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The transformation of traditional office space through open-plan workspaces has been heralded as the next great frontier in office productivity and culture, encouraging open communication, collaboration, and efficient use of space. Many recent open-plan offices have embraced contemporary design with aesthetically pleasing decor and dynamic lifestyle elements such as coffee bars, full-service café, lounge areas, and treadmill desks. In the past year, however, open office design has come under some scrutiny. A recent Harvard study found that while open office workspaces can lead to increased communication, they also can inhibit productivity. According to the study, the lack of privacy and the abundance of distractions and noise have limited employees’ ability to focus.

he question haunts me every time someone says it to me and unfortunately, that’s all too often.  It’s kind of like saying “well, I’ll get car insurance after I’ve had an accident or home insurance after the hurricane.  That just doesn’t make any sense at all. And I believe it’s because of a fundamental issue. Most folks don’t understand how security works.  Back in the medieval ages, security meant build a big castle wall with a moat (some people still think this is effective [wink, wink, nudge, nudge]); then after the hordes changed tactics and instead of advancing would lay siege.

White Plains, NY The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) of Westchester County has revealed its slate of officers for the 2019 term. Susan Curtis, RPA, was re-elected president. Curtis was sworn in with the rest of the slate at BOMA Westchester’s Annual Holiday Party and Inauguration of Officers held December 13, 2018 at Westchester Hills Golf Club.

It is clear that coworking has transformed both the commercial real estate industry and the startup ecosystem. By allowing small businesses and solopreneurs easy access to well-appointed, turnkey, flexible office space complete with fractional use of shared resources such as printing, conference rooms, and videoconferencing, coworking companies typically extract significantly higher psf revenue than traditional commercial landlords. Given the clear benefits to both landlords/operators and their customers, coworking is not only here to stay, but will continue to encroach upon the traditional commercial office space landlord/tenant model. Coworking behemoth WeWork was recently valued at $45 billion and is rumored to be planning a very high profile IPO in 2019. 

Manhattan, NY According to L&L Holding Co., anchor tenant Citadel Enterprises LLC, one of the world’s largest asset management firms, is expanding its tenancy at 425 Park Ave., a 47-story office tower under construction in the Plaza District. 

We’ve written what’s hot and what’s not in our annual real estate predictions of green trends and have also written in depth about those trends - roof gardens, urban farms, beekeeping, biophilic design, solar and many more.  But come gather ‘round people, because the times they are a’changin. Certainly, we’re seeing changes in the real estate landscape. As The Urban Land Institute’s “Emerging Trends in Real Estate US and Canada” opines: “New Era Demands New Thinking.” ULI considers the 2019 outlook to be complex with uncertainty, a scenario where the subtle interplay of overlap among real estate market sectors will “make for innovation and creativity. “

Manhattan, NY Friedman-Roth Realty Services has arranged the first sale in almost 20 years, the disposition of 112 West 138th St. (aka The Invincible Court).  Located in Central Harlem between Lenox Ave. and Adam Clayton Powell Blvd., this six story elevator building consists of 54 large apartments. The 39,000 s/f building sold for $19.25 million, a 3% cap rate and 19 times rent-roll.

New York, NY WSP has acquired Louis Berger, a U.S.-headquartered leading international professional services firm. Louis Berger is mainly active in the transportation & infrastructure and environmental & water sectors, as well as in master planning; sectors and services that WSP has targeted for growth. The addition of Louis Berger will also reinforce WSP’s presence in the federal U.S. market as it has developed expertise and built experience in governmental contracts (including federal military and economic and institutional development).

Queens, NY The Queens Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA Queens) honored its general counsel Raymond Mellon, senior partner at Zetlin & De Chiara LLP, on December 13th with a Chapter Citation Award. Mellon was recognized for his efforts on behalf of AIA Queens to establish the Queens Foundation for Architecture. His legal guidance and advocacy were instrumental to the nonprofit’s inception and launch.

New York, NY Oxford Property Group and Rhino have launched a new deposit-free search tool that allows prospective renters and their brokers to search for exclusive deposit-free listings through Oxford Property’s own online search tools.

Manhattan, NY RYBAK Development has launched plans for a new development project – Manor82. This limestone development is located in the Upper East Side neighborhood at 333 East 82nd St. On December 19th, 2018, RYBAK Development closed on UES assemblage of four townhouses; 331, 333, 335 and 337 for $23 million. Manor82 shall be a 21-unit condominium project with a unit mix consisting of one, two, three-bedroom, duplex townhouses with terraces and PH units with 18-ft. ceilings and a community facility space at the ground and cellar levels. The project has been filed to be composed on 35,875 FAR s/f.

