts of the city. Most of the new World Trade Center buildings Downtown, for example, have replaced the former Twin Towers, and the designs have been revolutionary. And that’s the reason why Santiago Calatrava, who designed the $4 billion, eye-catching World Trade Center Oculus, and Bjarke Ingels, who imagined 2 World Trade Center, are both on this year’s Power 100. But other powerful architects are creating their expressions across the skyline, including SOM’s design of Brookfield Property Partners’ Manhattan West complex, and SHoP Architects, which has crafted JDS Development Group’s 340 Flatbush Avenue Extension—currently planned as the tallest building in Brooklyn. And sometimes size isn’t the only factor that matters, as with Robert A.M. Stern’s designs for 220 Central Park South and 30 Park Place that honor classic New York City architecture. On a smaller scale, Morris Adjmi Architects is also paying homage to the city with its new projects, including the brick condominium at 465 Pacific Street in Brooklyn.

T.J. Gottesdiener

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: COURTESY SHOP ARCHITECTS; SEVENTH ART; BARRY BRECHEISEN/GETTY IMAGES; ARMAN DZIDZOVIC/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

Manhattan West.

It’s hard to top a project like SOM’s 1 World Trade Center, a gargantuan 1776-foot tall, 3.5-million-square-foot masterpiece. But if any firm can try to outdo the 104-story tower, it’s the 80-year old firm, formerly called Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, which also designed Brookfield Property Partners’ Manhattan West campus in the Hudson Yards district. The $4.5 billion, 5-million-square-foot Hudson Yards project will have a 67-story, transparent office tower: 1 Manhattan West. There will also be a 62-story residential building with 844 apartments and a 60,000-square-foot public courtyard with green space. SOM was also behind the curvaceous design of World Wide Group and Rose Associates’ 65-story luxury residential building currently under construction at 252 East 57th Street. The 650,000-square-foot tower features a bluetinted glassy façade and a mix of 173 rentals and 93 residential condo units. And SOM is returning to an old project by revisiting One Chase Manhattan Plaza, which it designed in the 1960s as the first skyscraper in Lower Manhattan. The 60-story tower, which J.P. Morgan Chase sold to Fosun Property Holdings for $725 million in 2013, prompted the new landlord to want a $160 million redo of the 2.2-million-square-foot building. While SOM was at it, it looked to rehab the 200,000 square feet of space below ground for a subterranean retail center, which will have glassy boxed entrances that lead below ground, higher ceilings and shrunken columns. The project is under construction and set to be completed in 2018.

FROM TOP: KAITLYN FLANNAGAN/COMMERCIAL OBSERVER; COURTESY MILLER HARE

Managing Partner at SOM

111 West 57th Street.

The current proposal for Pier 17.

Gregg Pasquarelli.

Gregg Pasquarelli CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: COURTESY SHOP ARCHITECTS; SEVENTH ART; BARRY BRECHEISEN/GETTY IMAGES; ARMAN DZIDZOVIC/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

FROM TOP: KAITLYN FLANNAGAN/COMMERCIAL OBSERVER; COURTESY MILLER HARE

Principal at SHoP Architects In the last few years, SHoP Architects has taken over the city when it comes to designing large-scale projects at old, underutilized sites. Examples include Related Companies’ Hunters Point South on the Queens waterfront, Two Trees Management Company’s Domino Sugar Refinery redevelopment on Brooklyn’s waterfront, the Empire Outlets shopping center along Staten Island’s north waterfront and the 2-million-square-foot mixeduse property Essex Crossing in Lower Manhattan. And the mega-assignments are only continuing for SHoP. The firm is behind the design of 111 West 57th Street, which JDS Development Group and Property Markets Group are developing. Upon completion in 2018, the residential development will be nearly 1,400 feet tall with a terra-cotta, bronze and glass façade that imitates historic designs found around the city. The tower is being built within the landmarked Steinway Building.

Robert A.M. Stern.

SHoP is marking up the skyline of Brooklyn as well; it’s designing what will be Brooklyn’s tallest tower at 340 Flatbush Avenue Extension. The developers, JDS and the Chetrit Group, are building the structure 1,066 feet tall, with 73 stories and 500 rental residential units. And not everything SHoP does will be reaching for the sky; the firm designed Howard Hughes Corporation’s new 300,000-square-foot Pier 17 mall at the South Street Seaport. The retail mall is under construction now.

Robert A.M. Stern Founder of Robert A.M. Stern Architects When it comes to classic New York City architecture, Robert A.M. Stern serves as the sitting king. His limestone and concrete buildings, such as the 35-story 15 Central Park West (opened in 2008), harken back to old New York City like no other towers in recent memory. And while glass boxes are becoming increasingly

520 Park Avenue.

popular across the city, Mr. Stern is working on numerous towers like 520 Park Avenue that pay homage to the iconic and historic limestone New York City buildings. The 54-story residential tower, expected to be completed in 2017, is entirely clad in limestone. The building’s entrance, a double-height arched doorway with a suspended bronze canopy, leads into a vestibule with coffered ceilings, and an imposing limestone fireplace. On the block of the landmarked Woolworth Building, Mr. Stern designed the 82-story 30 Park Place. The building will rise in stark contrast with Downtown’s shinier towers as it will be constructed with limestone and precast concrete materials. The 157 luxury condo between Church Street and Broadway will be in the same building as a 189-key Four Seasons hotel. The entire project is set for completion later this year. In Midtown, Vornado Realty Trust has tapped Mr. Stern to craft a limestone building facing Central Park at 220 Central Park South—except this one will be about twice the size of 15 Central Park West at 66 stories.

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POWER 100

837 Washington Street.

Robin Klehr Avia.

Demolition of the former 20-story rental building on the site commenced last year. And Mr. Stern has also designed the residential building at 20 East End Avenue on the Upper East Side. The 17-story, 42-unit structure mimics 1920s and 1930s New York City architecture with limestone on the first and second floors and gray brick on the upper floors. The building, which will feature Juliet balconies, is scheduled to be complete in the summer.

Robin Klehr Avia and Joseph Brancato Managing Principals at Gensler The buildings being erected around the city come in many different shapes and sizes, but all have one thing in common: tenants. And in the past few years Gensler has been responsible for some of the most influential tenant buildouts, such as the Condé Nast headquarters at 1 World Trade Center. Gensler was behind Cadillac’s headquarters design in Soho too. The car company moved its marketing

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465 Pacific Street.

Joseph Brancato.

and sales operations from Detroit to 330 Hudson Street last year, after signing a 34,000-square-foot lease for the top two floors of the building in 2014. Gensler designed the sleek, modern space in the former manufacturing building—a design that pays tribute to Cadillac’s famous crest with hints of yellow, blue and red. And Gensler brought a captivating design to Microsoft’s new flagship store at 677 Fifth Avenue, which is simple and spacious, allowing for a crowd to easily move through the five-level retail location and view Microsoft’s full range of products. The store opened in October 2015. Besides its tenant design, Gensler is also working on buildings. Its most recent project, One Soho Square, is grabbing a lot of headlines as Gensler plans to combine Stellar Management and Rockpoint Group’s 161 Avenue of the Americas and 233 Spring Street into one 768,000-square-foot office building. Gensler’s design joins the two structures with an elongated two-story lobby. The renovation also includes three new penthouse floors, upgraded building mechanics and new elevators.

Morris Adjmi.

Morris Adjmi Founder and Principal of Morris Adjmi Architects Robert A.M. Stern isn’t the only architect in the city that tries to pay respect to historic New York City architecture. But unlike Robert A.M. Stern, Morris Adjmi Architects looks not only to incorporate features that blend well with New York scenery but also include modern features—such as wider windows and reduced interior columns—to appeal to today’s clients. An excellent example is Morris Adjmi’s design of 837 Washington Street in the Meatpacking District, which was completed in 2014. It almost mocks allglass curtain walls by having steel beams netted around the building. Taconic Investment Partners and Thor Equities sold the six-story, 55,000-squarefoot office and retail structure to TIAA-CREF for a Meatpacking District record $190 million in January 2015. And 11 North Moore Street development in Tribeca, which replaced a parking lot, neatly completes the

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: NEOSCAPE; AISLINN WEIDELE; REDUNDANT PIXEL; GEORDIE WOOD; COURTESY GENSLER

One Soho Square.

Congratulations to Mitchell Rudin and Michael DeMarco for being selected to Commercial Observerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Power 100. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re in excellent company.

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POWER 100

Gene Kaufman.

American Museum of Natural History.

