Rod Richerson, Western regional president for KBS and Union Bank Plaza

Fresh off the sale of a $1.2 billion office portfolio, KBS Capital Market Groups has started the $20 million renovation of the Union Bank Plaza in Downtown Los Angeles.

The project includes renovating the two-story retail space, updating conference space and more, the Los Angeles Business Journal reported.

The 40-story tower covers a full block at 445 S. Figueroa Street, and it consists of 677,055 square feet of office space and a 24,833-square-foot retail plaza. The project was designed by HLW International, and Swinerton Builders Inc. is the contractor.

Two of the eight new spec tenant suites have been preleased, the Business Journal added. The changes are scheduled to be complete in early 2020.

KBS failed to sell the building after RC Acquisitions backed out of a $280 million deal in 2017. The firm then saw the appraised value of the property drop about $52 million. Union Bank also recently vacated about 136,000 square feet after occupying 344,000 square feet at the start of 2018.

Records show KBS purchased the building for $208 million in 2010. Cushman & Wakefield’s Justin Collins, Pete Collins and Kelli Snyder are the leasing agents.

In Downtown, the U.S. Bank Tower was listed for about $700 million early this year. And more tall projects are set to join the skyline. For example, Sun Cal is building a $2 billion “6AM” project that will include office space. Also, the Times Mirror Square tower calls for new office space. [LABJ] — Gregory Cornfield

Long Beach Garden Home Project and EB-5 Attorney named in suit Daqin Zhang (Credit: CIRC)

The popularity of EB-5 “cash-for-visa” program may have long since diminished, but lawsuits relating to the federal initiative just keep on coming.

In the most recent allegation of fraud, one Chinese investor is claiming his $500,000 investment for a Hilton hotel construction project in El Monte was redirected to a Long Beach home construction project without his knowledge.

Minghui Zheng alleges California Investment Regional Center and its affiliate, Los Angeles City Plaza LP, solicited Zheng to invest $500,000 into the Hilton Garden Hotel project in 2015, according to the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court. Developers often open regional centers to gather investments together and commit them to large projects. In this case, Zheng was promised a 1-percent stake in the project — expected to be valued at $60 million upon completion — and a U.S. green card, according to the complaint.

By 2018, there was no update on the project or progress on the green card. Zheng decided to check on the status of his EB-5 application with attorney Daqin Zhang, a defendant in the suit. What Zheng realized was that his signature had been forged on various documents, and the $500,000 had been redirected to a home construction project in Long Beach, the suit claims.

According to the California Investment Regional Center website, the company mostly funds projects within the state and in Hawaii. Its Long Beach Garden Home project is expected to span 106,000 square feet, and include apartments and a retail component. The total investment cost is $20 million, according to the website.

An attorney for Zheng did not respond to requests for comment. No one from the regional center could be reached.

Zhang, however, alleges that “all the claims” are wrong, he wrote in an e-mailed statement.

“We believe Minghui Zheng’s suit against us was driven by his misunderstanding of our roles…or a litigation tactic advised by his lawyer,” Zhang wrote. “He should not blame his immigration attorney for the investment project he chose or an immigration category he chose, or visa backlog that is beyond our control.”

He also added that his law firm did not refer Zheng to the regional center, nor forge his signatures on any documents.

Zheng is suing for damages, citing “severe mental and emotional distress, shock, humiliation, mortification, anguish, psychological trauma and damage” to his nervous system.

The EB-5 program allows foreign investors to obtain lawful permanent residence status in the U.S. if they invest at least $500,000 in a job-creating development project in the U.S.

Recently, EB-5 applications have been diminishing amid a backlog of visa applications and allegations of fraud that have encompassed numerous lawsuits from overseas investors.

EB-5 lawsuits vary widely in scope. In one example in June, the former head of a regional center sued Extell Development in New York and its founder, Gary Barnett, for $65 million. Lela Goren, who worked as a director at Extell New York Regional Center, said Extell breached its fiduciary duty and engaged in fraud. That regional center had raised almost $500 million since its inception in 2010.

Here are the real estate events coming up in Los Angeles next week.

Host: Bisnow
Date: July 17
Time: 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Bisnow is hosting its Multifamily Annual Conference West at the JW Marriott Los Angeles LA Live, 900 West Olympic Boulevard from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Attend to network and discuss building marketing strategies and how to capitalize on trends in the multifamily market. Speakers include Gino Canori of Related and Stephen Basham of CoStar Group.

