Tags

Joseph Moinian has officially closed on 417 Fifth Avenue.

The developer dropped $125 million for the 11-story, 392,000-square-foot building, according to city records.

The Observer reported way back in February when this deal went to contract. The building sits on the corner of 38th Street and some of its main tenants are a 10-year-old boy’s dream come true: Atari and Marvel Entertainment.

The biggest part of the deal may have been the 80,000-square-feet of precious air rights which were also included. The building, previously owned by Murray Properties and General Electric, was built in 1911.

Fifth Avenue in midtown remains the most expensive corridor on Earth for retailers to rent along, but Madison Avenue, for the first time, isn't too far behind. A recent report from brokerage Cushman & Wakefield said the average asking rent for retail space on Madison Avenue in midtown was $1,019 a square foot annually by the middle of 2007. That's the first time the average has passed the $1,000 mark, and is a $134 increase from mid-2006.

But Fifth remains the priciest. Asking rents above 49th Street on Fifth average $1,500 a foot. Still, as Cushman & Wakefield noted, there was no space directly available for lease along the stretch.

Here is a clip of Michael Bloomberg chatting with Tom Brokaw at Cooper Union last night explaining why being mayor in New York is better than being the top official in the country.

Bloomberg explained that if, say, he wanted to change the direction of traffic on Fifth Avenue, “it may be a dumb idea, but tomorrow morning, there’d be a cop on every corner. Every sign would be changed. I mean, it would go northbound.” After some laughter from the audience, he said, “Presidents can’t do that.”

The falling dollar can’t stop Fifth Avenue, so it seems.

The midtown retail strip once again tops a list of the world’s most expensive shopping strips, according to a report by brokerage Cushman & Wakefield. It beat out Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay, the Avenue des Champs Elysées in Paris, and New Bond Street in London.

Rent on Fifth between 49th and 59th streets costs stores about $1.5 million a year, the report found, with average rents hitting $1,500 a square foot, up 11 percent from a year earlier.

Other top U.S. strips: Madison Avenue ($1,200 a foot); East 57th Street ($900); and North Michigan Avenue in Chicago ($425).

Globally, Hong Kong maintained its spot behind New York, with average rents hitting $1,213 a foot. Paris ($922 a foot), London ($814), and Tokyo ($683) followed.

Gawker reports that Forbes will announce it's selling its headquarters at 60 Fifth Avenue and is in talks to build a new headquarters in the city.

An anonymous tipster on Gawker said:

“We will be announcing tomorrow that Forbes has retained Cushman & Wakefield to pursue the sale of the headquarters building at 60 Fifth Avenue… Recently we have begun talks with key developers in the city to create a new headquarters in New York City. We are planning that Forbes will remain at 60 Fifth Avenue and 90 Fifth Avenue for the next few years.”

We are getting more information about the tip.

The eight-story 60 Fifth Avenue, between 12th and 13th streets, has 120,000 square feet and was built in 1926.

If you tour the model residences of 995 Fifth Avenue, chances are you will buy a unit in the building, according to Extell’s Gary Barnett.

Maybe he’s right.

Over half of the 26 units in the Upper East Side development have sold, according to a press release. In just 30 days, over $100 million in sales have been recorded.

The residences, which start out at $12 million, range in size from 4,100 to 8,400 square feet and there is a 7,000-square-foot penthouse with a 5,000-square-foot outdoor terrace.

Occupancy is scheduled for 2008. The full release is below.

 

SALES SOAR AT EXTELL’S 995 FIFTH AVENUE

$100+ Million in Sales in 30 Days

New York, New York (July 12, 2007) Gary Barnett, president of Extell Development Company, announced that sales at 995 Fifth Avenue are exceptionally strong with over 50% of the residences sold. According to Barnett, “The opening of the model residences galvanized sales at 995 Fifth. Once prospective purchasers come into the building and experience these extraordinary residences, they immediately envision themselves living there.”

The 26 residences at 995 Fifth Avenue range from 4,100 – 8,400 square feet and include a grand, top-floor, 7,000 square foot penthouse with outdoor terrace of 5,000 square feet featuring dramatic views of Central Park and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Highlights of the 995 Fifth homes include elegant entry galleries, expansive living rooms, formal dining rooms, butler’s pantries and grand, master bedroom suites.

