By Roland Li

The owners of North America’s tallest building, the former Sears Tower in Chicago, are seeking a major investor to recapitalize the building. “We can confirm that a recapitalization effort has commenced with a select number of qualified investors. Our goal is to make a strong building even stronger,” said a spokesman for the owners. Reuters first reported the news. Sources told Reuters that the tower currently has $780 million in debt. Two of the owners are familiar names in Manhattan real estate: Joseph Moinian of the Moinian Group and Joseph Chetrit of the Chetrit Group, who just sold 1450 Broadway for $204 million. Read more...

By Daniel Geiger

APF Properties has pumped out a collection of deals at 25 West 45th Street. The activity amounts to about 50,000 s/f of leasing in the 130,000 s/f building, the company said. Several tenants have taken space in the property, including Cision US, a software company, Apple Mortgage Corporation, a financing brokerage, Afar Media LLC, FRP Service & Co., which manufactures plastic and chemical products, and Sandton Capital Partners, an investment fund, all took space in the building in recent months in deals ranging from 1,500 s/f to nearly 9,000 s/f. Read more...

More than 1,000 men and women from the design, construction and real estate community were joined by Mayor Michael Bloomberg to recognize three great New Yorkers — City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, New York University president John Sexton and Jack Resnick & Sons chairman and CEO Burton P. Resnick, during the New York Building Congress 90th Anniversary Leadership Awards Luncheon at the Hilton New York.

According to AECOM president and CEO John M. Dionisio, who chaired the luncheon, this year’s awardees, coming from the worlds of government, academia and real estate, are similar in that they are pioneers in their respective fields as well as selfless New Yorkers dedicated to the long-term well-being of the City and its inhabitants. Read more...

By Roland Li

Rockefeller University has sold 409 East 60th Street for $24 million, according to city records. The school, founded by John Rockefeller in 1901, was the country’s first biology and medical research institution. It had planned to demolish the existing four-story building and build dorms on the site, after acquiring the property in 2003 for $13.25 million from Mar-Ken Realty Corporation. But construction never occurred, and the building still stands. Read more...

By Daniel Geiger

The Zar Group has closed on its purchase of 1450 Broadway, the company announced on Wednesday. The firm, formerly known as Zar City, paid $204 million for the 400,000 s/f office property, which is located in Times Square on the corner of 41st Street. A partnership between the real estate investors Joe Moinian, Joe Chetrit, and Ed Minksoff were the sellers in the deal. Real Estate Weekly first reported the sale in April. Read more...

By Roland Li

The Hunts Point produce market, one of the largest distribution centers of fresh fruit and vegetables in the world, has agreed to a tentative deal to extend its lease in the Bronx for three years. With over $2 billion in annual revenues and around 3,000 employees, along with around 6,000 visitors each day, the market is a large part of the local economy. Read more...

By Roland Li

Two weeks ago, the Columbus Avenue Business Improvement District (BID) held its annual food event, “New Taste of the Upper West Side,” on May 20 and 21, drawing over 1,500 guests and selling out tickets. It featured 35 restaurants, ranging from the upscale Dovetail and Landmarc to the casual offerings of Shake Shack and Insomnia Cookies. “It was remarkably successful,” said Barbara Adler, the BID’s executive director and one of its two full time employees. Read more...

First it caught the attention of government agencies like New York City’s Department of Transportation, then private sector road contractors and utility companies like Con Edison, because it didn’t contain diesel and other cancer-causing petroleum solvents and VOCs found in conventional cold patch asphalt.

But two years after being rolled out by a Queens-based company for pothole repairs, GreenPatch — an eco-friendly alternative asphalt patching material — has added the commercial and residential real estate industry to its growing list of users. Read more...

By Herbert Margrill

The concrete core of the new One World Trade Center Tower has now ascended above the 66th floor, and its steel columns stretch several floors higher. For New Yorkers and, indeed, for all Americans and civilized people around the world, it is a potent symbol of freedom’s triumph over terrorism. The building may no longer be called “Freedom Tower,” but that name will surely embody its enduring legacy. Read more...