Host: ULI Los Angeles
Date: July 17
Time: 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

ULI Los Angeles is hosting its Mover and Shaker event at JERDE, 601 West Fifth Street from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tony Salazar of McCormack Baron Salazar will be making an appearance at the event, where he will speak on his experience with rebuilding inner-city communities.

To search for future industry events or browse past ones, click here. And to submit more industry events, please reach out to events@therealdeal.com.

Michelle Obama rented out the Shark House (Credit: Getty Images)

The Obamas might be leaving the swamp and heading for the hills.

Former First Lady Michelle Obama spent some time in the Hollywood Hills this week to possibly look for a new home for her and former President Barack Obama, TMZ reported.

After his second term in the White House ended, the Obamas decided to stay in Washington, D.C., until their daughter Sasha graduated from high school, which she did last month. Wasting no time, Michelle Obama rented a 12,000-square-foot spec home built by Ario Fakheri. It’s known as the “Shark House” for its open-air aquarium with small sharks.

TMZ reported that she was possibly checking out the neighborhood, including the Shark House, which is for sale for $23 million. It’s at the north end of the Bird Streets north of the Sunset Strip. The three-story home has seven bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, two pools, a wellness center and a movie theater.

The Obamas will likely be happy to learn about the stalling high-end market in Los Angeles, including in the Bird Streets. In fact, the price tag for the Shark House has been cut by 35 percent. It first hit the market for $35 million one year ago. It was relisted for $29 million last December, and now it has another $6 million cut.

The locale would be particularly convenient considering the Obama’s deal to produce several projects with Netflix, which owns a massive new Hollywood office. Also, when the home was relisted in December, the seller added a two-year private jet membership.

Tomer Fridman and Kurt Rappaport have the listing. [TMZ] — Gregory Cornfield

Rendering of 1400 South Flower Street (Credit: DLANC)

When a developer envisioned a multifamily building in Downtown Los Angeles three years ago, incentives like density bonuses and tax credits were not commonplace.

But times have changed. Now, the shovel-ready site is on the market for $19.5 million, and is looking to benefit from a growing demand for similar projects.

Marketing materials by Kidder Matthews reveal the developer is selling the site, entitled for 152 residential units at 1400 Flower Street, The Real Deal has learned. The project is located in both a designated federal Opportunity Zone and a Transit-Oriented Communities Tier 4 area.

It’s unclear who is behind the development, which had been managed by Leon Ahdoot, a Brentwood property owner. Records show the property is registered to Oxley Place LLC, which shares a business address with Ahdoot’s Corner Fund Inc. He could not be reached.

Ahdoot filed plans to build the seven-story, mixed-use structure with ground-floor retail and parking on August 2016. The project was approved roughly a year later.

An approval letter from 2017 shows the next developer could build 147 units with 6,740 square feet of retail space, or, 152 units — five of them as live-work units — and 1,185 square feet of retail.

Recently, there has been increased demand for projects that are entitled for construction, which lets developers avoid approvals process. These projects often sell at a premium because of the risks involved.

Opportunity Zones have also become popular for investors because of their tax incentives. In June, Starwood Capital Group filed for a 375-unit Opportunity Zone project in San Pedro through its $500 million Opportunity Zone fund.

Jerome Powell (Credit: Getty Images and iStock)

Over the past few months, President Trump has been venting on Twitter and elsewhere about his displeasure with the Federal Reserve.

But on Thursday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell had something to say about the president. Powell said some of Trump’s policy moves are significantly hurting a vital part of the U.S. economy: the housing industry.

Speaking at a Senate Banking Committee hearing in Washington, Powell said immigration and tariffs combined with rising material costs are making it more difficult for homebuilders to build homes affordably, according to CNBC.

Replying to a question from Minnesota Democratic Sen. Tina Smith, the chairman said: “Now you have a shortage of skilled labor, so it’s hard to get people on the job, electricians, plumbers, carpenters and other people. No matter what you pay them, just finding people to do that work,” Powell said.

Smith asked Powell if he thought “our immigration policy might have something to do with that.”

Powell replied, “That’s what we hear from homebuilders. That’s part of it for sure.”

Powell’s comments echo concerns heard from homebuilders and housing experts across the country that it is difficult to find labor to build new single-family homes.

Last month, giant homebuilder Lennar said that tariffs on Chinese goods are costing the company an average of about $500 per home.

