International Realty recently recognized the accomplishments of its real estate professionals at the company’s annual President’s Dinner.

By Al Barbarino

When Marcus & Millichap’s Peter Von Der Ahe graduated from Loyola High School in Los Angeles, he set his sights on the east coast in an effort to “expand his horizons.” He would do so personally, professionally – and musically.

By Al Barbarino

While Tom McConnell specializes in some intricate financial dealings as head of Cushman and Wakefield’s Hotel Transaction Group, he never loses sight of his old school roots in the hotel business.

In the late 1970’s, following a stint as a bartender after graduating from Brown University, he worked a desk clerk job at the Hotel Viking in his hometown of Newport, Rhode Island. They were “simpler times,” the executive managing director recalled, but it wasn’t easy either. He worked roughly 70 hours a week during peak season, doing everything from checking visitors in to folding sheets before settling into an operations role.

By Al Barbarino
Cushman & Wakefield Sonnenblick Goldman is brokering the sale of two New York City Marriot hotels.

The first is the Marriot Courtyard, a 15-floor, 226-room hotel on the Upper West Side, located at 410 East 92nd Street. The other is the LaGuardia Airport Marriot, an 11-floor, 438-room hotel.

By Sarah Trefethen

Timour Shafran recently brokered a deal on an apartment building in University Heights that he’s sure will prove a profitable investment for his client.

“In the worst-case scenario, with financing in place, all he has to do is maintain what he has and he will see a 10 percent return on his cash,” said Shafran, founder and owner of CitiCore, Inc. “If he ran it a little more efficiently and changed the boilers from oil to gas, he could probably see 13 percent.”

By Sarah Trefethen
Some buildings seem to name themselves.

When the Whitney Museum leased the top two floors of 300 Park Avenue South, the owners at Rockrose Development Corp didn’t know it was the beginning of a trend, Craig Deitelzweig, head of the Rockrose office division, noted at a broker-party-meets-art-opening last week.

PBS Real Estate announced that Stuart Weitzman, global leader in designer footwear, has signed a 10-year lease agreement for 37,256 s/f at 625 Madison Avenue.
 
Laura Pomerantz and John Brod represented Stuart Weitzman in the transaction. Larry Swinger repped the landlord, S.L. Green Realty Corp.
The move represents an expansion and relocation of Stuart Weitzman’s corporate headquarters and showroom, previously located at 50 West 57th Street.
The new space will be located above Weitzman’s flagship retail store on the building’s third floor, which was formerly occupied by Hermes.
“We were pleased to secure such …