The Eight-Day Week

Bid on photographers' work like this piece by Adrees Latif at the Newswomen's Club auction.

To Do Wednesday: Distaff Press

Bid on work by leading photographers including Pulitzer-prize winners Catherine Spangler and Adrees Latif at the Newswomen’s Club of New York’s annual silent auction and reception. Founded in 1922 and located on leafy Gramercy Park, the Newswomen’s Club is the oldest professional organization for women journalists in the city. Proceeds from the annual benefit will Read More

The Eight-Day Week

Sting and Trudie Styler

To Do Tuesday: Elephant in the Room

Who can say no to a “Skype introduction” by mogul of all things Richard Branson and a host committee that includes Lauren Bush Lauren, Martha Stewart and Tommy Hilfiger? And did we mention that Sting, his wife Trudie Styler and photographer Bruce Weber (hopefully with shirtless male models in tow) are the honorary hosts? It’s Read More

Fashion Week Observed

McMillan at the Richard Chai Love Spring 2012 Fashion Show

Model Miles McMillan Strikes a Pose

Fresh off the runways in Milan and Paris, model-newcomer Miles McMillan (who walked in Dior, Etro, John Varvatos, Costume National and Damir Doma—to name a few) is gearing up for another strong season of shows and parties in New York. The Observer hunted him down to find out what life is like when you’re so in-demand. Read More

Lease of the Week

Starrett-Lehigh Building. (Courtesy Property Shark)

“The Most Complicated Deal I Personally Have Handled.”

It’s not uncommon to hear Manhattan’s real estate market characterized as sophisticated or complex.

Not every day, however, does a requirement as straightforward as Dentsu McGarryBowen’s uncork such an elaborate and interconnected series of transactions as it did at the Starrett-Lehigh Building.

A longtime tenant in the 2.3-million-square-foot building and one of the property’s largest users, the advertising firm needed to expand. But there was a small problem: Despite its size, the building—an artsy, far West Side location popular among creative tenants—had virtually no available space. Read More

lease beat

Starrett-Lehigh Building. (Courtesy Property Shark)

Gamble Pays Off at Starrett-Lehigh

A year into owning the Starrett-Lehigh Building, RXR Realty is making what at first appeared a dicey gamble into an investment that looks closer to a sure thing.

RXR, led by its chief executive Scott Rechler, acquired the 2.3 million-square-foot far West Side office building last year for a whopping $900 million, a purchase price that equated to almost $400 per square foot. Though buildings in Midtown have traded for double that or more on a per square foot basis in recent months, the sheer magnitude of the investment turned heads as a jumbo-sized commitment in a neighborhood that many brokers and tenants still consider off the beaten path. Read More

the lead indicator

Blitt - Chandan

Price Declines, Losses on Legacy C.R.E. Loans Remain Factor for Many Assets

No one transaction can fully capture a market’s dominant trends. But even one transaction, however idiosyncratic, can serve as a cautionary note when the market’s investment and lending trends calls for temperance. Last week’s widely reported announcement of the sale of the North Building—or Clock Tower—at 5 Madison is a case in point. In mid-2007, SL Green, RFR Holdings and Ian Schrager sold the landmark structure to Africa Israel USA for the hefty sum of $200 million. Earlier that same year, Mr. Schrager indicated that he might forgo a planned hotel redevelopment given the unsolicited bids that had recently arrived for the property. Read More

Acquisitions

The iconic Clocktower Building is changing hands

Clocktower Building Strikes Deal

Africa Israel USA, the controversial owner and operator of commercial properties across the United States, has entered into a contract to sell 5 Madison Avenue to an undisclosed investor for $165 million. Read More