In May, new home starts fell 6.4 percent from April, and were 12.5 percent lower than May 2018, according to the U.S. Census. [CNBC] — Keith Larsen

Cesar Pelli and the Hawthorne Federal Building

UPDATED, July 12, 3:40 p.m. An auction for the Federal Aviation Administration’s longtime West Coast headquarters near Los Angeles International Airport is nearing an end following dozens of bids for the property.
As of 3:40 p.m., bidding for 1500 Aviation Boulevard has reached $37.3 million from the $8 million starting bid when the historic office building hit the block a month ago. The auction is set to end Monday evening, although it could be extended. Bid increments are set at $300,000.

The six-story Hawthorne Federal Building in Lawndale, not neighboring Hawthorne, has 206,000 square feet of rentable space and sits on about 11.5 acres near Interstate 405.
The area is a longtime hub for aviation and related technology companies. Northrop Grumman has a massive office complex across the street. SpaceX’s headquarters is a five-mile drive away.

The Federal Building is a local architecture treasure among the area’s otherwise unremarkable stock of office buildings. It was designed by celebrated post-modern architect Cesar Pelli in the mid-1960s and was the first building in Southern California to have a mirrored glass skin when it opened in 1973, according to the L.A. Conservancy. The style became extremely popular in the following decades.

The Federal Building was listed on the National Register for Historic Places in 2015. The designation does not bar demolition or changes to the property but does make the property eligible for tax incentives related to preservation.

(Credit: iStock and chart via MarketWatch)

After Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell hinted at an impending interest rate cut, stock indexes hit record highs Thursday — and real estate is going along for the ride.

At a congressional hearing this week, Powell said global uncertainty “strengthened the case for a somewhat more accommodative policy.”

The Dow climbed after, closing at an all-time high of over 27,000 Thursday. The S&P 500 also set a record, closing at 2999.91. The Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund, an index which tracks real estate management and development companies as well as REITs, saw a midweek uptick following Powell’s comments. (This followed a gradual selloff after the Fed’s June policy meeting, in which officials signalled possible interest rate cuts, and another sharp drop off last week after the jobs report was released.)

John Guinee, a REIT analyst at Stifel, explained the selloff and subsequent rally as a simple, consensus rule: “REITs do well in a declining interest rate risk-off environment. Conversely, they do very poorly in a risk-on rising interest rate environment,” he said.

“This feels very much like the second quarter of 2016, which was pre-Brexit,” he added. “Essentially you’ve got a lot of things on peoples’ minds worldwide and income-oriented hard asset stocks do well and where REITs are right now does not surprise us one bit.”

The broader situation is a bit of a contradiction for real estate — the potential for a near-term rate cut means the Fed isn’t confident in the economy but lower rates mean cheaper debt. It’s also an about-face from the Fed’s previous plans to raise rates this year.

REIT analysts say that the strong economic data — an increase of the consumer price index in June and strong July jobs report — and the expectation of rate cuts bode well for REIT stocks. The industry has already seen a strong year on the stock market, with a quarter of the 32 real estate companies on the stock market in June reaching their highest levels of the year.

“If you look at jobs, what businesses are doing, what consumers are doing, everything is still positive,” said Alexander Goldfarb, an analyst at Sandler O’Neill, “but the longer you go in an economic cycle, you’re going to have normal oscillation of economic data, and not everything is going to be great all the time.”

“So the market is grappling with that,” he continued, “but with interest rates going lower and real estate fundamentals remaining healthy, then the stocks are going to do well, and you’ve seen that.”

Goldfarb said that compared to the beginning of the year, when it was widely believed the Fed would look to hike interest rates, “the backdrop is more favorable” now for REITs.

John Kim, a REIT analyst at BMO Capital Markets, said the year has exceeded his expectations with the availability of cheaper capital, a good economy and now the prospect of lower interest rates.

“Entering the year we thought there would be refinancing that would be more expensive, certainly real pressures on cap rates going forward,” he explained.

Kim admitted that the Fed’s concerns about a coming recession was on his mind, but he maintains confidence in REIT stocks.

“I certainly fear that’s going to slow down but the fundamentals for most asset classes are kind of peaking or near their peaks,” he said.

Kim described the risk-reward ratio for REITs as “pretty compelling” for investors and attributed that in part to supply for most asset classes has been “relatively in check.”

Guinee said most people would describe the overall U.S. equity market as stretched “because there are so few other opportunities out there that make sense.” And within that market, REITs are known as “very defensive,” he added.

