LinkedIn Corporation, which operates the largest professional network on the Internet, is expanding its space at the Empire State Building by 33 percent, adding 10,400 s/f on the 24th floor to its existing 32,000 s/f on the 25th floor, announced Anthony Malkin, president of Malkin Holdings, which supervises the property.
The new space is slated for occupancy in early 2013. LinkedIn leased the entire 25th floor in 2011.
“LinkedIn has told us that they are expanding because the Empire State Building has proven to be very popular amongst …

By Liana Grey
Last week, just after the Fourth of July, several prospective buyers toured One Murray Park, the first condo project to open in Long Island City in over a year. “We’ve been very busy,” said Shaun Osher, founder of CORE, which is marketing the six-story glass and brick development. Sales launched several months ago — and the finishing touches are still being placed on the interiors, including a library adjacent to the lobby, a fitness center, and a parking garage — but already 40 percent of the building’s 45 units are in contract. “We expect to reach the closing phase in a couple of weeks,” said Doron Zwickel, a broker at CORE.

By Sarah Trefethen
New development and revitalization alike are opening up new housing opportunities in transportation-rich towns in New Jersey.“At the end of the day, people have to choose: do they live in the best location and pay through the nose, or do they have a little more space in a quality building with a great living environment,” said Adam Mermelstein, principal of TreeTop Development. In East Orange, NJ, a city of 27,000 residents, Mermelstein owns 540 units of housing in eight buildings on and around South Harrison Street. Crime in the area has dropped 75 percent in recent years, Mermelstein said, and upscale renovations have drawn a mix of professional class tenants, bring occupancy from 60 just a couple of years ago to 100 percent, minus turnover.

10 Downing Street, the West Village luxury residential building owned and managed by Stonehenge Partners, has completed the leasing for its enhanced retail space located on the Sixth Avenue of the building.
The company bought the building in 2005 and has been working to reposition, renovate and now lease the entire ground floor.
Six new commercial tenants have now opened in an example of Stonehenge’s vision to create welcoming, full-service rental opportunities in buildings enabling tenants to become part of a community where they can live, shop and socialize.
“10 Downing epitomizes Stonehenge’s …

Savanna announced the signing of a new 16,884 s/f office lease at 104 West 40th Street, its landmark Class A office building next to Bryant Park in Midtown Manhattan.
The 210,000 s/f, 20-story office building was acquired by Savanna in August 2010.
Vox Media, the Washington D.C.-based publisher of websites such as SB Nation, The Verge, and Polygon, has signed a lease for 16,884 s/f, encompassing the entire 12,500 s/f 9th floor and 4,400 s/f of the 8th floor.
The company will occupy a custom-built suite designed by Robert Finger of Fogarty Finger …

An investor group led by ABS Partners chairman Earle Altman has acquired the office and retail building at 915 Broadway in a $140 million deal that includes pre-payment of the existing mortgage.
 
In 1981, Altman and a group of investors acquired 915 Broadway for $6 million.
This new off-market transaction allows the original partners to monetize their investment while providing Altman and the new investor group the opportunity to own a high-quality, steel and concrete building completed in 1926.
The group includes savvy long-time real estate investor Richard Hadar, investors John Zirinsky and …

While overall lease deal volume for the city is now on par with previous years, most other indicators at midyear 2012 point to a flat market, according to executives at Jones Lang LaSalle.
“A sharp rebound in leasing activity surprised many in the second quarter as decision makers for some of New York’s largest tenants chose to lock in renewals at current pricing,” said Peter Riguardi, president of Jones Lang LaSalle’s New York office.
“A handful of major transactions, totaling more than 2.7 million square feet, in the spring spurred leasing volume …

Jonathan Horn, founder of Helios Capital Advisors, has joined The Besen Group as executive managing director of the Special Assets Group.
In conjunction, The Besen Group has expanded its presence with the opening of a new office in Red Bank, NJ, where Horn will oversee day-to-day operations.
Horn will be charged with the responsibility of growing transaction volume in the small balance debt space, expanding the advisory team, and managing the new office.
He will be in charge of all aspects of the group’s business, which includes advisory and disposition services for commercial …

575 Fifth Avenue, the headquarters of L’Oreal USA that’s owned by MetLife and managed by Cushman & Wakefield, has won the international BOMA TOBY (The Outstanding Building of the Year).
The announcement came during the BOMA International Convention held last month in Seattle and made history in the category in which New York has excelled over the past decade.
It was the fifth winner from New York in this category since 2000; no city has won as many Corporate Facility awards in that time period.

A change in the rules governing building heights around Grand Central Station may spur new construction in one of the city’s oldest business districts.

The Department of City Planning unveiled a new proposal for midtown east at a Community Board 5 committee meeting last night (Wednesday.)

It’s a quest for quality, not quantity, driving the city’s action, according to Fred Cerullo, president and CEO of the Grand Central Partnership, a business improvement district, who called the yet-to-be released rezoning proposal “one of the most aggressive and exciting proposals to impact this area