Jeanne Gang Founding Principal of Studio Gang Studio Gang is a Chicago based-firm known for its 82-story Aqua Tower in the Windy City, where a unique terrace design not only creates a rippling effect that is aesthetically pleasing but also provides residents with ample views. Ms. Gang and her squad have just a few projects in development in New York—all with a bold vision for

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Gene Kaufman Founder and Principal of Gene Kaufman Architect

Jeanne Gang, right.

the design. Her Solar Carve Building on the High Line at 40-56 10th Avenue does precisely what its name suggests. The planned 186,000-square-foot office building will be sculpted in such a way that it allows sunlight to access the High Line, which a typical building would deflect. The project is being developed by William Gottlieb Real Estate. Permits were filed in November 2015 with the New York City Department of Buildings to construct a 12-story structure. Ms. Gang is also responsible for the American Museum of Natural history’s expansion—the $325 million Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation. The 218,000-square-foot building is set to open in conjunction with the museum’s 150th anniversary in 2019. The new wing will allow more room for exhibitions, labs, a library and a live butterfly conservatory. And the new central exhibition hall solves a layout problem by combining public spaces, galleries and classrooms in a canyon-like space with high ceilings— the reinforced concrete walls also structure the interior rooms like columns.

New York City is going through a hotel boom at the moment, and there probably aren’t many architecture firms as prolific as Gene Kaufman’s when it comes to hospitality. Two Hilton Garden Inns designed by Mr. Kaufman will top out this month and will eventually bring a combined 400 rooms to New York City. The first, 6 Water Street, is being developed by Magna Hospitality and will feature 152 guest rooms, a fitness center, an office center and a restaurant and bar (with harbor views, to boot!). The other property is a 22-story, 250-room hotel at 326 West 37th Street, which will have a gym, a restaurant and bar, an office center and a terrace. Sam Chang’s McSam Hotel Group is developing the 89,000-square-foot structure. And those are just the tip of the iceberg. Mr. Kaufman also designed the 19-story Aloft Hotel at 27-45 Jackson Avenue in Queens, which is among the tallest all-hotel buildings in the borough. The 176-key property, which is owned by Nissim Seliktar, topped out last year and is expected to open within the year. Last year, McSam Hotel Group also topped out the Gene Kaufman Architect-designed DoubleTree by Hilton hotel at 350 West 40th Street, where the developer is building a 35-story, 594-key property. It topped out in October 2015 and is expected to be finished by the fall. And the 12-story, 246-key luxury Holiday Inn Brooklyn Nevins Station at 300 Schermerhorn Street, imagined by Mr. Kaufman, opened earlier this month. Developed by father-and-son team K.K. and Sanjeev Mehta, the property has 4,000 square feet for a dining room, a bar and a lounge; an indoor pool with a spa, sauna, steam room and Jacuzzi; and a fitness center.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: COURTESY STUDIO GANG ARCHITECTS; COURTESY GENE KAUFMAN ARCHITECT; RALPH D’ANGELO; JEAN-MARC GIBOUX/GETTY IMAGES

block as the building is clad in limestone and black granite. The 71,000-square-foot condo has 18 luxury units and was completed last year. Just outside the historic Boerum Hill Historic District community in Brooklyn, the Morris Adjmidesigned 465 Pacific Avenue is a ground-up, brick building that matches the tones of the brick townhouses in the landmarked neighborhood. The seven-story building has 30 residential condos, and the project is expected to be completed this year. Developers Avery Hall Investments and Aria Development Group topped out the building this January. And Morris Adjmi once again takes an old-school approach with plans for a new 26,000-square-foot, seven-story building at 134 Wooster Street. Developer Premier Equities filed for permits with the New York City Department of Buildings last December for the property and presented the plans to the Landmarks Preservation Commission, as the structure resides in the Soho-Cast Iron Historic District. It will be roughly the same size and shape as its neighbors and will sport the Roman-arched windows you see throughout Soho. The new building was approved by the LPC last month.

27-45 Jackson Avenue.

SEVEN BRYANT PARK

www.hines.com

POWER 100

Aaron Jungreis President of Rosewood Realty Group Last Year’s Rank: 66

Frederick Elghanayan.

K. Thomas and Frederick Elghanayan Chairman and President of TF Cornerstone Last Year’s Rank: 86

To a large extent, TF Cornerstone is synonymous with Long Island City; the Queens neighborhood wouldn’t exist without the developer (and Rockrose Development), another development company and arm of the Elghanayan family after the family split up its assets in 2009). The empire built along the banks of the East River is worth hundreds of millions of dollars—maybe more. But K. Thomas (the “T” in TF Cornerstone) and Frederick Elghanayan (the “F”) seem intent on proving that LIC is too limiting for the company. The brothers are now venturing into Downtown Brooklyn with 300 Livingston

Jonathan Mechanic Chairman of the Real Estate Department of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson Last Year’s Rank: 76

Jonathan Mechanic.

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Street, aka 33 Bond Street, a 25-story, 714-unit colossus slated to open to residents in 2017. They’re also plugging away in Manhattan on 606 West 57th Street, a 1,000-unit rental, also midway through construction. And they’ve gone well beyond the borders of New York City, too; the company—which boasts a 10-million-square-foot residential, office and mixed-use portfolio—recently picked up a two-building, 200,000-square-foot office complex in Reston, Va. But of course, they haven’t forgotten their roots: Hunters Point South, a 1,000-unit development (with a library!) in LIC, is set to begin construction this year.—M.G.

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Aaron Jungreis. active for Mr. Jungreis, who mentioned a building he’s selling for Yeshiva University, a “beautiful, iconic pre-war building, it’s got such character,” that will be asking close to $70 million at 13-15 East 11th Street. Asked about his overall plan for 2016, Mr. Jungreis replied his initial thought had been toward “taking a rest,” but this answer changes within seconds. “I thought the market would slow down,” he said. “But it hasn’t. Gotta keep up the pace.”—L.G.

When it comes to having a hand in real estate transactions, Jonathan Mechanic is as ubiquitous in New York City as taxis or street vendors. Mr. Mechanic is the head the real estate department at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson. Working out of the firm’s Downtown and Midtown offices, the industry veteran has represented both landlord and tenant, and buyer and seller, from Manhattan’s Far West Side to the Financial District. Some of his more significant deals have included representing CWCapital Asset Management in its $5.46 billion sale of Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village to Blackstone Group and Ivanhoé Cambridge, a deal that closed in December 2015. (He also negotiated the 2006 sale of the complexes for $5.4 billion.) Mr. Mechanic has represented Related Companies in most of its leases at 10 Hudson Yards, which is now completely spoken for with tenants moving in over the rest of the year. He also provided legal counsel on what was almost one of the biggest deals of the year: News Corp. and 21st Century Fox’s negotiations to take 1.5 million square feet at 2 World Trade Center. The deal fell through this January after the media companies decided not to make the move. Mr. Mechanic said talks were pretty far along. “This past year or so has been a great time for Fried, Frank and its real estate practice,” Mr. Mechanic said. “In fact our 2015 fiscal year, which ended in February, was the best year ever. We as a firm are having a real impact on the New York City skyline and are proud of our role.”—T.C.

JONATAHN MECHANIC: EMILY ASSIRAN/COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

K. Thomas Elghanayan.

In what was a bustling year for building sales throughout New York overall, Aaron Jungreis’ Rosewood Realty had an impressively busy 2015 with the firm completing $3.2 billion in sales for the year. “I was the most active broker in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx for 2015,” Mr. Jungreis told Commercial Observer, citing borough sales totaling $1.2 billion, $566 million and $745 million, respectively. Among the deals keeping him so busy: the sale of 32 buildings across Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens from the Dermot Company to A&E Real Estate Holdings for just over $360 million; the $72.3 million sale of two elevator buildings in Astoria with 144 units total from Related Fund Management to E&M Associates; and the $89 million sale of an eight-building, 441-unit complex in the Bronx, totaling around 400,000 square feet, from Axelrod Management to A&E. (On all these deals he was on both sides.) “That was great, because I was working on [the A&E deal] for so many years,” Mr. Jungreis said. “I worked on that on and off for four years.” The year ahead promises to be just as

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POWER 100

David Von Spreckelsen.

President of Toll Brothers City Living Last Year’s Rank: 97

The Toll Brothers City Living division of Toll Brothers, which David Von Spreckelsen founded in 2004, has continued making impressive in-roads into the New York City luxury residential market. The company’s high-end boutique condominium development The Touraine, in Lenox Hill, is completely sold out. Its 81-unit condo portion of 400 Park Avenue South, consisting of the top 18 of 40 floors (Equity Residential is handling the first 22 floors, which are rentals), is averaging $2,300 a square foot. The boutique 1110 Park Avenue consists of nine high-end units each spanning at least one full floor, including a triplex with its own rooftop swimming pool complete with Central Park views. The units range in price from $10 million to $35 million. The building at 400 Park Avenue South,

designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Christian de Portzamparc, consists of 81 condominium residences starting at $1.9 million. At 55 West 17th Street, designed by Morris Adjmi Architects, Toll offers 53 units in a 19-story building with prices starting at $1.8 million. There is also the company’s 33-unit, 12-story co-op at 100 Barrow Street, which will be a blend of condos and affordable rentals. If the company has faced one major challenge this year, it’s been in pricing, having had to drop asking prices significantly in certain cases. A 2,800-square-foot three-bedroom unit at 400 Park Avenue South, for example, sold for $6.1 million, down from an initial asking price of $8.6 million. And one unit at 1110 Park sold for $18.25 million, after initially asking $22 million.—L.G.