But what if interest rates don’t get cut? “We think it lasts until it doesn’t,” said Guinee.

Realogy CEO Ryan Schneider (Credit: iStock)

After suing a competitor over “illicit” business practices this week, real estate conglomerate Realogy is being accused of securities fraud.

The Rosen Law Firm on Thursday filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of New Jersey against Realogy, its former CEO Richard Smith, current CEO Ryan Schneider, former CFO Anthony Hull and current interim CFO Timothy Gustavson, according to Inman.

According to the complaint, Realogy engaged in “anticompetitive” practices, making home sellers pay “inflated” buyer broker commissions.

Without that key information, investors purchased the stocks at off-kilter prices, the complaint alleges. The complaint further alleges that those actions could prompt the U.S. Department of Justice open a broader antitrust investigation of brokers’ commissions.

“Realogy believes the allegations in the complaint are without merit, and we intend to vigorously defend this action,” a spokesperson for Realogy told Inman.

As of late, broker commissions have come under scrutiny. In March, a complaint was filed against Realogy, HomeServices of America, RE/MAX and Keller Williams alleging conspiracy to force homesellers to pay buyer’s brokers commissions at inflated rates.

The latest lawsuit comes on the heels of Realogy’s own lawsuit against Compass this week, which alleges price-fixing and collusion, among other misdeeds.

Realogy stocks are now priced at less than a matcha latte — currently at $5.68 a share as of 10:30 a.m. Friday.

[Inman]— Georgia Kromrei

Greenland USA’s Hu Gang and Webcor CEO Jes Pedersen

Webcor Construction has sued Greenland USA over millions of dollars in alleged unpaid work at Greenland’s massive Metropolis condominium and hotel project in Downtown Los Angeles.

San Francisco-based Webcor says Greenland — the American arm of China-based Greenland Group — is in breach of contract for $9.8 million, according to the suit filed in L.A. County Superior Court.

The construction heavyweight — Webcor was No. 2 in The Real Deal’s ranking of top construction firms in L.A. last year — filed its claim in the form of a mechanic’s lien. It is placed against a property as compensation for alleged unpaid work. Webcor has also sued Chinese developer Oceanwide Holdings for $52 million worth of unpaid work — also through a mechanic’s lien — at its troubled Oceanwide Plaza megaproject Downtown.

Court records indicate that Greenland USA has not yet been served the complaint, although it was filed June 10. The firm had no comment on the lawsuit. Webcor did not comment.
The dispute originates with a $435.9 million contract Webcor and Greenland USA negotiated last fall for work on Metropolis’ Tower I and Tower II condominiums. Greenland’s $1 billion megadevelopment in South Park will span 3.3 million square feet when completed. The firm bought the dirt five years ago, and has built three of the four properties.

The contract was meant to resolve any outstanding payment disputes, including “extra and changed work, associated costs and delays,” according to the lawsuit.

Such contracts are common on large development projects. They account for unplanned costs incurred by builders as well as work that was cancelled or changed during the course of construction.

Webcor is the prime contractor on Towers I and II and the 350-room Hotel Indigo, which was completed in early 2017. Webcor’s total contract agreement with Greenland was around $810 million, a source close to the litigation told The Real Deal.

The Metropolis project involves the two condo towers — which total 820 units — the hotel and a third residential tower that is still under construction. Greenland USA has been shopping the Hotel Indigo since early last year.

From left: London, Shanghai and Paris

Every week, The Real Deal rounds up the biggest real estate news from around the globe.

United Kingdom
The falling pound, which hit its lowest level in two years, could make property in the U.K. more attractive to foreign buyers. The currency has shed about 2 percent of its value since Prime Minister Theresa May announced her resignation, and now, currency markets anticipate the Bank of England will lower interest rates to boost the sluggish British economy. Boris Johnson, the front-runner in the race to replace her, may support a no-deal Brexit, a move that could also see ripple effects in the economy and beyond.

