By Roland Li

When Dan Slaven was pursuing real estate deals for his company, Silverado Interests, he found himself unsatisfied with existing networking tools. Slaven, who is based in Texas, sought to create a network for all commercial real estate professionals and improve efficiency. “The idea is, create deal flow, building up network opportunities to see deals at all stages,” he said.

By Daniel Geiger

Forex Capital Markets, a currency brokerage, has signed a deal for the entire 50th floor of 55 Water Street. The company will be subleasing the space from the commercial printing company RR Donnelley, which inherited the floor last year when it purchased Bowne & Company, a marketing and business communications firm, which it has relocated into its existing offices in the city. Donnelley has space both in midtown and Lower Manhattan, at 99 Park Avenue and 75 Park Place.

By Daniel Geiger

Clarion Partners has sold a retail condo at 200 West End Avenue for roughly $30 million, according to sources. The Klein Group, a New Jersey based real estate investment company, purchased the roughly 25,000 s/f space, which is anchored by a CVS drug store. The firm owns a number of retail properties in New Jersey and one other location in Manhattan, 111 Fulton Street.

By Carter Horsley

Congress may have a deal to raise the debt ceiling, but financial uncertainty remains. With some New Yorkers taking a closer look at gold, where should they store their stash? Besides the impregnable fortress of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the safety deposit facilities of the local bank branch, there are a few residential buildings—from former banks to grand apartments of the rich and famous—that inspire confidence and trust.

By Daniel Geiger

Forty North Capital, an investment firm that manages funds for a number of wealthy families, is leasing 17,000 s/f in the pricey midtown office tower 9 West 57th Street, sources say. The firm will be taking a over half of the building’s roughly 30,000 s/f 30th floor, about 17,000 s/f, for rents in the $160s per s/f, among the highest to be paid in recent months in the city. Among the investors that Forty North works for is the Winter family, a prominent New York real estate dynasty that owns several office buildings, including 730 Fifth Avenue.