89 Michael Lee, left, and Sunny Chiu.

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90 Burton Resnick.

Jonathan Resnick.

Burton and Jonathan Resnick Chairman and CEO and President of Jack Resnick & Sons Last Year’s Rank: 83

Father and son Burton and Jonathan Resnick head up one of the oldest family real estate companies in the country, founded in 1922 by Jack Resnick. Target will open its first Lower Manhattan store at 255 Greenwich Street, taking more than 48,242 square feet on the ground floor and lower level. Online home goods retailer One Kings Lane signed a three-year lease for 51,576 square feet, or the entire eighth floor, at 315 Hudson Street, where the company is in the process of upgrading the space into a technology, advertising, media and information services, or TAMI, type of building. The company also renewed a lease with the City of New York at 2322 Third Avenue. Jack Resnick & Sons also completed a

couple of long-term financing deals at 255 Greenwich and 401 East 80th Street. “We were able to fix our cost of capital, provide for future needs of the property and significantly reduce our debt service, an all-around win for us,” Burton said. He said the company remains bullish on New York but is cautious on new investments right now given the current pricing environment in New York. “We think prices are frothy caused by the low-interest rate environment, which has driven down returns on alternative investment types, driving money to real estate and reducing cap rates to what we feel are unattractive levels as an entry point, so we have kept our powder dry,” Mr. Resnick said.—D.J.

Michael Lee and Sunny Chiu Chairman and CEO and President of F&T Group New

F&T Groups founders Michael Lee and Sunny Chiu created the firm two decades ago with the mission of transforming Flushing into an Asian Times Square or Rockefeller Center. Today with nearly 5 million square feet of development activity in just Flushing alone, F&T Group is a major player in how Flushing has became a serious cultural hub. This March 18, F&T Group topped out the first building at Flushing Commons, a 1.8-million-square-foot residential, office and retail complex, being built in tandem

with Rockefeller Group and AECOM Capital. The project includes a 164,000-squarefoot office condominium for which sales launched in September 2015 and have nearly completely sold out. There will also be 600 luxury residential condos, a 62,000-squarefoot YMCA, retail space and a 1,600-spot garage. The first phase of the project is expected to be completed in 2017. A few blocks away, the firm completed its One Fulton Square development, a two-building, 300,000-square-foot retail, office and

luxury residential project. The three-level retail portion of the property was 100 percent leased last year. And the project also consists of a 168-key Hyatt Place hotel at 133-42 39th Avenue, which has been open since 2014. Also, F&T Group with partner SCG America broke ground in June 2015 for its newest project in the neighborhood—Tangram, a 1.2-million-square-foot, four-building complex, which will include a mall, a hotel, office and retail space and luxury residential housing units.—L.L.G.

MICHAEL LEE AND SUNNY CHIU: YVONNE ALBINOWSKI/ FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

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POWER 100

Sam Chang President and CEO of McSam Hotel Group Last Year’s Rank: 95

Sam Chang hasn’t invested in any new projects in the last year. From “last April 1 to [this April 1], I haven’t signed one contract to buy anything,” Mr. Chang said. This is a first in his 18 years of developing hotels in New York City. “Pricing [for land] is just too expensive right now.” But the hotel titan had his hands full with a slew of hotels in various stages of development in Manhattan, like at 14 and 16 East 39th Street, two buildings he purchased for $31.6 million in February. There he is looking to build a 20-story Hyatt hotel. In a dramatic move, Mr. Chang pulled out of the Flushing market last October, offloading his final development site in the

Queens neighborhood for $44.5 million, as Commercial Observer reported at the time. He previously said, “I don’t believe in this market.” On that last parcel, he recently said, “We bought it for $26 million. In the downturn of 2010, we tried to sell it for $20 [million] to pay off the money we owed the bank. [But] we were able to hold on to it and sold it for two and a half times what we were looking for it.” Another big deal for McSam Hotel Group is that over the last year “Marriott approved our first five Marriott products in New York City,” the budget hotel maverick said, after having done deals with many other brands. One of those hotels includes a 350-room Marriott at John F. Kennedy International Airport.—L.E.S.

Sam Chang.

Richard Coles and Gary Tischler Managing Principals of Vanbarton Group New

Justin Elghanayan.

Henry and Justin Elghanayan Principals of Rockrose Development Last Year’s Rank: 88

The Rockrose branch of the Elghanayan family continued shaping the Long Island City residential landscape, as construction progressed on two projects in the area’s Court Square neighborhood: 43-25 Hunter Street, a 50-story, 974-unit, 970,000-square-foot rental building; and Eagle Lofts, a 54-story, 783-unit, 587,000-square-foot rental. These new buildings, joining Rockrose’s existing Linc LIC property, a 709-unit rental that was fully leased in 2014, will be joined by a fourth rental project for which design is currently underway. Upon completion, these structures will add 2,500 new Rockrose rental units in Court Square. Rockrose also closed a $270 million construction loan for 43-25 Hunter Street in 2015. Even though the company is busy in Long Island City, Rockrose hasn’t neglected the company’s Manhattan interests, as it announced plans to construct a “dramatic landscaped rooftop terrace with a film projection system” at 300 Park Avenue South, the company’s

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15-story Beaux-Arts office building in Midtown South. Rockrose leased out over 41,000 square feet of office space in the building in 2015. Rockrose also had a busy year in Washington, D.C., unveiling plans for Alexander Court, an office complex in the Central Business District designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli. According to the company, the development will “combine and expand two existing buildings—2001 K Street and 2000 L Street—into nearly a million square feet of office space connected by a 12-story glass-enclosed atrium. The complex will feature class-leading trophy amenities, such as a 7,500-square-foot fitness center and a rooftop conference center and a terrace featuring unobstructed views of the National Cathedral.” The company also purchased 1140 L Street in 2015, a 70,648-square-foot boutique Class A office building in D.C.’s Golden Triangle area, and began upgrades at 555 11th Street, a 414,204-square-foot trophy office building in D.C.—L.G.

There’s a joke to be made about the fact that Richard Coles and Gary Tischler’s old firm was called Emmes Asset Management, which means “truth” in Yiddish—and their new firm is called the Vanbarton Group, which can be loosely translated to mean, “most goysche name you could possibly come up with.” Messrs. Tischler and Coles have been working together in New York real estate for several decades now, and having had an impressive 2015 with their new boutique investment firm (founded in July), the Vanbarton Group has landed on the Power 100 list. According to Vanbarton, over the past year the firm has “originated or acquired several hundred million dollars of credit, including lending into such transactions as 20 Broad Street and Monad Terrace in Miami.” On the equity side, the firm took pride in its early entry into the Financial District’s burgeoning multifamily rental market. It acquired the 553,000-square-foot office property at 180 Water Street, which is currently twothirds finished with its conversion into 583 market-rate rental units. The company also acquired the adjoining property at 160 Water, a 598,000-square-foot office property, as well as the 18-story 31 Penn Plaza building in a deal worth about $265 million.

Richard Coles.

Gary Tischler.

But Vanbarton is not limiting itself to Manhattan. Last February, the firm closed on Long Island City’s 51,200-square-foot Zipper Building at 47-16 Austell Place for $7.7 million. The Joffrey Ballet has since signed on for 15,500 square feet on the fourth floor of the space in a 10-year deal with asking rent in the $40s per square foot. In July, it signed co-working company WeWork for 60,000 square feet at Studio Square at 35-37 36th Street in Long Island City. Other outer-borough activity for Vanbarton includes the purchases of The Kestrel, an eight-story, 138-rental-unit property in Prospect Park, for $76 million and Riverdale Crossing, a 225,000-square-foot retail center it purchased in October 2015 for $133 million. As of last month, Vanbarton was also nearing the close for a fund in excess of $1 billion for the acquisition of commercial properties throughout the country. On the horizon for Vanbarton in Manhattan is the completion of a $250 million conversion of 180 Water Street into 583 market-rate residential units.—L.G.

SAM CHANG: AARON ADLER/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

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POWER 100

Earle Altman, Peter Burack, Gregg Schenker and Steven Hornstock Chairman, Co-Managing Partner, President and Co-Managing Partner and Co-Managing Partner and Director of Investment Sales at ABS Partners Real Estate Last Year’s Rank: 84

Robert K. Futterman Founder, Chairman and CEO of RKF New

ABS Partners Real Estate has a lot of balls in the air as it does leasing, investment sales, property management, construction management and advisory—and its executives and brokers buy properties of their own. In the last year, ABS purchased a 135,75-square-foot, three-building office campus just north of Charlotte, N.C., according to Gregg Schenker. Another big deal was the restructuring of a 150,000-square-foot 75-year ground lease with William Macklowe Company at 110 University Place, formerly home to Bowlmor Lanes. Messrs. Hornstock and Schenker represented Benenson Investment, the property owner, in the October 2015 deal that allows for William Macklowe Company to develop a residential condominium building at the site. At the beginning of this year, Mr. Hornstock finished relocating about 90 tenants for Gary Barnett’s Extell Development Company at 10 West 47th Street, a building he sold to Mr. Barnett for $74.4 million on behalf of Kenart Realties last August. The executives are busy developing, too. Along with Brause Realty and Gotham Organization, a group of investors led by Earle Altman and Mr. Schenker is constructing a 35-story luxury rental complex at 44-28

Gregg Schenker.