A London flat once owned by Artemis Onassis, sister of billionaire Aristotle Onassis, hit the market for the first time in nearly 30 years, according to Mansion Global. The asking price is £25 million, or $31.2 million, for the five-bedroom property on Grosvenor Square in the upscale Mayfair area of London. Wetherell is the listing broker for the property, which hit the market last month. It is believed that Onassis owned the flat in the 1960s and ‘70s. [Mansion Global]

While Brexit hangs over the British housing market, rents in the United Kingdom are rising at their fastest pace in two years, PropertyWire reported, citing data from private banking firm Kent Reliance. In London, rents are at their highest since 2015. The value of the private rented sector in the UK rose by £6 billion, or $7.5 billion, in the last 12 months as rental inventory growth slowed and home prices fell. [Property Wire]

China
Two leading commercial banks in Hong Kong reduced their valuation of pre-owned homes in several areas by as much as 3.6 percent. That could leave some homeowners underwater, with mortgage loan balances that exceed their property value, according to the South China Morning Post. HSBC and Bank of China reduced used-home valuations in New Territories and Kowloon after massive street protests over a controversial extradition measure erupted there last month. JLL on Tuesday published a forecast that the median home price in Hong Kong will decline by 5 percent in the second half. Knight Frank issued a similar forecast in May. This comes a greater slowdown in Chinese firms investing overseas. The pullback by Chinese investors in the U.S. and European markets followed restrictions imposed by the Chinese government.  [SCMP]

Chinese millionaires — once one of the largest foreign investment groups in U.S. real estate through residential and commercial purchases and the EB-5 cash-for-visa program — are disappearing. The number of Chinese millionaires fell 5 percent to 1.2 million last year and the value of their financial assets declined by $500 billion, Paris-based consulting firm Capgemini SE reported. The report is a sign that the slowest economic growth in 25 years is pinching the wealthiest segments of Chinese society. That financial setback for Chinese millionaires was a major factor in a $2 trillion drop in personal asset value last year among the richest people in the world. [WSJ]

Trust companies in China’s shadow-banking industry that finance apartment, factory and highway construction are seeing more than 280 billion yuan —$40.7 billion — at risk of default, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing Moody’s. Though that accounts for only a fraction of the sector’s total assets, it’s a 90 percent increase from a year ago. Clients are facing difficulties refinancing because of a restriction on nonbank lenders. Nonbank lenders in the U.S., meanwhile, are boosting their mortgage lending, using credit lines from some of the country’s biggest financial institutions. [WSJ]

Singapore
British billionaire James Dyson bought the highest-priced apartment in Singapore, where his company plans to manufacture electric cars, Reuters reported. He is among the more than 2,500 billionaires worldwide as of last year, including more than 700 in the U.S. and 100 in New York City. Dyson reportedly paid S$73.8 million, or $54.2 million, for the three-story, five-bedroom penthouse with a 600-bottle wine room atop the tallest building in Singapore. Dyson, the 72-year-old inventor of the bagless vacuum cleaner, has attained permanent resident status in Singapore, according to media reports. A Brexit supporter, Dyson in January announced a relocation plan that would move the headquarters of his company from Britain to Singapore. [Reuters]

Portugal
The parliament of Portugal passed a new law that provides citizens a legal right to housing. The progressive action has no equivalent in the U.S. For the Democratic presidential candidates’ debates last month, housing policies varied dramatically, but no one was pushing for a similar concept. Under the Basic Housing Law, the Portuguese government serves as “the guarantor of the right to housing.” The law requires the government to present its inaugural national housing policy to the parliament next year and to include special protections for the old, the young, people with disabilities, and families with young children. The new law is a legislative response to a lack of affordable housing in Lisbon, the capital, and in other parts of the country. [CityLab]

Brazil
Traffic congestion and rising rents are creating new opportunities in large Latin American cities to build tiny, centrally located apartments as small as 10 square meters – about the size of a vehicle parking space. So-called mico-apartments are also gaining popularity in the U.S., though its version of micro is substantially larger. In Chicago, developer Cedar Street Companies advertises studios measuring less than 300 square feet each. In Brazil, architects are designing micro-apartment buildings with expansive common areas for socializing. Tenants “sleep in their apartments, but the rest of the building is part of their house, too,” The Brazilian project is legally required to have units that measure at least 11 square meters. Similar projects are under way in middle-income and upscale neighborhoods in Buenos Aires. [BBC]

Roger Birnbaum and his former home, and Peter Thiel with his new Home on St Ives Drive (Credit: Getty Images and Zillow)

A movie mogul sold his home at a sharp discount. A billionaire venture capitalist dropped a — relative — pittance on an abode and a former first lady rented a “Shark House.” They all contributed to the week real estate moves around Los Angeles.

