We can now reveal the nominations for the Real Estate Board of New York’s Most Ingenious Deal of the Year Awards.
The nominations include eight sales, eight leases and one financing deal.
“From Gas to Grass — 239 Tenth Avenue,” a sales transaction, was submitted by Brock Emmetsberger and James Nelson of Massey Knakal Realty Services. The firm’s Michael Azarian and John Ciraulo also submitted “The Bowery Portfolio” sale.
“The Long Route to the Obvious Buyer — World Financial Center: One North End Avenue” reviews the eventual $200 million transfer of the office building to Brookfield Properties by James Kuhn of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank.
“Arranging the Perfect Marriage: The Long-Term Triple Net Lease of 75 Rockefeller Plaza” to RXR Realty was marketed by the Cushman & Wakefield team of Bruce Mosler and Michael Rotchford, along with Avison Young’s Arthur Mirante.
“Jumpstarting the Future: Coach Buys In to Hudson Yards — South Tower” was submitted by CBRE’s duo Mary Ann Tighe and Gregory Tosko, who represented Coach in the upcoming 737,774-square-foot purchase of its now-under-construction offices.
Representing the Ackerman Institute, Ben Tapper, Marion Jones and Brian Ezratty of Eastern Consolidated monetized its townhouse in “Sell High, Buy Low: Powerful Real Estate Therapy For A Non-Profit — 149 E. 78th Street.”
With “Air Equal to Land: The Sale of Air Rights from 520 Park Avenue,” the Tenantwise brokers M. Myers Mermel and Caroline McLain were able to fortify their client church’s coffers.
“Sale of the Ground Lessor’s Position at 625 Madison Avenue” is a team entry by C&W’s Brian Corcoran, Helen Hwang and Steven Kohn, who sold it to Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. for a high price due to an upcoming rent reset.
A 265,903-square-foot lease transaction for the MTA, “Expanded Service & Reduced Fares — MNR Arrives on Schedule at the Graybar Building — 420 Lexington Avenue” was submitted by the C&W team of Josh Kurlioff and Louis Wolfowitz.
Brooklyn isn’t getting left out, with “MakerBot Industries Leased in Industry City,” through C&W’s Glenn Markman.
“The Grandest Gambit Ever: Realizing a 21st Century Citi — 388-390 Greenwich Street” reveals the decision-making by CBRE’s Robert Alexander, Michael Geoghegan and Andrew Sussman that led to client Citigroup renewing 2.8 million square feet downtown.
“Engineering a Performance-Driven Transaction for Porsche — 711 Eleventh Avenue” recounts Brian Goldman of NGKF’s road to a new building for the auto dealership.
C&W’s David Green worked on “The Improbable Master Lease of the Retail Spaces at 650 Fifth Avenue” with the federal courts on this deal that involved Iran and was purchased by SL Green Realty Corp. with Jeff Sutton.
Studley’s David Goldstein, Jarod Stern and Ken Ruderman worked “Against the Odds — Brookfield Place: 225 Liberty Street” in a relocation deal for The Institute of Culinary Education.
A headquarters relocation lease of 407,000 square feet for L’Oréal, entitled “Eye of the Beholder:
A 21st Century Home for the World’s Largest Beauty Company — 10 Hudson Yards,” was submitted by the CBRE trio of Stephen Siegel, Michael Geoghegan and Lauren Crowley Corrinet.
And another Brooklyn deal is revealed in “A Homegrown Brooklyn Tenant Grows & Stays in Brooklyn — 55 Water Street” by the team of Mark Finkelstein of Retail Strategies and Chase Welles of SCG-Retail, who are bringing the West Elm retailer, its headquarters, and a café to 150,000 square feet of the Empire Stores.
The “70 Pine Street Conversion Financing” was overseen by The Singer & Bassuk Organization duo of Andrew J. Singer and Kathleen McSharry.
Winners of the city’s most prestigious real estate awards will be revealed on the evening of May 6. Good luck to all!
Torchlight Investors is moving to 475 Fifth Ave., where it will have the full 14th floor of 10,696 square feet with a terrace overlooking the Public Library and Bryant Park.
The tenant was previously known as ING Clarion Capital and will move from the 12th floor at 230 Park Ave.
This is the first lease signed in the building since it was essentially vacated and sold to TIAA-CREF at the end of 2011.
Just a year ago, Norges Bank Investment Management, the manager of the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global, joined Teachers in a five-building $1.2 billion venture that included this one.
Swanke Hayden Connell designed a new lobby that now opens onto East 41st Street, new elevators, an HVAC system with tenant controls, a new condenser water tower, restrooms and electrics.
Sources tell us asking rents range from the upper $60s per foot to the mid-$90s for the full tower floors of a mere 4,000 square feet.
The tenant was represented by David McBride of Cushman & Wakefield. The building venture is represented by the Jones Lang LaSalle team of Frank Doyle, Douglas Neye, Cynthia Wasserberger and Shawna O. Menifee. Neither company would comment.
TriBeCa will soon be served by the Gourmet Garage, which has signed a lease for its sixth Manhattan location at the landmarked 366 Broadway.
The store, wrapping 180 feet around the corner of Franklin Street, will have 6,335 feet on the ground, which has 20-foot ceilings, as well as 3,510 feet on the lower level. There will be seating on the 910-square-foot mezzanine. The asking rent was $100 per square foot.
Chase Welles of SCG-Retail and Jonathan Clott of Vision Property Group represented the retailer in the deal. Darrell Rubens and Lee Block of Winick Realty Group worked closely with the Collect Pond House co-op board to find the ideal tenant.