Steven Hornstock.

Purves Street in Long Island City, Queens. As CO reported at the end of last year, M&T Bank and Bank of New York Mellon provided the joint venture with $105 million in financing for the 272-unit development. And ABS and Hudson Companies are

erecting a 95-unit residential project on a three-site parcel in Williamsburg, as CO previously reported. The plan is for the two companies to erect two 80/20 rental apartment buildings at the vacant through-block site.—L.E.S.

Steve Kaufman President of Kaufman Organization

Last year was RKF’s best ever since its founding in 1998. The firm, named for its founder and CEO Robert K. Futterman, leased almost 2 million square feet of space in 2015, up nearly 10 percent from the previous year. The New York City-based brokerage, which has 105 brokers and 46 staffers worldwide, is also currently leasing more than 2.7 million square feet of space in the metropolitan area and has more than 465 exclusive listings. Among the notable deals that RKF completed last year were the Gap and Old Navy flagship stores, which are both brands of Gap Inc. in Times Square in June. The stores are taking 72,000 square feet of space that once housed Toys “R” Us’ flagship store at the Bow Tie Building at 1514 Broadway between West 44th and West 45th Streets. RKF’s Ariel Schuster and Justin Fantasia represented the tenants. And then there was the Adidas trifecta of retail deals in 2015. RKF’s Jeremy Erza represented the sportswear and shoemaker in a 34,000-square-foot deal for its flagship store at 565 Fifth Avenue in December, a 5,218-square-foot transaction at 115 Spring Street in July and a 8,700-square-foot space at 454 Fulton Street in Downtown Brooklyn in February. RKF was also the tenant’s broker for Atlanta-based fast-food chain Chickfil-A’s second New York City location, a 5,450-square-foot lease at 1180 Avenue of the Americas between West 46th and West 47th Streets.—L.L.G.

New

The Kaufman Organization’s effect on New York’s real estate landscape has been vast ever since Samuel and Fanny Kaufman bought 45 East Broadway in 1909. Today, their grandson, Kaufman Organization President Steve Kaufman, is helping renovate the city with an expansiveness that would make his grandparents proud. The last year has been a busy one for Kaufman’s operations and acquisitions teams, which took on massive renovations of four buildings leased to them by Extell Development Company. They were “in a state of complete disrepair, some having been uninhabited for over 10 years,” Mr. Kaufman said. The buildings have been reconfigured for the tech industry with open floor plans and updated wiring. These included 119 West 24th Street and 19 West 24th Street; 13 West 27th Street, leased for 99 years for $115 million;

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Peter Burack.

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and the 65,000-square-foot 45 West 27th Street. The company also entered into a net lease for a former Ring property at 155 West 23rd Street. All told, Kaufman’s team renovated 350,000 square feet of space, and the four buildings—all vacant upon acquisition— are now 70 percent rented out. “As a result of Kaufman’s strategic rebranding efforts of the formerly neglected properties, we have seen robust interest for our office spaces at the repositioned Madison Square portfolio from a diverse group of companies,” Mr. Kaufman said. With over 500,000 square feet repositioned in Manhattan over the past four years, the company looks forward to accomplishing something similar in Long Island City, Queens, and Brooklyn, as well as conducting a $20 million upgrade of the company’s flagship building at 450

Steve Kaufman. Seventh Avenue in Manhattan. “Kaufman’s core buildings have never been in better shape, with occupancy rates close to 100 percent,” Mr. Kaufman said. “The real estate industry in New York City had one of its best years in recent history in 2015, and I’m thrilled to be a part of it.”—L.G.

Robert K. Futterman.

STEVE KAUFMAN: JESSE WINTER/TEN10 STUDIOS; ROBERT FUTTERMAN: CELESTE SLOMAN/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

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POWER 100

David Firestein.

Asher Abehsera.

Founder and CEO of LIVWRK New

He started in real estate at 16 and is still not yet old enough to run for president, but LIVWRK’s Asher Abehsera is already having a substantial impact on the New York real estate market. Since founding LIVWRK, a so-called “curated development” company (a fancy name for a developer) in 2013 after eight years with Two Trees Management Company, Mr. Abehsera’s gone all in on Brooklyn, navigating numerous major deals. Last July he sold 92 Third Street in Gowanus, an 80,000-squarefoot commercial loft building, for $73 million. Mr. Abehsera bought the building in 2013 and repositioned it as a speculative office and retail property, taking on tenants including Genius Media and Cowork|rs. The building hit full occupancy in the summer of 2015. LIVWRK also purchased the 98,650-squarefoot former marine repair facility at 160 Van Brunt Street in Red Hook in 2014. The company undertook a comprehensive redevelopment program and, in February of this year, announced a deal with Elon Musk’s Tesla Motors for a 40,000-square-foot office and showroom space and repair facility. Other properties in various stages of completion include the 350,000-square-foot Austin Nichols House at 184 Kent Avenue in Williamsburg, purchased last year with the Kushner Companies (which is led by Commercial Observer Publisher Jared Kushner) and redeveloped as a premier condominium with 338 homes; and a mixed-use project at 175-225 3rd Street in Gowanus, purchased by LIVWRK, Kushner Companies and

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SL Green Realty Corp. in 2014. The company’s first purchase, the 1.3-million-square-foot, six-building warehouse complex in Dumbo Heights that LIVWRK bought with Kushner Companies, Invesco and RFR Realty in 2013, has been redeveloped as an office and retail destination including, according to Mr. Abehsera, “newly renovated lobbies and roof decks, dark fiber pre-certified for Platinum Wired Certification, modernized elevators, updated heating and cooling systems, augmented security and life safety and state-of-the-art building management technology.” Office tenants to date include Etsy, WeWork, Frog Design, Alexis Bittar and Prolific Interactive and retailers Yoga Vida, Row House, Shadowboxing, Dig Inn, Untamed Sandwiches and Glaze Teriyaki. The campus’ retail area is scheduled to open in late spring. While it’s easy to surmise that Mr. Abehsera, still in his early 30s, is just getting started, he already has much to be proud of in terms of his impact on Brooklyn’s ever-hot real estate market. “It’s amazing to walk by 160 Van Brunt and see Tesla open in Red Hook, Brooklyn; to walk into 68-92 3rd Street and see hundreds of people creating and designing things in what used to be a forgotten derelict brick and timber building; to walk the Dumbo Heights campus and see the life and energy that has been infused into the former printing press factory buildings,” Mr. Abehsera said. “It’s very rewarding to be part of and to witness the transformation.”—L.G.

Chase Welles.

David Firestein and Chase Welles Partners at SCG Retail New

David Firestein has the Starbucks side of SCG Retail’s business—Chase Welles has the Whole Foods side. Together, they’re representing two of the most high-profile national tenants locally. This week, Starbucks will be opening its smallest store (450 square feet) in the city, at the new underground concourse TurnStyle at Columbus Circle. It will be an express store, providing a streamlined coffee experience. But the coffee giant also recently announced plans for a 20,000-squarefoot roasting plant in the Meatpacking District, which “will be the largest Starbucks on the planet,” Mr. Firestein said, adding, “2016 is off to a great start. “ Mr. Welles is busy working on behalf of Whole Foods in New York City and Northern New Jersey. Last year, the grocer unveiled a value-focused brand for millennials, called 365 by Whole Foods Market.

“We are still seeking sites and are actively negotiating in the city,” Mr. Welles said. Another client of his in the city and the Hudson Vallley, LA Fitness, signed a 38,000-square-foot deal in Queens last year and recently opened. It “has been well-received by the community,” Mr. Welles said. The most exciting part of the last 15 months (from a real estate perspective, as he got married on Jan. 30) “is working on Industry City in Sunset Park,” Mr. Welles said. “Working with the unbelievably creative indigenous Brooklyn retailers has reminded me that retail is supposed to be fun—by the people for the people.” Some tenants he signed on at IC in 2015 Taco Mix, Burger Joint, Moore Brothers Wine Company and furniture store Roche Bobois with a short-term lease.—L.E.S.