Roger Birnbaum, founder of Spyglass Entertainment, has sold his home in Beverly Hills for $21.4 million, roughly 37 percent less than his original asking price. The Hollywood producer first put the 8,000-square-foot home on the market last year, after paying $20 million for it in 2014. Designed by architect Harold Levitt, the home includes four bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a 500-square-foot music room and a swimming pool. Birnbaum’s long list of credits include hits like “No Strings Attached,” “The Rush Hour” franchise and “Get Him To The Greek.”

Former L.A. Clippers Austin Rivers sold his home in the Pacific Palisades for $6.9 million, just two weeks after agreeing to a two-year deal with the Houston Rockets. He listed it in December after the Clippers traded him to the Washington Wizards.The three-story home features six bedrooms and seven bathrooms, the Los Angeles Times reported. There’s also a barbecue, wine wall and home theater. Rivers, whose father, Doc, coaches the Clippers, paid $6.1 million for the pad in 2016.

One of Silicon Valley’s most controversial billionaires is expanding his spread in Southern California. Peter Thiel spent $5 million to acquire a 4,210-square-foot home in the Hollywood Hills, Variety reported. That’s about $2.5 million less than what the home sold for four years ago, when the late heiress of Aurrerra grocery stores bought the home. The estate of Marisa Anago put the home up for sale shortly after her death, for nearly $6 million. It boasts three bedrooms and three bathrooms. Thiel already owns a much larger spread in the area, which he paid $11.5 million for in 2012.

Michelle Obama isn’t scared of sharks. The former first lady rented the 12,000-square-foot spec home, dubbed “Shark House,” which is on the market for $23 million. The Hollywood Hills home has seven bedrooms, two pools, and of course, an open-air aquarium with sharks.

A former USC coach who became embroiled in the college admissions scandal has parted ways with his home in Rancho Palos Verdes. Jovan Vavic sold his 3,200-square-foot pad for $2.5 million, after listing it in April. It has four bedrooms and four bathrooms, as well as ocean views. The water polo coach has been accused of accepting $250,000 in bribes.

Robert De Niro and an aerial view of 87 19th Avenue in Queens (Credit: Getty Images and Google Maps)

Robert de Niro’s second attempt to bring a major film studio to New York is going smoothly, so far.

His new project, Wildflower Studios at 87 19th Avenue in Queens, comes at a time when film companies are flocking to the city. Last year, 332 films were made in the city, more than double the figure in 1980, according to the New York Times.

Adam Gordon, the president of Wildflower, told the Times that he and De Niro came up with the concept because of the state of studios across the country.

The production of movies and television shows has been on the up in New York because of the credits offered by the state — they can save up to 30 percent on production costs. (Wildflower has not applied for any credits as of now.)

Companies such as Steiner Studios have grown their footprints in the city. Silvercup Studios opened two new studios in the Bronx, and Netflix in April said it would be opening a corporate office in Manhattan and production space in Brooklyn.

“We toured studios in New York, on the West Coast and in the South to understand the landscape of current filming spaces,” Gordon said. “We saw the need for a true destination film campus.”

But De Niro seems to have always wanted to bring film to New York. Two decades ago, the Hollywood star partnered with now-disgraced film mogul Harvey Weinstein on such a deal, the Times reported. In that project, the pair had announced a $150 million deal to turn a 15-acre site at the Brooklyn Navy Yard into a dozen sound stages.

After receiving what the pair believed was the greenlight from then-Mayor Rudy Guiliani in 1999, the city reneged on its approvals, and the project failed.

This time around, De Niro has partnered with his son, Raphael De Niro, a broker at Douglas Elliman and film producer Jane Rosenthal, to launch Wildflower Studios. About a dozen studios are planned for the site to meet the demands of booming production houses and streaming services, including Amazon, HBO and Netflix.

The trio is purchasing the property from piano manufacturer Steinway for $73 million. They plan to raise $425 million for the project — $150 million in equity and $275 million in debt. Dustin Stolly and Jordan Roeschlaub at Newmark Knight Frank handled the initial capital raise, Gordon said. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year. [NYT] — David Jeans 

Arcadia Group CEO Philip Green (Credit: Getty Images, Pixabay, Wikipedia, Walterlan Papetti)

Mounting allegations of sexual harassment, bullying and abuse are threatening to topple British retail mogul Sir Philip Green, as the female entrepreneurs and celebrities who once powered his Topshop clothing brand turn away.

Green, the billionaire chairman of Topshop parent company Arcadia Group, faces misdemeanor assault charges in Arizona for allegedly groping and making lewd comments to a Pilates instructor, who called him “the British Harvey Weinstein,” according to Bloomberg. She joins five former employees who accused him last year of sexual harassment and abuse. He has denied their claims.

