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Distressed commercial real estate loans on the rise, while pricing of real assets remains sticky and transaction volume shrivels up. Severe buyer-seller disconnect, particularly in New York, will soon correct and present opportunities for investors.

This week we dive into what was The Bottom Line, a historic music venue formerly located at 15 West 4th St. in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan.  It was located on the ground floor of a classic looking turn-of-the century loft style office building owned by New York University, at the northwest corner of West 4th and Mercer Sts. The venue which opened in 1974 had a seating capacity of 400 and hosted major musical acts and was a showcase for up and coming artists.

Manhattan, NY According to The Blumenfeld Development Group, (BDG) Marshall’s department store has extended its lease with East River Plaza for another 10 years, active from 2021 to 2031.  The retailer occupies 34,000 s/f in the East Harlem complex and has been an original tenant of the space since East River Plaza opened its doors to the public in 2009. In addition to Marshall’s, East River Plaza houses such national brands as:  Costco, Target, Burlington Coat Factory, Aldi, Bob’s Discount Furniture, Planet Fitness, Applebee’s and more. 

Brooklyn, NY TerraCRG has closed on the sale of the development site at 348 Van Brunt St. for $750,000. Peter Matheos and Mike Rafter exclusively represented the seller. 348 Van Brunt St. is a residential development site in the Red Hook neighborhood. The property is zoned R5/C1-3 which is well-suited for a user or investor looking to develop a condo or townhouse project in one of the city’s fastest growing submarkets.

The declining retail market coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic has left many real estate investors in limbo. Buyers are uncertain what the future may bring and are thus not inclined to buy in this market. This leaves cash strapped owners no other option but to continue to let their property “bleed” or alternatively for owners who want to sell to keep their properties since they cannot find a replacement property via a 1031 transaction. Ground leases may prove to be a valuable alternative to a sale of the property.

Manhattan, NY Friedman-Roth Realty Services has completed the following: • The sale of an Upper East Side apartment building at 319 East 75th St. The six-story elevator building, located between First and Second Aves., contains 20 apartments and 2 retail stores. The 25 ft. wide building contains a total of 11,105 s/f and was constructed in 1910. This is the first sale of this property in over 40 years and the selling price for this transaction was $5.25 million.

New York, NY Meridian Capital Group and Silver Eagle Advisory Group, a newly formed commercial real estate advisory firm, have launched an advisory practice to provide a range of workout and restructuring services to clients. The partnership will bring together the experienced industry leaders at Meridian and Silver Eagle to serve clients coping with challenges in the commercial real estate industry.

Brooklyn, NY GFI Realty Services arranged the $4.33 million sale of 665 St. Marks Ave., an elevator building comprised of 21 units located in the Crown Heights  neighborhood. GFI senior managing director, Matthew Sparks represented the buyer, a local investor.  Sparks  also arranged the acquisition financing, along with William Watkins

New York, NY Adelaide Polsinelli, vice chair of Compass has sold 207 East 32nd St., the beaux-arts headquarters of celebrated graphic artist, Milton Glaser. The property is located between 2nd and 3rd Aves. It is a 9,000 s/f boutique office building, which was the clubhouse for Tammany Hall Central Association in 1920, and later became the home of New York Magazine.  

Brooklyn, NY Madison Capital and Salmar Properties completed the lease expansion of Prime Clerk at Liberty Bklyn in Sunset Park. Prime Clerk, a division of Duff & Phelps, provides third-party legal administrative services and expanded from its current 18,940 s/f space on the fourth floor to an additional and adjacent 11,761 s/f unit on the same floor and 21,000 s/f on the third floor, which will be used for commercial printing and mailing. 

Manhattan, NY Transwestern Real Estate Services (TRS) announces it represented Sheltering Arms Children and Family Services in the $7.5 million sale of a condominium at 305 Seventh Ave. in Midtown Manhattan to the American Guild of Music Artists (AGMA). The 9,476 s/f condominium comprises the entire second floor of the building, which formerly served as Sheltering Arms’ local foster care program headquarters.

New York, NY Champion Elevator has acquired New York-based Westech Elevator, a provider of elevator service, repair, modernization, and inspections of elevators. The acquisition will be the foundation for Champion Elevator’s New York expansion plans. This will enhance Champion’s position as a partner to building owners as a leading independent alternative to the multinational elevator companies. Champion will provide employees the opportunities to be part of a family culture with advancement goals. 

Manhattan, NY According to Edison Properties and Gottesman Real Estate Partners, Quantcast, a leader in machine learning technology and its application for brands, agencies and publishers, has signed a five-year, 23,000 s/f lease, and BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the British Broadcasting Corp., has renewed a five-year 36,000 s/f lease, both with The Hippodrome (1120 Avenue of the Americas). After previously subleasing a portion of BBC Studios’ space, Quantcast has made its own direct lease. These deals comprise the entire fifth floor.

The distressed commercial real estate market is all hyperbole.  Tenants are not paying rent–mainly retailers–as well as some office occupants. People are not running in the streets to sell their properties at a discount or at a loss.

On October 1st, I launched my new book, “Knowing Isn’t Doing.” And it became the number one bestselling book on Amazon.com for sales books, surpassing, if for only a few days, top sales authors like Jeb Blount and Grant Cardone! How? I could tell you it’s a great book, but looking back, I recognized that I applied the same exact approach to this book, as I applied to growing my company, and that I share with our clients to growing theirs.

On behalf of the entire commercial real estate industry in New York and the many commercial tenants that propel the economy of the greatest city in the world, BOMA New York continues to push the ball forward. Our dedicated staff and Board of Directors are regularly behind the scenes advocating for the commercial built environment and are on the frontlines collaborating for a better future. The following summary recaps our recent efforts.

New York, NY IREM NYC is happy to welcome two new executive committee members:  Jessica Tusing, ARM, CPM is the secretary for the chapter. Tusing is the director of compliance at Argo Management. Tina Thiakodemetris, ARM is the vice president of chapter activities. Thiakodemetris is a senior account executive at the Ferrara Management Group in Bedford Hills.

New York, NY IREM NYC is offering the Accredited Residential Manager (ARM) certification course (virtually) on November 10 & 11 and 16 & 17. The ARM is the most recognized professional credential for residential property managers. From operations to finance to human resources, attendees will learn every skill needed to optimize residential management and enhance their reputation in their marketplace. • Learn how to manage the team including how to boost productivity and collaboration;

New Paltz, NY On October 2nd, IREM NYC hosted their second annual clay shoot at Mid-Hudson Sporting Clays. The event was a benefit for GiGi’s Playhouse NYC, a community center where families gather to celebrate, inspire, and empower each other, to attend programs, lectures and events that promote self-esteem and self-advocacy, and to find support and friendship. It’s also an education center where weekly educational and social programs prepare individuals with Down syndrome to engage more fully in their homes, communities and schools and an awareness center dedicated to changing New York’s perception of Down syndrome, so that the abilities and contributions of our community are recognized and embraced by all.

If you still use POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) lines to communicate with your central station monitoring company, you are using outdated technology. In the before time (as my father likes to say) POTS lines were one of the most reliable means of transmitting an alarm signal. However,