Category : Headline

Newmark Grubb Knight Frank (NGKF) announced that the leadership of Helios Capital Advisors, a boutique capital markets advisory firm headed by industry veteran Steven Schultz, has merged with NGKF’s capital markets advisory platform. The move is the latest in a series of steps by NGKF to ramp up its sales force which, according to president James D. Kuhn, is already bearing fruit. “At the moment, we have several large transactions in play,” Kuhn said. “It has been remarkable to see how quickly and seamlessly these regional leaders have leveraged NGKF’s capital markets platform to land highly valuable assignments and close transactions.”

This election season, Bill Clinton’s former chief of staff Erskine Bowles is out on the stump, not for a candidate, but for a number: $4 trillion. That’s the amount the co-chairman of the Simpson-Bowles commission says the United States must reduce its operating deficit over the next decade in order to stabilize the national debt. Speaking at a CoreNet event last week, Bowles said, “Three months from now, we have $2 trillion of economic events that are going to hit America right in the gut. And what are we doing about it? Nothing.”

By Sarah Trefethen New York’s representatives to the United States Senate and House of Representatives early last month introduced a pair of bills intended to exempt condominiums from the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act, or ILSA. After the market crash of 2008, federal courts ruled that the 1969 law protected purchasers who had signed contracts to purchase condominiums prior to their construction, only to see both their own financing and the funding for the construction project dry up. Supporters say the change will protect developers from buyer’s remorse. But some question if the outdated consumer protections should be removed without any new rules to take their place.

From a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado to the commuter crush of Fifth Avenue last Friday morning, the seemingly baffling acts of solo shooters have become a grisly theme of this summer’s headlines. Particularly in the wake of Friday’s shooting, which took place right outside the iconic Empire State Building, landlords and property managers may be reflecting on the delicate balance between keeping tenants comfortable and keeping them safe. “Buildings are trying to be as thorough as possible,” said Joseph Ferdinando, founder and president of Building Security Services, a firm which serves commercial buildings through the tri-state area. “But unless you go completely military and do package scanning and do metal detection, there’s no way to keep weapons out.

By Sarah Trefethen Watch out, SoHo. There may be a vibrant new mixed-use community in town. Hudson Square, on lower west side of Manhattan, is … Continued

By Al Barbarino With the recent signing of investment advisor Peter B. Cannell & Co. at 545 Madison Ave., LCOR’s redeveloped, LEED Gold Class-A tower in the Plaza District is nearly 90 percent leased. For LCOR, a real estate investment and development company, the achievement is both a milestone and a relief, having delivered the building — located at the corner of 55th Street and Madison — in the fall of 2008 into a depressed market. “It’s like asking the Olympic athletes how it feels to win a gold medal — it’s great,” said David Sigman, EVP and principal at LCOR.

Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm, has promoted Glen Kunofsky to executive vice president investments. The executive vice president investments designation is the highest level a Marcus & Millichap investment professional can attain, according to John J. Kerin, president and chief executive officer. Previously Kunofsky’s was a senior vice president investments.