Green faces the allegations at the height of his ongoing effort to save his retail empire from insolvency. Last month he reached an agreement with landlords to slash rents while laying off some 1,000 workers and closing almost 50 of the company’s 566 stores, including all 11 American Topshop locations. He also injected about $500 million into Arcadia company directly, mostly to shore up its ailing pension fund.

The high-end Topshop clothing brand owes some of its success to model Kate Moss, who designed 14 lines of clothing for the store starting in 2007, and Beyoncé, who partnered with Topshop to sell an active wear line in 2016. Both women have ended their business relationships with Green.

And this year, both Topshop fashion director Maddy Evans and Karren Brady, the chairwoman of the holding company that owns Arcadia, bolted from the firm.

Now, even after Green’s latest cash infusion, some analysts say he may have no choice but to sell or break up his company, as it struggles to keep pace with online retailers and direct competitors like Primark and Boohoo.

[Bloomberg] — Alex Nitkin

Dmitry Rybolovlev, Donald Trump, and 525 North Country Road (Credit: Getty Images)

Russian oligarch and billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev sold the last lot of President Trump’s former waterfront Palm Beach estate for $37.3 million.

Rybolovlev sold the 2-acre lot at 525 North County Road for about $385 per square foot, records show.

Rybolovlev, who reportedly made most of his fortune from a fertilizer business, bought the 6.26-acre estate from Trump in 2008 for $95 million, then razed a mansion on the property and divided the land into three separate lots.

The fertilizer billionaire sold the other two lots for $37 million in 2017 and $34.3 million in 2016. In all, he sold the three lots for a combined $108.2 million, about $13 million more than what he paid for the property more than a decade ago.

Lawrence Moens of Lawrence A. Moens Associates, who brokers a number of high-profile deals in Palm Beach, represented both the buyer and seller of 525 North County Road. He has also brokered the sales of the other two lots, at 515 and 535 North County Road, and represented Trump when he sold the entire estate to Rybolovlev.

Rybolovlev never lived in the home after purchasing the estate, according to published reports.

Trump’s sale to Rybolovlev was the largest residential sale in Palm Beach history until just a few weeks ago when the late Terry Allen Kramer’s estate sold for about $105 million, excluding commissions.

Trump’s sale to Rybolovlev has been subject to scrutiny from politicians and the media over the president’s ties to Russia. In 2018, Senator Ron Wyden requested property records to investigate allegations of money laundering tied to the $95 million sale of the estate. Rybolovlev has denied any wrongdoing.

Rybolovlev recent made headlines in November after he was charged in Monaco for allegedly influencing the country’s law enforcement officials to pursue and arrest a Geneva art dealer. The prolific art dealer, whose collection had included the Salvator Mundi by Leonardo da Vinci, has claimed innocence.

The Palm Beach Daily News first reported the sale of 525 North County Road.

Kanye West (Credit: Getty Images)

Jesus walks, but Luke Skywalker talks, at least for Kanye West when it comes to affordable housing.

The rapper-turned-aspiring real estate mogul is reportedly leading the development of an affordable housing project with a “Star Wars” theme at a secret California forest location.

Forbes reported that the recording artist, entrepreneur and designer is working with a team to design prefabricated shelters as affordable housing, possibly for homeless people.

West wanted an austere design for shelters inspired by the childhood home of Skywalker, the main protagonist in the multibillion-dollar “Star Wars” franchise.

With Forbes editor Zack O’Malley Greenburg in tow, West drove his Lamborghini to see prototypes inspired by a hut where Skywalker grew up on the fictional desert planet of Tatooine, as seen in the 1977 film “Star Wars Episode IV – A New Hope.”

Forbes published neither photos nor the location of the prototypes, but Greenburg described the trio of prototypes as “structures that look like the skeletons of wooden spaceships.”

Greenburg, a former child actor, also reported that near the mysterious prototypes “at a bungalow in the woods,” he and West encountered a four-person team preparing to meet the following day in San Francisco with potential investors in the affordable housing project.

West, 42, has previously expressed appreciation for “Star Wars.” For example, in his 2013 song “Guilt Trip,” West sings, “Star Wars fur, year I’m rockin’ Chewbacca.”

West, who last year sold a Soho condo in New York for a loss, announced in early 2018 that he would form his own architecture firm. In June 2018, renderings of West’s prefab models were released by his California-based Yeezy Studio to the Architect’s Newspaper.