DAVID FIRESTEIN: YVONNE ALBINOWSKI/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER; CHASE WELLS: AARON ADLER/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

Asher Abehsera

POWER 100

President of 32BJ SEIU Last Year’s Rank: 91

As president of the 145,000-plus-member 32BJ Service Employees International Union, the largest property services union in the country, Héctor Figueroa spent much of 2015 fighting for 32BJ members and then celebrating some impressive victories. First, there was the rise of wages for fast-food workers in New York City, then for workers across the state, to $15 an hour from $9. In addition, Mr. Figueroa’s leadership helped New York workers get paid family leave, and he’s also put his considerable clout behind Mayor Bill de Blasio’s housing plan. This was just the tip of the iceberg for his victories over the last year or so. Mr. Figueroa successfully negotiated new collective bargaining agreements for over 70,000 commercial office cleaners in New York City, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia and led efforts to help over 1,400 commercial cleaners, residential building workers and security officers organize

100

Héctor Figueroa.

Bjarke Ingels Founding Partner of Bjarke Ingels Group New

When a new development makes one stop and think, “What is that?” or “Is that really a building?” it’s probably a new design by Danish starchitect Bjarke Ingels. Mr. Ingels’ Bjarke Ingels Group, which was launched only 11 years ago, has been known for projects that stand out—just ask New Jersey residents living on the waterfront across from Manhattan’s West Side, where Mr. Ingels designed a 21st century pyramid-like residential skyscraper for Durst Organization at 625 West 57th Street. Named Via 57 West, the property is currently under construction and set to be completed this year. The tetrahedron rises 460 feet tall and includes 709 residential rental units and 45,000 square feet of retail space. It will

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and join 32BJ in 2015. Seven-thousand airport workers were allowed to join the union thanks to his efforts and more than 1,000 New York City public school cleaners were able to negotiate new contracts and get long overdue back pay. Mr. Figueroa looks forward to making more news on these fronts in the coming year. In May, 32BJ’s airport workers will, after a three-year fight, finally be able to bargain for a new contract, and he’s also negotiating new contracts for over 17,000 New York City security officers. “Our victory in raising New York’s minimum wage will help millions of workers and their families across the state,” Mr. Figueroa said. “In the past year, we have seen thousands of our members stand up and win union recognition, win good contracts at the bargaining table and fight to create more affordable housing in our city. In 2016, we will keep fighting to lift up all working people in our city, in our state and across the country.”—L.G.

| APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

also have a swimming pool, a fitness center, a basketball court, a golf simulator and a children’s playroom. BIG is also behind the design of 2 World Trade Center, which features six dramatic setbacks that make the building look like a big staircase. The project hit a snag after Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox and News Corp. dropped plans to anchor the proposed 1,270-foot, 2.8-million-square-foot tall tower, which will complete the World Trade Center site. And even more recently, Mr. Ingels and Tishman Speyer announced a 65-story tower in Hudson Yards at 66 Hudson Boulevard. The building has terraces that cascade around the 2.9-million-squarefoot office tower. —L.L.G.

Bjarke Ingels.

FROM TOP: A. DE VOS/PMC; ARMAN DZIDZOVIC/FOR COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

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POWER 100

New York and the Big Picture

Developers sound off on China, the economy, terrorism and what it all means for Big Apple real estate By Danielle Balbi, Terence Cullen, Lauren Elkies Schram and Liam La Guerre

here’s a lot of concern about the world beyond New York City, from the future of China’s economy to a faltering Russia to the ongoing conflict in Syria. Everybody has something they should worry about. So given that we got on the phone with some of New York City’s top developers, brokers and investors for the

Power 100 list, we asked what they thought would happen to New York’s economy in the wake of all this craziness. Unsurprisingly, no two opinions were completely the same. A correction of the super-luxury market could be on the way, according to super-luxury builder Gary Barnett. But other longtime real estate players sounded

“

Everything that’s going on around the world—the dislocation that is taking place in the Middle East and the Far East and elsewhere—all does very well for those people who want to move money out of areas where there is dislocation, where there is disruption and where there is concern, to places around the globe where their capital is absolutely safe. That is no safer place in the world than America. The best city in which to do that in America is the City of New York.” Larry Silverstein, chairman of Silverstein Properties

“

You’ve got a disconnect. The capital markets are a little sideways. Most people have a hard time getting construction loans. Bridge loans are coming due. Over the last year and a half, there’s been mispricing.” Ziel Feldman, chairman, founder and managing principal of HFZ Capital Group

“

We’ll see a sharp slowdown in construction a year from now because people can’t make sense of the numbers now. That’ll be good for the market. We’ll probably dodge a bullet [with] no sharp crash in the residential market, maybe a small correction.” Gary Barnett, founder and president of Extell Development Company

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downright bullish on New York City. Namely, Larry Silverstein and Douglas Durst said the worries outside of Gotham’s borders made the city a safe haven for investors looking to stash money. Here is just some of what these bigwigs had to say about the state of affairs:

“

We’ve always had strong, international attraction here. Sometimes it’s Russia, China or the Middle East. I think as things happen in the global economy, the people that are [moving] here differ. What we tried to do was build product that is not dependent on foreign buyers. Our market niche has been the highest end of the domestic buyer market. If you look at our buildings, people are living there.” Jeff T. Blau, CEO of Related Companies

“

The capital markets are absolutely more conservative than they were eight months ago. And I think that’s a trend that’s continuing, and they are making a much greater distinction between strong and weak sponsorship. Some of it may be concern about where we are in the market. Certainly, there is no question that bank regulation has a significant impact.” Nicholas Bienstock, comanaging partner of Savanna

“

There is no question the market has slowed, and a slow market presents opportunities to build market share.” Chase Welles, principal of SCG Retail

“

Many areas of the United States are doing fairly well. When you have problems in China and problems in Europe, I think they’re going to be looking to lend more in the States, where you have a much stronger economy.” Douglas Durst, chairman of Durst Organization

“

[The expiration of 421a is] hurting a whole arch of the business community and the people who live in the city. The city is strong, the economy is good, but we need more affordable housing. If the city continues to be strong and thriving and jobs are created, developers are going to act in their best interest and are going to build condos.” MaryAnne Gilmartin, president and CEO of Forest City Ratner Companies

The capital markets have certainly been exposed to volatility. What is extraordinary is they continue to have a preference for New York City and for generational type assets—those are assets that we are doing. I think the so-called recession watch is over, but we are probably past the steep part of the recovery phase in the cycle as well.” Tommy Craig, senior managing director at Hines

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HONOR ROLL: The beginning of many big education projects like Cornell Tech’s Roosevelt Island campus resulted in a spike of construction starts in 2015 that nearly doubled the previous year.

By Liam La Guerre

chool construction projects in the five boroughs made the grade last year—and then some. The dollar volume for education construction starts for projects that include colleges, universities, and elementary and secondary schools (public and private) was $3 billion in 2015, almost doubling the $1.6 billion spent in 2014, a New York Building Congress report released last week indicates. Four major projects initiated by institutions of higher learning were the cause of the spike, according to the findings, which was an analysis of information from Dodge Data & Analytics. College and universities accounted for $1.3 billion in construction starts last year, a 343 percent increase from $379 million in 2014. “The reason is because there is considerable demand for both public and private schools of higher education and because they have money,” New York Building Congress President Richard Anderson told

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CO. “This has been growing since the great recession. This is a culmination of the last few years.” The large-scale projects that tipped the scale last year include Cornell Tech’s Bloomberg Center and the 26-story, 350unit residential building on the Roosevelt Island campus. The Bloomberg Center is the new campus’ first academic building and was named after former Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s daughters Emma and Georgina following his $100 million donation to the school last year. It will cost $800 million to construct, as The New York Times reported. Rockefeller University also began working on its new 160,000-square-foot laboratory and conference facility over the FDR Drive and adjacent to its campus building at 1230 York Avenue. The new facility includes a platform on top of the FDR Drive for four buildings at a cost of $425 million to $450 million, according to Crain’s New York Business. Last year, Hunter College and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center started building their joint 1.2-million-square-foot complex on the Upper East Side, which is located

off the FDR Drive between East 73rd and East 74th Streets. And New York University is transforming the former Metropolitan Transportation Authority headquarters at 370 Jay Street in Downtown Brooklyn into a center for science, technology and media. The 500,000-square-foot, 14-story building will be the home of the school’s Center for Urban Science and Progress. (In a side note, NYU has yet to begin construction on its planned 800,000-square-foot building at 181 Mercer Street between East Houston and Bleecker Streets, which will replace its Jerome S. Coles Sports Center with classrooms, theater space, common areas and a new gym facility.) Although a bit more modest, increases were also found in construction starts for elementary and secondary schools, both public and private, the report indicates. New York City’s public schools (not counting public colleges) recorded about $1.5 billion in construction starts last year, up from $1.1 billion in 2014. Most the work— 76 percent—focused on improving and

modernizing current buildings, the bulk of which are more than six decades old. Private elementary and secondary schools commenced projects valued at $240 million in 2015, an increase from $149 million in the previous year. Overall, ground-up developments resulted in less than half of the $3 billion in education project starts last year. About $1.3 billion, or 45 percent, was for new construction, up from just $450 million in 2014. But while there are many ground-up projects in the works, Mr. Anderson pointed out that the majority of the money ($1.6 billion) was for alterations to update current facilities. “Alterations don’t increase capacity a lot because it’s not all for accommodating new students,” Mr. Anderson said. “I don’t think this portends a huge increase in students.” He added later that the astounding jump in dollar volume of construction starts last year may not be repeated this year. “Construction starts can be exacerbated because you can get a couple of big projects within a year,” Mr. Anderson said. “In 2016 there may be a decline because you may only get two or three [huge] projects.”

