MRC Acquires $29M Loan Portfolio

Madison Realty Capital (MRC), a commercial real estate investment fund, announced this week that it had acquired a 15-note portfolio from a regional savings bank with an aggregate principal balance of approximately $28.7 million. The loan portfolio, consisting of 15 notes throughout New York City, is secured by 11 properties in Manhattan and 14 in Brooklyn, comprised of 245 residential units and 12 commercial spaces, and originated between 2006 and 2009.

"This transaction supports MRC's strategy of acquiring non-performing and sub-performing loan portfolios and then applying our vertically integrated platform, which includes servicing, property management and asset management, to maximize the underlying value of the assets," said Joshua Zegen, Co-Founder and Managing Principal of MRC.

"The credit crunch has raised the bar for everyone," Zegen told GlobeSt.com in 2008. "We are seeing more opportunity. That is the nice thing about the bridge market—you can underwrite according to what is happening in the market on that day." He added, "We are seeing more transaction volume than ever before, because we are one of the few players active in the marketplace right now."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Morgans Sells Two NYC Properties for $140M

Morgans Hotel Group sold off two of its boutique hotels in New York City, the Royalton and Morgans, for $140 million, or approximately $500,000 per room, late last month. Morgans sold the property to Felcor Lodging Trust but will continue to operate the hotels under 15-year management agreements with one 10-year extension option.

Michael Gross, Chief Executive Officer of Morgans said, "We are pleased to complete the sales of these New York hotels and we look forward to a long and beneficial partnership with FelCor as we continue to manage the hotels. With this transaction, we have now completed the sale of three assets which has allowed us to reduce our debt and provided us with financial strength to expand our brands."

Morgans reportedly used part of the proceeds to retire a credit facility. According to a Reuters report, the two hotels, along with the Delano hotel in South Beach that the company sold off in April, were collateral for the credit facility. Delano is currently unencumbered, the company said in a statement.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

REIT Buys UN Building in NYC for $114M

Government Properties Income Trust, an REIT owning properties throughout the United States that are majorly leased to the government, has acquired the New York City building leased to the United Nations for $114 million according to a Bloomberg report. The 16-story property at 305 E. 46th St. was sold by Extell Development Corp. and the transaction was brokered by Stan Johnson Company and Williamson, Picket, Gross Inc.

"This property fits well within our business strategy of owning buildings leased to the government," said David Blackman, president and chief operating officer of Government Properties Income Trust. "We like it because of its Manhattan location and we believe that the UN will stay in this building long term."

The property, also known as the Albano Building, contains 187,060 square feet that is 100% leased to the United Nations per a deal inked in 2007. The building was designed by Frank S. Parker and built in the early 1950s, undergoing extensive renovations in recent years.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Tech Companies in NY Set Up in Flatiron and Chelsea

A new article from the New York Times takes a look at the booming high-tech corridor, oft called "Silicon Alley", growing in Chelsea and the Flatiron district. Late last year Google announced that it would be purchasing an office building in the area for over $1.8 billion, effectively assuming ownership of an entire city block. But it's not the only internet-and-tech player in the neighborhood; companies like Mashable, Demand Media, Tremor Media and Bluewolf have all recently inked deals in Silicon Alley. An excerpt from the article:

Many companies have chosen Silicon Alley to be close to similar companies, which might be their clients, their suppliers, their competitors or a source of new hires. Mr. Dunn of Bonobos, for example, hired his vice president of merchandising from J. Crew, which is at 770 Broadway at East Ninth Street, and his vice president of marketing from the Gilt Groupe, at 2 Park Avenue, between 32nd and 33rd Streets, both nearby.

Prices are substantially lower than in Midtown and other prime office neighborhoods. Along Fifth, Madison and Park Avenues, rents can range from $50 to $75 per square foot, said Grant Greenspan, a principal of the Kaufman Organization. On the side streets, prices can fall to $26 or $27.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Google Purchasing Manhattan Office Building for Over $1.8B

In a deal that's reportedly valued at over $1.8 billion, Google now owns an entire New York City block with the latest acquisition of 111 Eighth Avenue. The deal for the 2.9 million square foot property is the biggest transaction for a single building in the U.S. this year according to a Wall Street Journal article. Google currently occupies roughly 500,000 square feet of space in the building, and won the bid for the purchase of the property due in part to its willingness to close the deal by the end of the year. The building, which once housed the headquarters of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, was being marketed by Douglas Harmon, a senior managing director at Eastdil Secured. The building last changed hands in 1998.

"You can't get a stronger vote of confidence for the strength of the New York office market," Dan Fasulo, managing director of Real Capital Analytics, told Bloomberg. "When one of the most prestigious modern corporations makes a bet on your marketplace, it's not just a bet on your real estate, but in New York as a place to retain and attract the best talent."

"They can afford to pay more for this building because they're already the occupant," said Ben Thypin, Real Capital senior market analyst. "A third party that wasn't already a tenant might not have been able, actually definitely wasn't able, to bid as high as they were."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Google Considering $2B NYC Office Buy

A new article from the New York Post reports that Google is considering an incredibly large buy-in to the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City at a$2 billion price tag, a transaction that would value the property at $690 per square foot. The trophy building at 111 Eighth Avenue is only 18 stories tall but boasts 2,950,000 square feet of office space making it the second largest building in New York City. Google already leases over 550,000 square feet of the property with other tenants includig Nike, Sprint, WebMD, CCH Legal, Deutsch Advertising and Armani Exchange.

Taconic Investment Partners originally acquired 111 Eighth Avenue in January 1998 as part of a portfolio of assets that also included 95 and 99 Wall Street and 100 William Street. The company has since deployed a $50 million capital improvement program that overhauled vertical transportation, lobbies, common corridors, power plants and fuel delivery systems.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

DiamondRock Acquires NYC Hilton for $68.4M

DiamondRock Hospitality announced that it's entered into an agreement to purchase the Hilton Garden Inn Chelsea New York City for $68.4 million. The Hilton Garden Inn is a 169-room hotel recently constructed and opened in 2007 on West 28th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues in New York City. The purchase price of $68.4 million represents a 12.9 multiple of the Hotel's 2010 full-year forecasted EBITDA of $5.3 million and better than a 7% capitalization rate on forecasted 2010 full-year net operating income of $4.8 million.

DiamondRock CEO Mark Brugger said in a Bloomberg BusinessWeek statement that the company wanted the hotel because the property has the "ability to charge essentially full-service room rates with a more profitable limited service cost structure as a result of its strong Hilton Garden Inn branding, access to Hilton Worldwide's powerful reservations system and traveler loyalty generated from the Hilton guest rewards program." DiamondRock retained the current hotel manager subject to a new, short-term management agreement.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

WTC Site Update: 5 New Skyscrapers, Tallest Building in US Underway

The annual update on the progress of rebuilding the World Trade Center in New York City was given today as over 200 international reporters listened on to the reports from Gov. David Paterson, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and developer Larry Silverstein of Silverstein Properties. "Though we have had delays," Paterson said, "and unfortunately we have had conflicts of opinion, we are on the road, we believe, to a very great success." One World Trade, formerly known as the Freedom Tower, and Four World Trade have structural steel rising above ground level, with One World Trade already at its 36th floor, and over a dozen trees have been planted in the memorial park.

CNN.com offers a brief overview of the future plans from Brookfield Properties which includes a virtual tour of the new facilities, touting 5 new skyscrapers, one of which will become the tallest building in the United States. The New York Times has also posted a gallery of 20 images with photographs from Fred R. Conrad that provide an intimate view of construction at the site of the World Trade Center. Four of the towers are expected to be completed by 2014.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.