“Star Wars,” however, does not seem to have guided the design of the $20 million home where West and his wife, Kim Kardashian, live in Los Angeles, which has what the enigmatic entertainer calls “wabi-sabi vibes.” [Forbes] – Mike Seemuth

(Credit: iStock, Pixabay)

An apparent believer in the proverb “home is where the heart is,” Arizona resident Eddie Collins is offering a one-bedroom home to anyone who retrieves his beloved missing dog.

The Arizona man last saw his two-year-old chihuahua, Jenny, at a Circle K gas station and convenience store in April.

Collins told local news outlets that he has “looked everywhere” and tried offering a cash reward before deciding instead to offer a one-bedroom trailer home in Benson, Arizona.

The property just east of Tucson includes a trailer plus a tract of land and a detached workshop.

There were no one-bedroom trailer homes listed on homes.com in Benson, Arizona, but two-bedroom trailers ranged in price between $27,000 and $54,000.

“I’m willing to give the land, the trailer, the workshop, all of it free and clear, no questions asked,” Collins said. “I just want to have Jenny back.” [Inman] – Mike Seemuth

(Credit: iStock)

Earlier this year, a San Francisco coder set out to create an outdoor co-working space that charged $2.25 an hour. The catch? It was comprised of a table and chair, set up on an empty parking lot.

While the cost of co-working has yet to reach the levels of WePark, as the operation was named, it has been becoming more affordable as of late, Bisnow reported.

Amid a drastic spike in supply, average desk prices fell by 5 percent in the 18 largest cities for flexible office space in 2018, according to a new report by Instant Group.

The drop in price was most pronounced in Chicago, where prices fell by 17 percent. In San Francisco and Los Angeles, prices dropped by 12 and 11 percent, respectively. In New York, where the average price of a desk circles around $1,060 per year, prices only shrunk 4 percent.

Co-working spaces have been multiplying in almost every city. New York posted the largest growth with a 21 percent spike in supply, followed by San Francisco and London. In L.A., the growth was more constrained at 10 percent.

Still, co-working companies in L.A. have been largely leading office leasing in the region. In the first quarter, WeWork alone signed leases spanning 319,000 square feet. That pushed its overall L.A. footprint to 2 million square feet. Last year, WeWork became the largest office tenant in Manhattan, and as of May of this year, it was on track to do the same in Chicago.
[Bisnow] — Natalie Hoberman

Related Companies is celebrating the grand opening of Hudson Yards on March 15, 2019. But the megadevelopment’s observation deck, resting 1,100 feet above Manhattan’s West Side, doesn’t open to the public until 2020.

The Real Deal got a sneak peek at the future tourist attraction, dubbed “the edge.”

The deck spans 7,500 square feet and stretches 65 feet out from the 101st floor of the Kohn Pedersen Fox-designed 30 Hudson Yards. Its height makes it the tallest outdoor deck in the Western Hemisphere and the fifth tallest in the world. And it boasts expansive views of New York City and New Jersey.

Related will be competing with observatory decks at One Vanderbilt, One World Trade, the Empire State building and Rockefeller Center. Prices haven’t been set for the deck at 30 Hudson Yards.

Check out the video above to see the insane views from “the edge.”

Glamping is becoming increasingly popular among wealthy homeowners (Credit: iStock)

Wealthy homeowners are increasingly turning to a new form of getaway, and it doesn’t require them to leave their property.

Glamping — or glamorous camping — is becoming more and more popular among America’s wealthy, according to the Wall Street Journal. The high-end tents, which can sell for up to $30,000, even make a great guest home on some estates, homeowners told the Journal.

The increasing popularity of luxury camping has spawned a whole industry. Glamping Hub, an Airbnb-like service, has 21,000 hosts offering luxury camping on their properties. Luxury camping resorts are popping up in the West, and there’s a company, Under Canvas, that manages luxury campsites in eight national parks.

In New York, Terra Glamping this year is bringing an upscale campsite to the Hamptons, and another developer has raised funds to bring a similar setup to the Rockaways.

Glamorous camping is not necessarily a new concept, even if the word “glamping” only made it into the dictionary in 2016. In 1520, King Henry VIII of Britain and King Francis I of France set up in regal camps for a countryside jousting tournament. Ottoman Empire sultans were also known to bring “richly embroidered” tents to some excursions, including military campaigns, according to the Journal.

[WSJ] — Joe Ward