New York, NY According to MKDA, Richard Rudman has joined the firm as a managing director. In addition, his corporate design firm, Rudman Design, LLC will be merged into MKDA. He has 35 years of experience in interior space planning, programming, design and project management. He has worked on offices, showrooms and educational facilities for clients that include Pirelli North America, Christine Valmy, e.l.f. Cosmetics, Catalyst, Rent Stabilization Associates, Karl Lagerfeld and Krizia. 

Manhattan, NY According to Strategic Capital, Cape Advisors, and Forum Absolute Capital Partners,  West SoHo’s newest residential tower, Greenwich West, has topped out to its full 30-story height. The building broke ground in July 2018 and launched sales of its 170 residences this fall, with closings slated to begin in early 2020. The builder for the project is Plaza Construction. Greenwich West is located at 110 Charlton St. in the Hudson Sq. neighborhood, which sits at the nexus of the West Village, Soho and TriBeCa. The area, and all of the west side waterfront up to Hudson Yards, is currently in the midst of one of the city’s biggest development booms, as illustrated by Google’s recent announcement to develop a New York campus in Hudson Sq. This news came months after Disney/ABC said that it would be moving its New York headquarters to the neighborhood, further showcasing the area’s transformation into a 24-7 live, work and play destination.

Brooklyn, NY According to DJ Johnston, partner and managing director at B6 Real Estate Advisors, his team has closed on the $24.6 million purchase of a nine-building multifamily portfolio in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Alchemy Ventures purchased the portfolio from IWC General Partners. The properties, which total 81 untis and  52,136 s/f,  include: 879 DeKalb Ave., 419 Marcus Garvey Blvd., 421 Marcus Garvey Blvd., 654 Putnam Ave., 319 Malcolm X Blvd., 829 Halsey St., 804 Macon St. 808 Macon St., and 814 Macon St.

Queens, NY A partnership between Atlas Capital Group, Partners Group (on behalf of its clients) and Invesco have signed a 25,744 s/f, six-year lease for the relocation and expansion of Canada-based Spin Master Corp.’s New York City headquarters at The Factory, the 1.1 million s/f loft office building in Long Island City. The deal brings Spin Master’s total lease commitment at the Factory to 50,802 s/f. Spin Master will join its games and puzzle division, Cardinal Toys, on the sixth floor of the 10-story building. Newmark Knight Frank’s Brian Waterman, Howard Kesseler, Jordan Gosin and Alex Rosenblum represented the ownership.

Manhattan, NY Taconic Investment Partners LLC, a fully integrated owner, operator, and developer of commercial and residential real estate, together in partnership with TH Real Estate (an affiliate of Nuveen, the investment business of TIAA), have acquired mixed-use office and retail tower 440 Ninth Ave. The 411,000 s/f commercial building, located in the Hudson Yards neighborhood at the corner of West 35th St., was purchased for $269 million. The mixed-use office and retail property was sold by Japan-based real estate company UNIZO Holdings Company, Ltd. Darcy Stacom and Bill Shanahan of CBRE repped the seller. Metlife Real Estate Investors provided the mortgage financing for the acquisition and redevelopment. The venture was represented by Evan Pariser and Michael Gigliotti of HFF and Tom Traynor and James Millon of CBRE on the debt placement. 

Queens, NY According to leading real estate development companies F&T Group and SCG America, Regal – operator of the second-largest theatre circuit in the United States – has signed a lease to occupy its 34,000 s/f multiplex within Tangram, the new 1.2 million s/f, mixed-use development in Flushing. Regal will be the first theatre to open in downtown Flushing in 30 years, further solidifying the neighborhood as a world-class destination. Tangram’s seven-screen theatre will feature the latest in groundbreaking cinema technology including 4DX, which allows the audience to connect with movies through motion vibration, and environmental effects such as wind and rain. This will be the first 4DX location in the borough.

Manhattan, NY According to The Durst Org., I Love Kickboxing, Soul Dental and Anthology Wine & Spirits each signed 15-year leases totaling 6,494 s/f for the ground floor at FRANK 57 WEST, located at 600 West 58th St. They are 2,551, 2,555 and 1,388 s/f, respectively. I Love Kickboxing has locations in the U.S., Canada, and Peru. FRANK will be Soul Dental’s second location, they have an office in Chelsea, and Anthology Wine & Spirits third location in Manhattan.