It is that time of year again, with the deadline quickly approaching for REBNY’s Retail Deal of the Year award submissions.
This is your annual opportunity to highlight the work of brokers who are driving the future of New York City’s retail market and leaving a lasting impression on our industry.
These awards represent REBNY’s most prestigious honors for retail brokers and I am excited to see what unique and innovate deals will rise to the top this year.
REBNY will be recognizing winners in two categories for deals completed in 2016. The Most Ingenious Retail Deal of the Year award honors brokers for exceptional ingenuity and creativity, and the Most Significant Retail Deal of the Year award recognizes the deal that has the most powerful overall impact on the city’s retail market.
All nominations for both awards are due by April 6, 2017 at 5:00 p.m. and can be submitted through the REBNY Official Cover Sheet. Winners will be announced at the REBNY Retail Committee’s 19th Annual Retail Deal of the Year Cocktail Party on June 13, 2017 at Club 101 (101 Park Avenue).
There is a good reason why these awards draw some of the greatest interest among our membership, as they spotlight some very unusual — yet incredibly effective —deals that leave us wondering just how each broker was able to pull off such a feat of dealmaking prowess.
For an example of that, look no further than last year’s Most Ingenious Retail Deal winners, Vice Chairman Neil Goldmacher and Executive Managing Director Brian Goldman of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank.
They engineered an unexpected and transformative plan to secure a new dealership for Jaguar Land Rover Manhattan at 787 11th Avenue, along historic Automobile Row. After overcoming multiple challenges, their 225,000 s/f transaction preserved the landmark property for its original use – as home to the storied Packard Motor Car Company – while expertly accommodating the new dealership.
That Jaguar deal was so impressive that it got the attention of the Wall Street Journal, which covered the award winners in a story that highlighted the brokers’ contingency plans and how they paid off for all parties.
And let’s not forget last year’s Most Significant Retail Deal winner, Eric Gelber, Executive Vice President in the Retail Services Group at CBRE. Eric’s successful work on Foot Locker’s 36,000 s/f flagship lease at 8 Times Square helped reimagine that property’s potential and enabled Foot Locker to remain a major player in the Times Square market.
We all marveled at Eric’s expert negotiating skills and ability to reposition the property’s retail base into a multi-level, all-encompassing story that will house numerous Foot Locker concepts.
We were just as pleased to see Eric featured in the Commercial Observer, which profiled his unique approach to the Foot Locker deal – not to mention his impressive long-distance running skills.
I know there are plenty of outstanding brokers who are ready to join these ranks among the best of the best in New York City.
I look forward to seeing this year’s submissions and winners, and I hope all REBNY members will consider nominating a retail broker whose work will make our industry proud.
In other REBNY news:
Separate from our annual Retail Deal of the Year Awards, this Tuesday, April 4, the winners of REBNY’s 2016 Most Ingenious Deal of the Year Awards will be announced at the Sales Brokers Committees’ 73rd Annual Cocktail Party to be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Club 101 (101 Park Avenue).
Attended by New York City’s top commercial real estate dealmakers, owners, and managers, this year’s event is sponsored by Donald Zucker Company, Eastern Consolidated, Lion’s, Jack Resnick & Sons, Kalikow, Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, Rudin Management Company, and the Wall Street Journal. Purchase your ticket on rebny.com or contact rebnycommercialevents@rebny.com for more information.
Join experienced residential management professionals as they share their best practices at the REBNY Residential Management Council’s educational series kicking off this Thursday, April 6th from 8:30 to 10:00 a.m. The seminars on building compliance regulations, property insurance, and budgeting strategies will be led by Adam Bautista, Compliance Manager at Rose Associates; Ben Kirschenbaum, Vice President and General Counsel at FirstService Residential; and Bill Brake, Vice President at Related Companies, respectively. Each seminar is free for REBNY members or $15 per seminar for non-members. Visit rebny.com to register or contact rebnyownerandmanagement@rebny.com for more information.
CEOs from Brown Harris Stevens, Compass, The Corcoran Group, Core Group Marketing, Douglas Elliman, Halstead Property, and Warburg Realty will discuss their business models and the tools and strategies needed to empower their teams and win business, among other topics at the Spring 2017 CEO Summit presented by Jeffrey Appel from Bank of America Home Loans, in association with the REBNY’s Education Committee and Abrams Garfinkel Margolis Bergson LLP. This FREE event is open to REBNY members only and seating is limited. Check-in begins at 5:30 p.m. at 1 Bryant Park Conference Center. Email remasterseries@gmail.com to register.
REBNY members with co-op, condo, or townhouse listings in Harlem, Inwood, or Washington Heights will have the opportunity participate in one of two REBNY Uptown Open House Expos this spring.
Harlem listings (due by April 6th) will be shown on Sunday, April 23. Washington Heights and Inwood listings (due by April 13th) will be shown on Sunday, April 30.
Visit rebny.com or contact rebnyresidentialevents@rebny.com for more information.