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Office

DATA

ChartLease/Sale  Lease charts reflect deals closed or announced from April. 11 -April. 15. Information on leases, sales and financing deals can be sent to Max Gross at mgross@commercialobserver.com.

Office

SQ. FEET

TENANT

LANDLORD

BROKERS

90 Park Avenue

240,000

PricewaterhouseCoopers

Vornado Realty Trust

CBRE’s Timothy Dempsey and Greg Maurer-Hollaender represented PwC in the deal. The landlord represented itself in-house.

Green Manufacturing Center, Brooklyn Navy Yard (Brooklyn)

65,000

Mast Brothers

New York City/ Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation

Irene Nickolai and Thomas Hochfelder of Douglas Elliman Commercial represented Mast Brothers in the deal.

30-30 47th Avenue (Queens)

60,000

J.Crew’s Madewell

A partnership between Atlas Capital Group, Square Mile Capital Group and Invesco Real Estate.

David Goldstein and Gabe Marans of Savills Studley represented the tenant. Brian Waterman, Howard Kesseler and Jordan Gosin of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank represented the landlord.

1133 Avenue of the Americas

45,910

Chubb

Durst Organization

JLL’s Martin Horner and Pam Klyn represented Chubb. Durst Organization was represented in-house by Tom Bow and Rocco Romeo.

839 Broadway (Brooklyn)

30,000

Cowork|rs

Deergrow Developments

N/A

335 Madison Avenue

25,000

Addepar

Milstein Properties

There were no brokers involved in the deal.

285 Madison Avenue

18,242

NetApp

RFR Realty

JLL’s Alexander Chudnoff and Matthew Astrachan represented the tenant in the deal. Mr. Chudnoff, Mitchell Konsker, Dan Turkewitz and Diana Biasotti, all of JLL, worked on behalf of the landlord along with AJ Camhi of RFR.

450 Seventh Avenue

7,689

BluePrint Research Group

Kaufman Organization

The tenant did not have a broker, and Barbara Raskob of Kaufman Organization represented the landlord in-house.

10 West 33rd Street

5,791

Sakar International

Ten West Thirty Third Associates

Hidrock Properties brokered the deal on behalf of Sarkar International. David Levy of Adams & Co. represented the landlord.

264 West 40th Street

4,500

Rosa Mexicano

Renaissance Properties

MHP Real Estate Services’ Joe Friedman represented Rosa Mexicano in the deal. Nora Stats and Bradley Fishel of Coldwell Banker Commercial Alliance represented the landlord.

275 Madison Avenue

3,565

Syno Capital (subtenant)

Diversified Search, LLC

Scott Brown, Robert Silver and Richard Johns of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank represented Syno Capital. Oliver Katcher of JLL represented the landlord.

180 Varick Street

3.168

NeeD Accounting Services

Olmstead Properties

Marc Schoen, Michael Schoen and Brian Neugeboren of Savitt Partner’s Schoen Group represented the tenant in the deal. Steve Marvin of Olmstead Properties represented the landlord in-house.

206 Spring Street

2,500

Sixty Hotels

Corigin Real Estate Group

Rick Johnson of BSD Realty Worldwide represented Sixty Hotels, while Eastern Consolidated’s James Famularo represented the landlord.

450 Seventh Avenue

2,134

KBB Partners

450 7th Avenue Associates, LLC

Elissa Patterson of EJMB Commercial represented the tenant. Kaufman Organization’s Barbara Raskob and Yvonne Chang represented the landlord.

450 Seventh Avenue

1,200

The Juice Shop

450 7th Avenue Associates, LLC

Kaufman Organization’s Elliot Warren represented the tenant, and colleagues Steve Kaufman, Barbara Raskob and Yvonne Chang represented the landlord.

144 | APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

DATA

Retail

SQ. FEET

TENANT

LANDLORD

BROKERS

401 East 55th Street

3,800

New York Kids Club

Residential cooperative

RKF’s Gary Alterman and Andrew Stern represented the club in the transaction. Joseph Isa and Louis Franco of Isa Realty Group represented the co-op.

60 Greenpoint Avenue (Brooklyn)

1,900

Paulie Gee’s

Franklin Avenue Developers LLC

Zach Fried of In-Haus represented the tenant in the deal. Lee & Associates NYC’s Peter Levitan and Brendan Reichenbacher represented the landlord.

72-24 Austin Street (Queens)

480

Snowdays

Kra Realty Corp

Joe Robinson of Eastern Consolidated represented Snowdays. Eastern Consolidated also represented the landlord.

Sale 106 Spring Street (retail co-op unit)

BUYER

Carlyle Group and 60 Guilders

SELLER

SQ. FOOTAGE

AMOUNT

BROKERS

N/A

$100 million

Adam Spies and Doug Harmon of Eastdil Secured brokered the deal.

10-building Bronx Portfolio Chestnut Holdings (The Bronx)

Prana Investments

N/A

$46.6 million

Aaron Jungreis of Rosewood Realty Group brokered the deal.

150 Charles Street (condominium unit)

Harsh Padia

N/A

5,840

$29.1

Raphael De Niro of Douglas Elliman listed the condominium unit.

99 Suffolk Street

HUBB NYC

N/A

29,600

$24.6 million

Michael DeCheser of Cushman & Wakefield arranged the deal with colleagues Darragh Clarke and Mei Ling Wong.

1110 Oak Point Avenue (The Bronx)

Joshua and Jack Guttman’s Pearl Realty Management

Sprague Oil Company

N/A

$24 million

Tom Cisco of Feinberg Brothers Agency represented the buyer. Cushman & Wakefield’s James Nelson, Caroline Hannigan, Nick Burns and Ben Fox represented the seller.

314-326 Wythe Avenue, 70 and 72 Grand Street (Brooklyn)

Flank

The Gorlick family

12,832

$21.6 million

Cushman & Wakefield’s Michael Collins, Tyler Peck, Robert Dicker and Jonathan Schindler represented the seller, along with David Giancola, formerly of Cushman & Wakefield.

227-229 West 116th Street (retail condominium)

Klosed Properties

N/A

$1.45 million

Adrian Berger of Corner Commercial Real Estate represented the buyer, while Lisa Downing of Connections Real Estate represented the seller.

24|7 146

| APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

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POWER 100

Those We’ve Lost By Larry Getlen

Douglas Shorenstein CEO of Shorenstein Properties Douglas Shorenstein, 60, died on Nov. 24 of cancer. Shorenstein was known for the breadth of his vision, taking the regional firm founded by his father Walter in California to national prominence as a company that brought almost $8 billion in investment capital to over 20 markets around the country by the time of his death. After cutting his teeth as a real estate attorney, Shorenstein joined his father’s firm in 1983, rising to CEO in 1995, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The company was one of the largest commercial firms in San Francisco, and, in recent years especially, Shorenstein steered the company further into the tech realm, purchasing the sort of larger commercial facilities that became increasingly desirable for today’s tech giants. The city’s Merchandise Mart, which Shorenstein bought in 2011, became home to Twitter. Shorenstein had significant holdings in numerous major markets, including 850 Third Avenue (which it recently sold to MHP), 1407 Broadway and 447 Madison Avenue all here in New York. Also among Shorenstein’s assets: the John Hancock Center in Chicago, Hamilton Square in Washington, D.C., and the Bank of America Building at 555 California in San Francisco.

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Zaha Hadid Director of Zaha Hadid Architects Accolades poured in when news broke that groundbreaking Iraqi-born British architect Zaha Hadid had died of a heart attack on March 31 at the age of 65. Her visionary avant-garde-meets-modernism style produced properties of note including the London Aquatic Centre, the MAXXI Museum in Rome and Galaxy Soho in Beijing. Among the many awards recognizing her brilliance, Hadid was the first woman to win the Pritzker Prize and the first to be honored with the Royal Gold Medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects on her own. She was made a dame of the British Empire in 2012. Known for a curvaceous style and a personal as well as professional boldness, she suffered no fools, and would shut down an interview if she felt the questions unfair. Hadid produced designs in 1970s London that were often too out-there for many. After winning a design competition for the Cardiff Bay Opera House in Wales, her design, a glass structure that came to be called the “Crystal Necklace,” was rejected by the Millennium Commission for being too radical. In response, Hadid told the Financial Times that this happened because “people in this country have seen so much garbage for so long they think life is a Tesco.” She worked on massive prestigious projects and smaller local ones, and was awarded a retrospective of her work at the Guggenheim Museum in 2006. Hadid is survived by her brother, Haytham Hadid.

