By Liana Grey
Not long ago, the price of one- and two-bedroom apartments in Brooklyn rose while studios lagged behind.
Now, smaller units across the borough — which has seen some of the highest demand for new development in the city — are red hot. In its latest market report, the brokerage firm MNS calculated that studio prices in Brooklyn jumped by 2.3 percent over the past month alone, compared to a one percent increase for one- and two-bedrooms. In Park Slope, prices shot up by 5.6 percent.

By Sarah Trefethen
A 42,000 s/f property on 125th Street in Harlem is available for redevelopment through the Economic Development Corporation. Development of the site, located next door to the Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. State Office Building, is part of the city’s efforts to breath new life into the historic corridor, home to the Studio Museum in Harlem, the National Black Theater and the Apollo Theater.

International digital advertising and communications firm Havas has been working with TPG Architecture for more than two years to identify an appropriate space in Manhattan into which the industry leader can move its creative and media staff.
Havas recently signed a 15-year lease for 260,000 s/f, comprising seven floors of 200 Hudson Street and an additional floor at 205 Hudson Street.
The new offices will bring together over 1,100 staff from Havas Worldwide and agency groups Euro/RSCG, MPG and Arnold — currently in disparate locations throughout New York City.
Construction is scheduled to …

Spector Group, a metropolitan New York-based architecture, master planning and interior design firm, has created the “Forensic Architecture +” studio.
The new division will thoroughly focus on bonafide forensic architecture, one of the firm’s noted and most prolific areas of expertise.  Spector has provided complete professional forensic architecture consultancy services to a variety of public and private sector clientele for more than 25 years.
“Many buildings, whether they are hospitals, educational facilities or office spaces, are decades old and in dire need of significant repair, rejuvenation and reinvention to bring them up …

Titles of New York held its annual Spring party at The Roc Cafe on May 8, 2012. The event was well attended and gave Esen Edip and the Staff another opportunity to thank their valued customers, catch up on current market trends and talk with them about how Titles can better serve them in the future.

Increasing the role of MWBE firms in the construction arena makes good sense for the business owners, the City of New York, and its taxpayers.
That’s the bottom line according to Deputy Mayor Caswell Holloway.
Holloway joined Craig Collins, vice president of administration for the School Construction Authority, in addressing Anchin’s Building the Future: Celebrating MWBEs and Their Advocates, a recognition event for outstanding MWBEs held May 3, 2012.
The annual recognition event was held in co-operation with the New York Building Congress and the Women Builders Council.
Fifteen awards were presented at this …

When the Bloomberg administration set out to bring a new applied sciences campus to the five boroughs, the goal was to introduce a source of innovation that would help New York City’s economy remain competitive in the 21st century.
Now, as Cornell University moves forward with plans to construct a $2 billion engineering campus on Roosevelt Island, innovation remains the project’s watchword.
That trailblazing philosophy will extend to awarding construction and design contracts for the planned two million s/f on new space, according to Kyu Whang, the university’s vice president for facilities service. “If it’s an innovative way to do construction, then certainly we’ll consider it on our campus,” he said.

PBS Real Estate just signed the Peter Freeman Gallery to a 10 year lease agreement for 10,900 s/f at 140 Grand Street in Soho.
The gallery is transforming space previously occupied by a label printing factory.

“Chelsea rents increasing, and neighborhoods east of SoHo continuing to gentrify, you can expect to see more and more galleries moving to the area,” said John Brod, principal of PBS Real Estate.

Jason Pruger, an executive managing director at Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, represents big-name retailers like CVS, Aerosole, Wendy’s, the Vitamin Shoppe, Fred Perry, and French fashion house Faconnable.

But some of his most memorable deals have involved smaller, niche stores just breaking into the Manhattan market.

“It’s always fun to bring new concepts into the city,” he said. “You get to learn about different businesses. You get a feel of what makes those businesses work.”

Urban American, the owner and manager of some 12,000 apartments in the metropolitan area, is on the hunt for distressed properties after turning around one Brooklyn rental building.
Within a month of bringing 170 North 5th Street in Williamsburg to market, James Eisenberg, president of UA Development and Construction Corp, said the 16-unit building was now fully occupied.
The project was originally planned as a condominium called The Williams. However, the previous owner defaulted on its loan and the building sat in limbo for over a year.
Urban American purchased the defaulted loan …