Beth Fisher, Senior Marketing Director for Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group, the exclusive sales and marketing agent for 995 Fifth Avenue remarked, “It is a privilege to offer homes of the caliber of 995 Fifth. Not only is it a rare opportunity to own a classic, Fifth Avenue, pre-war building with state-of-the-art infrastructure but 995 Fifth owners also enjoy co-op ownership with features and benefits of a condominium residence.

Fisher continued, “With its premier location, arguably among the best residential addresses in the world, choice of custom finishes of the finest materials and superb amenities such as the private La Palestra Health and Wellness Center, 995 Fifth has strongly resonated with purchasers. Financially savvy, our buyers recognize the great appreciation a property of this caliber generates.”

To assist potential owners in envisioning their modern-day Fifth Avenue lifestyle, designer Eric Cohler designed two stunning model residences representing two half-floor homes incorporating up-to-date appointments and state of the art technology. For each, Cohler has applied a distinct perspective, one traditional and the other contemporary, for every room.

Centered within the exclusive enclave of Upper East Side at 81st Street and Fifth Avenue, 995 Fifth Avenue is brilliantly situated at the nexus of New York culture and history surrounded by renowned museums, international boutiques, fine restaurants and elite private schools.

Prices for the residences at 995 Fifth Avenue begin at $12,000,000. Occupancy is scheduled for January 2008.

995 FIFTH AVENUE SALES CENTER

995 Fifth Avenue at 81st Street

New York, New York 10021

212.570.9950

www.995FifthAve.com

DEVELOPER

Extell Development Company

Extell Development Company is a nationally acclaimed real estate developer of residential, office, hotel and retail properties. Under the leadership of Gary Barnett, Extell exceeds market expectations while delivering the dream behind the building. Among the company’s current New York developments is 995 Fifth Avenue, the Orion, one of Manhattan’s six tallest residential buildings and Ariel East and Ariel West, two exquisite glass towers on the Upper West Side and the Avery and The Rushmore, Extell’s premier developments in Riverside South. With a portfolio exceeding 10 million sq. ft, Extell has gained a reputation for its acute ability to acquire and turn around projects that consistently outperform in the marketplace.

INTERIOR DESIGN/MODEL RESIDENCES

Eric Cohler

Eric Cohler creates interior designs that infuse traditional forms with the unexpected. Considered one of the country’s leading designers, industry magazine editors have dubbed Cohler the “Mixmaster” for his use of contemporary materials, which, juxtaposed with classical elements, give his interiors a jolt of unusual color and texture. His projects include residences and commercial spaces across the U.S., Europe, and the Caribbean. House Beautiful has described him as one of the 14 “best of the best” in the “next wave of designers in America,” and he is included annually in their “Top 100” issue.

EXCLUSIVE SALES AND MARKETING

Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group

Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group offers an impressive array of new residential development for the discerning home buyer and a broad spectrum of services for residential developers. With 20 years of experience in marketing and collective sales in excess of $15 billion, the company combines the powerful distribution network of The Corcoran Group with the unparalleled marketing expertise of The Sunshine Group. Corcoran Sunshine is the recognized industry leader in the pre-development planning, marketing, and sales of luxury residential properties.

 

 

College dropout David Geffen already has $4.6 billion (plus a song penned for him by Joni Mitchell). And, according to deeds filed today, he now has $37.5 million from alliterative Blackstone Group co-founder Pete Peterson.

The deal represents the second-biggest co-op sale in New York City history, behind only Rupert Murdoch's $44 million buy at 834 Fifth.

In exchange, Mr. Peterson has the 12-room duplex penthouse at 810 Fifth Avenue, which fickle Mr. Geffen bought just last year for $31.5 million. Most recently, in an article last week in the NY Sun, Mr. Geffen was said to be selling for only $34 million. Such chump change!

Despite his steep price, this buyer belongs in the building. As New York magazine pointed out when the deal was first rumored, the co-op building used to house Richard Nixon, the Blackstone man’s boss when he was the Secretary of Commerce.

Fittingly, Governor Nelson Rockefeller was once in the penthouse: Nelson’s little brother David preceded Mr. Peterson as a chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations; and older brother John III was a pal of the Blackstone boy’s too.

A condo has finally and officially sold in the renovated Plaza Hotel. While many units are under contract in the refurbished hotel, this is the first sale that has officially closed.

The sale appeared in city records on June 21 for $11.2 million. The buyer is listed as Hampshire Industries.

