Farkas of MRA honored with Real Estate Investment Award from the Young Jewish Professionals of New York Real Estate Network

Joseph Farkas received a Real Estate Investment Award from the Young Jewish Professionals of New York Real Estate Network. Farkas, president of Jericho-based Metropolitan Realty Associates, was honored for his ongoing contributions to real estate development, construction, investment and management in New York City and the metropolitan area. The award was presented at the group's Feb. 9 meeting at the Chelsea Pearl, an event space in Manhattan. "It's a great honor to be recognized by a group whose members include so many leading professionals in my industry," Farkas said. Since establishing Metropolitan in 2001, Farkas has developed an enviable track record buying and reinvigorating distressed properties. One of his first investments on Long Island, the 128,000-square-foot Woodlands Office Park in Hauppauge, was purchased for $11 million with occupancy at just 78 percent. He sold it 98 percent occupied 11 months later for $17.8 million. In 2005, Farkas bought a vacant 388,000-square- foot pharmaceutical plant in Garden City for just $7.5 million. After converting to mixed use tenancy and leasing it tenants such as Lifetime Brands and Nassau Community College, the building now is worth more than $40 million. In 2006, in Great River, Farkas paid $20 million for a half-empty office building designed to house technology companies in the late 1990s, updated it and leased virtually all of the exiting space to a wide range of tenants and then created a new 165,000 square-foot-office building from a dilapidated warehouse at the complex that today is mostly leased. Last year, Farkas bought 711 Stewart Ave. in Garden City, a 335,000-square-foot building with a 70 percent vacancy rate for the bargain price of $15 million. Now, he is in converting it to mixed use and has signed a national retail tenant for 121,000 square feet or a third of the space. Recently, Farkas purchased the 155,000-square-foot, eight-floor, office portion of 15 E. 26th St. in Manhattan for $33 million. The space, 45 percent vacant, at the time of the purchase, is located in the newly hot neighborhood now called NoMad, which is undergoing a transformation with new luxury condos, corporate offices and restaurants. Since then, Vera Wang, an international fashion design firm, signed a 12-year lease for 39,000 square feet. Manhattan-based YJP is a non-profit organization that provides business, educational and social networking opportunities for young Jewish business leaders. The real estate division includes real estate professionals, among them operators/owners, developers, investors and service providers. Farkas established Metropolitan Realty Associates in 2001. Today it is a national real estate investment and development firm, owning more than 1 million square feet of office space on Long Island. Metropolitan Realty Associates owns the Business and Research Center at Garden City, in Garden City, NY, the Sunrise Business Center in Great River, N.Y., Garden City Square (711 Stewart Avenue) in Garden City, NY and the Jericho Atrium in Jericho, N.Y. It also has important investments in development projects in New York City and recently purchased 15 E. 26th St, a 150,000-square-foot office building between Madison Avenue and Fifth Avenue, and many other properties across the country. For more information about Metropolitan Realty Associates visit www.metropolitanra.com. # # #