Zaha Hadid.

Patricia Goldstein.

Patricia Goldstein Vice Chairman and Head of Commercial Real Estate for Emigrant Bank Patricia Goldstein, one of commercial real estate’s leading financiers, died last April 29, the result of a bicycle accident in Delray Beach, Fla., six days prior. She was 69. The pioneering Goldstein rejected an offer in 1966 to train as a typist—an occupation to which women were often steered—at Citicorp, choosing to become the company’s first female credit trainee instead. Later, she would advocate for gender and racial equality, mentoring many women through the male-dominated industry in the process. By the 1980s, the Queens native rose to the executive suite at several firms including Olympia & York, where she helped finance London’s 14-million-squarefoot Canary Wharf complex. Back at Citicorp in the 1990s, she ushered the bank through some tough times, working out and stabilizing a $23 billion real estate portfolio. Goldstein’s deals included negotiations for the sales of 1540 Broadway to Bertelsmann A.G., and of 750 Seventh Avenue to Morgan Stanley. She became chairman and head of commercial real estate for Emigrant Bank in 2004, handling financing for projects including 56 Leonard Street, 505 West 19th Street and the Baccarat Hotel. Goldstein was also active in a variety of charitable and industry organizations, including the NY Teachers Common Fund, the Real Estate Roundtable, the Women’s UJA, the Real Estate Board of New York and the Association of Real Estate Women (which in late 2014 merged with New York Commercial Real Estate Women). Goldstein is survived by her husband, Howard Epstein, daughter Alicia Goldstein, son Jeffrey Goldstein and grandsons Jack and Jetson.

FROM LEFT: DUSTIN WAYNE HARRIS/PATRICKMCMULLAN; RAY TAMARRA/GETTY IMAGES;NEILSON BARNARD/GETTY IMAGES

Douglas Shorenstein.

The company was also a mover on the residential side, developing a 225-unit building at 509 West 38th Street, which is expected to be completed by early 2017. Shorenstein served as chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, and on the executive council of the University of California San Francisco Medical Center. He is survived by his wife, Lydia; three children, Brandon, Sandra and Danielle; and his sister, Carol.

FROM LEFT: RICHARD SEAGRAVES; JEFF J MITCHELL/GETTY IMAGES; A. DE VOS/PATRICKMCMULLAN

he men and women taken from the real estate world in the past year include a man who made major inroads into peace in the Middle East; the creator of New York’s lost, beloved Twin Towers; groundbreaking visionaries who smashed the glass ceilings of the worlds of architecture and finance; and several who altered the skylines and boosted the economies of numerous major cities, including ours. The real estate industry lost giants this year. Their accomplishments were world-changing. The losses of these people and their visions, to the industry and to their families, is incalculable. Here are just a few of the notable industry movers who died over the past year.

EDUCATIONAL BREAKFAST PANEL

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POWER 100

John Zuccotti Chairman of Global Operations at Brookfield Asset Management For most, his name is best known for the occupation of the park that bears it. For those in real estate, John Zuccotti, who died of a heart attack on Nov. 19 at age 78, was a politician, a businessman, an investor and a champion of New York City during the financial crisis of the 1970s, and again after the devastation of 9/11. Zuccotti had New York City in his blood. Born in Greenwich Village and raised for a time in an apartment above a Perry Street tavern, his father was the maître d’ at the El Morocco nightclub, one of the great New York City hot spots of its day. A Princeton University and Yale Law School graduate, he worked as an urban planner in conjunction with Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology before taking on the development of anti-poverty programs and more as a special assistant to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development secretary. He served as the chairman of the City Planning Commission under Mayor John Lindsay, and as deputy mayor under Abe Beame, helping restore confidence in the city during its most dire time. In 1977, The New York Times called him “New York’s indispensable man.” In the 1990s, as chief executive of Olympia & York, he led the development of the World Financial Center. Zuccotti was so beloved throughout New York that speakers at his memorial included Timothy Cardinal Dolan. He is survived by his wife, Susan Sessions Zuccotti; brother Andrew; children Gianna, Andrew; and Milena, and eight grandchildren.

John L. Tishman.

John L. Tishman Chairman Emeritus of Tishman

Julien Studley.

Julien Studley Broker, Investor and Founder of Julien J. Studley Julien Studley was an American success story up

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| APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

If he hadn’t had a lifetime of significant accomplishments, the construction of the Twin Towers alone would grant John L. Tishman, who died on Feb. 6, 2016 of respiratory failure at age 90, the status of a New York legend. Of course, for Tishman, who inherited the firm founded by his grandfather Julius, the World Trade Center towers were just one chapter in a life that saw him affect the skylines and economic fortunes of major cities across the country, supervising the building of the John Hancock Center in Chicago, Century City in Los Angeles and the Renaissance Center in Detroit, as well as New York’s current Madison Square Garden. His efforts in the 1960s and 1970s brought skyscrapers to reach new 100-floor heights. His company also built Disney’s Epcot Center in Orlando, Fla., and handled the renovations for

Carnegie Hall. Entering the industry in 1948, Tishman was an early advocate of the use of reinforced concrete in residential high-rise buildings, according to The New York Times. He championed smarter business practices in many areas, creating construction management techniques that made building more efficient (and therefore cost-saving), promoting the use of energy-conserving lighting systems, and, during the World Trade Center construction, pioneering the method of breaking a bid into smaller components according to specific need rather than acquiring materials in massive bulk purchases. He is survived by his son, Daniel, now the vice chairman of Tishman, his daughter, Katherine Blacklock, and three grandsons.

Leon Charney.

Leon Charney Attorney and Real Estate Mogul at H.L. Charney & Associates Leon Charney, who died on March 21 at the age of 77, was such a towering giant in the world of real estate that his influence extended to the most contested piece of real estate in the world—the nation of Israel. Charney grew up poor, and made his way through college and law school earning money as a cantor. He built a successful practice as an entertainment attorney, representing the likes of Jackie Mason and Sammy Davis Jr. He amassed enough of a fortune to purchase One Times Square in 1980, according to Bloomberg News, back when the area was still scary and rundown, littered with drug dealers and porno theaters. Once Times Square was rehabilitated, it proved to be a tremendous investment. He added more buildings over time, eventually owning 1.5 million square feet of commercial real estate, and these investments made him a billionaire. Charney may be best remembered for his role in the Middle East peace process. He had developed a relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir when he served as an adviser to Indiana Senator Vance Hartke. When President Jimmy Carter prepared to engage Israel and Egypt in peace talks, he called on Charney, who helped coordinate the meetings between leaders Anwar el-Sadat and Menachem Begin that led to the peace accords between the two countries. Carter later called Charney “one of the unsung heroes of the Middle East peace process.” He hosted a televised weekly public affairs show, “The Leon Charney Report,” from 1998 until his death. His prestigious guests included the likes of Yitzhak Rabin, Ehud Barak and Ed Koch. Charney is survived by his wife, Tzili Doron, their sons Mickey and Nati, and his sister, Bryna.

FROM LEFT: DUSTIN WAYNE HARRIS/PATRICKMCMULLAN; RAY TAMARRA/GETTY IMAGES;NEILSON BARNARD/GETTY IMAGES

John Zuccotti.

until his death from brain cancer at 88. He fled Europe at the start of World War II, arrived on our shores at 16 and built an empire from a fourthfloor walk-up on East 53rd Street. After fleeing Brussels with his family and making short stops in Nice and Cuba before settling in New York, Studley worked in the diamond business until a profile he read in Life magazine on real estate mogul William Zeckendorf inspired him to switch careers, according to The New York Times. He first built a business by attracting clients via postcards sent from his bedroom. Later, he worked at a firm where, he once said, he averaged $2 a month for two years while cutting diamonds at night. After that, business clearly improved. He founded his firm, Julien J. Studley, in 1954, making it one of the most prominent commercial real estate firms in the country focused on tenant representation, and serving as a tireless advocate for his clients. In time, major projects he helped usher through included Citigroup Center Worldwide Plaza and the Time Warner Center. In 2002, he sold his company to associates in his firm for $20 million (The firm merged two years ago with the global real estate company Savills to become Savills Studley). He then founded Studley New Vista Associates, a real estate investment and management firm. With his success, Studley gave his time generously, serving as chairman of the New School for Social Research and chairman of the Film Society of Lincoln Center and, through a generous donation, helped to establish The New School’s Observatory in Latin America in 2006. He is survived by his wife Jane, his son Jacob, his sister-in-law Helen Studley; his stepson, Ni jun, and wife LuLu; and his grandchildren, Adam and Benjamin.