In August 2004, El-Ad Properties bought the Plaza at 768 Fifth Avenue for $675 million and then proceeded to completely refurbish it. The new and improved property will open in October with 282 hotel rooms and 182 condo units. The Observer broke the news in May that a Plaza condo went to contract for the eye-popping price of $50 million.

What happens when that unit closes? A party, we suspect; a very big party.

Saks announced this week that its flagship Fifth Avenue location is vastly expanding its shoe department to encompass the entire eighth floor.

Sorry, evening wear: you've just been trampled by an onslaught of designer pumps!

The extended footwear selection, set to debut in August, will be sooo huge that it will have its own zip code, 10022-SHOE -- "the first floor to be granted its own designated zip code by the United States Post Office," according to a press release; yet a Saks spokesperson admitted that it might not be the biggest shoe floor in the city.

Still, sweet marketing gimmick. How'd Saks hook that up? Can just anyone apply for his own four-digit vanity code? Sign me up for 10010-SHOT.

"Actually, every address across the country has the unique four digit, and that's the way the mail is sorted," noted U.S. Postal Service spokesman Tom Gaynor.

Saks’ personalization is unique, however. "It's basically a pilot program," Mr. Gaynor said. "Our sales team has been meeting with Saks and they came up with this idea... It's just a new way that the Postal Service is trying to be creative with their mailers to try and increase brand recognition for their brand."

Some sales team. Saks isn't paying a dime for the vanity digits, Mr. Gaynor conceded. Somewhere, the DMV vanity-plate makers are rolling their collective eyes.

How can you hook up your own free personalized zip?

"You gotta get big enough that one of our national sales representatives will meet with you," said Mr. Gaynor. "Right now, they're working with large businesses. When you start getting on that level, they'll work something out with you. But, who knows, down the road, what the future may bring?"

Has a metropolis ever had such a lengthy era of debauched prosperity? Will the bubbly prices of hard-boiling uptown real estate ever simmer down?

No.

According to a source, an apartment at the newly-refurbished Plaza Hotel has gone to contract for at least $50 million, which quite easily makes it the biggest apartment sale ever in New York City.

Since late 2005, that title belonged to the sharp-tongued hedge fund sovereign Daniel Loeb, whose full-floor penthouse at 15 Central Park West reportedly cost $45 million. It isn’t clear if this mammoth Plaza deal, like Mr. Loeb’s, is for a combined-unit apartment--but Stribling broker Sassy Johnson has said that some buyers are combining up to five units each.

Marx would be livid! But The Plaza has always been a land of miraculous, magical affluence: Eloise mixed stiff martinis for Truman Capote in the Grand Ballroom, while Frank Lloyd Wright took his Oak Room tea with Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt, as Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and Sinatra waltzed beneath the Palm Court’s stained glass.

But things have been different since August 2004, when New York developer El-Ad Properties, headed by the Israeli-born developer Miki Naftali, bought the Plaza for $675 million. El-Ad is spending $400 million to refurbish the 805-room hotel: When it opens in October, the Central Park landmark will have 182 private condos and 130 hotel rooms--plus 152 units that owners will live in for about a quarter of the year before renting them out.

What is the best new perk? “One touch, high resolution, wireless flat-panel display provides each resident with a fingertip array of concierge and security services,” says the Plaza’s Web site, “as well as the ability to simply and elegantly control the interior ambience of their apartment.”

One-touch ambience must be hip because, according to the New York Post, the Plaza has already lured real estate kingpin Harry Macklowe (he paid around $35 million); Bear Stearns C.E.O. James Cayne and race-car mogul Flavio Briatore (both around $25 million); Tommy Hilfiger (under $18 million); and synthetic-faced Jocelyn Wildenstein (under $10 million).

But because the building is still under construction, buyers have had to buy their apartments without seeing them first-hand. According to Bloomberg News, a Russian tycoon and his daughter walked away from the Plaza’s penthouse because sales agents refused to show it. (As recompense, there’s video and digital imagery of the interiors.)

Could the record-breaking buyer have signed a contract without seeing the goods? Surely the bespectacled billionaire J. Christopher Flowers, who paid $53 million last year for the Harkness Mansion, got to see the place before making an offer.

Until now, Mr. Flowers’ purchase was New York’s only single-residential deal to rise above the debauched $50 million mark. Could the Plaza sale beat Harkness? And just who is the buyer? A spokesperson for El-Ad Properties would not comment.