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ENDNOTES

The Party Circuit

Bruce Mosler of Cushman & Wakefield, left, and Arthur J. Mirante II of Avison Young

2015 Ingenious Deal of the Year Award winners: Judges Andrew Albstein of Goldberg Weprin & Ustin and Peter Hauspurg of Eastern Consolidated; third-place Edward S. Gordon Memorial Award winner Alan Goodkin, The Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group; Patrick Nessenthaler, The Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group; Vice Chair of REBNY’s Sales Brokers Committee David Robinov, The Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group; first-place Henry Hart Rice Achievement Award winners Mark Weiss (now of Cushman & Wakefield) with Howard Kesseler and Justin DiMare of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank; second-place Robert T. Lawrence Memorial Award winners: Gregory Tosko and Sacha Zarba of CBRE); John Banks, REBNY President; and Chair of REBNY’s Sales Brokers Committee Woody Heller, Savills Studley.

REBNY SALES BROKERS MOST INGENIOUS DEAL OF THE YEAR AWARDS April 12, 2016, Club 101

152

| APRIL 13, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

a 300,000-square-foot building right next to MSKCC at the site. Lauren Crowley Corrinet, Gregory Tosko and Sacha Zarba of CBRE scored second place with the Robert T. Lawrence Memorial Award for “An Affair to Remember | The Empire State Building Stays LinkedIn: How CBRE Inspired an Icon to Innovate for Technology’s Most Innovative Company” at 350 Fifth Avenue. Social networking website LinkedIn inked a lease to expand its footprint in the Empire State Building last July. It added a space that retail supply-chain manager Li & Fung vacated to increase its size in the iconic national and New York City landmark to 280,000 square feet. Alan Goodkin of the Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group received the third-place Edward S. Gordon Memorial Award for negotiating construction financing for the “EmblemHealth Building” at 101 Pennsylvania Avenue in East New York, Brooklyn. Mr. Goodkin arranged construction financing for developer Jonas Rudofsky of Squarefeet. com for a 160,000-square-foot medical center that will be home to EmblemHealth.—Lauren Elkies Schram

A rendering of the site for Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Hunter College. The deal won first place.

PARTY PHOTOGRAPHS BY STEVE FRIEDMAN; BUILDING PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY COSTAR GROUP

ast year may be long behind us, but for seven New York City brokers, their 2015 successes were very palpable earlier this month. At the Real Estate Board of New York’s 72nd annual commercial sales brokers committee cocktail party at Club 101 on April 12, REBNY presented the winners of the 2015 Sales Brokers Most Ingenious Deal of the Year awards. Justin DiMare, Mark Weiss (since gone to Cushman & Wakefield) and Howard Kesseler of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank were honored with the first place Henry Hart Rice Achievement Award for arranging the “Land Swap Between City of NY, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Hunter College” at 525 East 73rd Street. As Commercial Observer reported in April 2015, the New York City Economic Development Corporation sold 525 East 73rd Street to the hospital and the college for $226 million. The property takes up most of the block, spanning York Avenue to the FDR Drive, and East 73rd to East 74th Streets. MSKCC will construct a 23-story outpatient facility on the east side of the lot for a total of 500,000 square feet. The Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing is moving to

Left to right: David Robinov, The Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group; Lisa Owen, Lumaxia Realty; and Helen Hwang, Meridian Investment Sales.

Left to right: David Robinov, The Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group and Vice Chair of REBNY’s Sales Brokers Committee; winners of the first place Henry Hart Rice Achievement Award, Newmark Grubb Knight Frank’s Howard Kesseler, Justin DiMare, and Mark Weiss (now at Cushman & Wakefield); Woody Heller, Savills Studley, Chair of REBNY’s Sales Brokers Committee.

Left to right: Mary Ann Tighe, CBRE; Randy Modell, Ariel Property Advisors; and John Banks, REBNY.

PARTY PHOTOGRAPHS BY STEVE FRIEDMAN; BUILDING PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY COSTAR GROUP

The second-place award went to last year’s LinkedIn deal at the Empire State Building.

Left to right: Eastern Consolidated’s Ted Volynets; Jeff Rosenfeld; and Ilya Gamer.

Left to right: David Robinov, The Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group, Robert T. Lawrence Memorial Award winner Lauren Crowley Corrinet of CBRE and Woody Heller, Savills Studley.

COMMERCIALOBSERVER.COM

| APRIL 13, 2016 | 153

1221 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS

The Plan

By Terence Cullen Many a time you hear that a building got a brand spanking new lobby and that’s what brought X, Y and Z tenant to the property. This is hyperbole in plenty of instances, but it’s surely true for Rockefeller Group, which recently completed its entrance at the 44-year-old 1221 Avenue of the Americas between West 48th and West 49th Streets. The landlord started out in the middle of 2014 with renovating the lobby, which cost upward of $30 million, and finished earlier this year. It’s also the first time since the late-1990s that the landlord has overhauled the lobby, according to Edward Guiltinan, the head of leasing for Rockefeller Group, in the first of two phases to spruce up the 2.5-million-square-foot structure. The lobby has become more open to accommodate the workforce coming to the building, which is home to Sirius XM Radio, NBC Universal and anchor tenant McGraw-Hill

154

| APRIL 20, 2016 | COMMERCIAL OBSERVER

PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY THE ROCKEFELLER GROUP

ROCK’ AND ROLL: Rockefeller Group turned the old lobby at 1221 Avenue of the Americas (top left) into one that’s more open and efficient (bottom) with more glass (top right).

Companies. The MdeAS Architects-designed lobby has gone from darker walls and floors to a much brighter white paneling along with imported grey stones. “We transformed a lobby that had a mix of finishes that needed to be updated that people would walk through in a hurry to get to their office space,” Mr. Guiltinan said. “We changed that into a really bright, modern, aesthetically pleasing lobby with cohesive finishes and impressive artwork. People choose to linger.” And linger while tenants may, they can also move much more efficiently through the lobby now. Mr. Guiltinan said a streamlined flow through the entrance was crucial in today’s world of office density and getting more people onto a single floor. Rockefeller Group changed up how you can enter the building by adding a second entrance on West 48th Street in addition to its longstanding West 49th Street doorway. Instead of a single welcome desk in the

center of the lobby, there’s one each at the north and south entrances to the lobby. The southern portion of the building had previously been a relatively small entrance to the building, Mr. Guiltinan said. “We thought it was important to…have a door that was visible from Sixth Avenue on the street level,” he said. “It changed the back door into the building into becoming a prominent entry to the building that many people now use.” An older retail space was removed from the West 48th Street side of the property to make that new entrance possible. The old “back door” of the building has since been replaced with a new amenity retail spot: Zibetto, an Italian-style espresso bar. Mr. Guiltinan said that the strong coffee brewer was meant to be an amenity for existing tenants, potential new companies looking to move to 1221 Avenue of the Americas and the surrounding Midtown community. Rockefeller Group also commissioned

artist Mark Bradford to paint two murals for the lobby. The murals face each other and stand 22 feet by 22 feet in the center hallway of the lobby. All of the lobby work is part of the first of two phases to modernize the Nixon-era building. Next is creating a design for the sunken plaza that sits in front of the building along Avenue of the Americas. Mr. Guiltinan said MdeAS Architects has been brought in to work on the preliminary designs of the arcade, and Peter Braus of Lee & Associates NYC has been brought in to market the retail space. “We know that [the plaza is] an important aspect of completing the renovation of the building,” Mr. Guiltinan said. “The nice thing about that project is the lobby took a long time and was somewhat inconvenient for tenants while it was ongoing. Fortunately, we fully anticipate whatever we do on the sunken plaza will not disrupt tenants.”

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CONGRATULATIONS

to the following professionals for being recognized in the Commercial Observerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Annual Power 100

Brett White

Chairman & Chief Executive Officer

Ron Lo Russo President, Tri-State Region

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Bruce Mosler Chairman of Global Brokerage

Bob Knakal

Chairman, New York Investment Sales

UNPARALLELED AMENITIES

15th floor “Garden in the Sky” terrace featuring first of its kind outdoor conference centers with spectacular New York City views available to all tenants coming summer 2016

Newly redesigned lobby, arcade and building plaza, renovated elevators, upgraded building systems, backup generator, and rejuvenated façade

Prime Plaza District location offering Grand Central convenience and access to 4 5 6 7 B D F M E S

On-site parking garage and food pick-up/messenger center

Extended HVAC hours 8AM to 8PM Monday through Friday

3/31/16 3:38 PM

Michael I. Lenchner

(212) 755-5151 mlenchner@sagerealty.com

Sage.indd 1

Frank Doyle

(212) 812-5759 frank.doyle@am.jll.com

Cynthia Wasserberger

Hayley Shoener

(212) 812-5816 cynthia.wasserberger@am.jll.com

(212) 812-6535 hayley.shoener@am.jll.com

David Kleiner

Harlan Webster

(212) 812-5954 david.kleiner@am.jll.com

(212) 812-5889 harlan.webster@am.jll.com