
New York City’s small businesses are facing a pandemic-altered commercial real estate landscape
Despite the uncertainty surrounding the ongoing spread of the COVID-19 delta variant, certain opportunistic retailers in New York City have been able to take advantage of tenant-favorable market conditions, successfully negotiating free rent, flexibility on term length and percentage-rent deal structures, and other previously unthinkable extras. As the COVID-19 pandemic has turned New York City’s… Read more »

Food & beverage fortifying commercial NYC real estate market
Shrugging off the pandemic’s impact on sales, supply and hiring, food-and-beverage uses continue to lead all retail-leasing categories in the Big Apple – and the lead even grew larger over last year. We had a look at some not-yet-released data which show the extraordinary resilience of edibles and drinkables in today’s historically challenged retail-leasing market…. Read more »

New York’s Cannabis Cultivation Space Race Stuck At Starting Block
As dozens of would-be cannabis retailers are looking to set up shop in New York City storefronts once licenses are approved, their suppliers are planning to grow their businesses outside of the Big Apple. But exact locations for most of these prospective cultivators are still up in the air, experts say, as the state government delays its… Read more »

As New York City Pushes Ahead With Reopening, The Restaurant Industry Remains Imperiled
New York City’s reopening plans have provided a lifeline for the city’s pummeled restaurant industry. But the slow return of patrons and now major staffing problems continue to vex operators still battling to make enough for expenses, including rent. “Many restaurants haven’t been able to pay rent or only paid partial rent over the past… Read more »

“A New Frontier For CRE: Cannabis Brokers Work To Corner The Market Before The Big Names Make A Move “
Cannabis is a new frontier for real estate, a kind of Wild West, with danger lurking but money to be made, and that has led many brokers and real estate professionals to at least consider what it would be like to get into the cannabis business. Experts caution, however, that much like the actual frontier… Read more »

Clinton Hill Developmemnt Tops Out Along Fast-Growing Stretch of Atlantic Avenue
A nine-story residential building is joining the fray on a quickly developing stretch of Atlantic Avenue in Clinton Hill. With an address of 540 Waverly Avenue, the building stretches along Atlantic from Waverly to Clinton Avenue. Construction has been moving quickly, and the building recently topped out. Permits show there will be a total of… Read more »

5 Key Medium-Term Factors Shaping Commercial Real Estate in NYC
For those of us invested in New York City’s commercial real estate (CRE) — either financially or emotionally — getting through 2020 was like processing the five stages of grief: First came denial, followed by anger, then bargaining, onto depression and, finally, acceptance. After all, one in seven chain stores permanently closed in 2020, along… Read more »

U.S. 2021 Retail Vacancy Rate May Rise To 7-Year High After Record Store Closings
Coronavirus has led to a record number of U.S. store closings in 2020 and to Manhattan’s retail rents plunging to historic lows, and the toll on the brick-and-mortar sector may not ease any time soon. After a record 12,200-plus store closing announcements from major chains in 2020 that translate to a record 159 million square… Read more »

Retail and Hotels Stall CMBS Recovery
The CMBS delinquency rate has steadily improved since a peak in June, but some asset classes are keeping the overall rate high. A new report from DBRS Morningstar looks closely at the CMBS delinquency rates from the last year, and found that retail and hotel properties could be hindering a recovery. Overall, the CMBS delinquency… Read more »

CubeSmart closes three deals in Brooklyn and Queens in year-end splurge
Self-storage giant CubeSmart purchased two buildings in Brooklyn and Queens for a combined $125 million and secured a new ground lease valued at $50 million. The self-storage sector has proven to be among the most resilient to the pandemic, as economic headwinds tend to bolster demand for storage space. The Real Deal

Are doc’ shops the new high street staple?
High street stores are set to be overtaken by doc shops as phenomena known as “medtail’ becomes the new retail norm. That’s according to the 2021 Retail Healthcare Outlook released by retail consultants, Tether Advisors, which predicts an acceleration of the trend in high street medical retail as a result of the COVID pandemic. Real… Read more »

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Expands to New York Area, Starting With Store in Fort Greene
The Los Angeles-based specialty beverage brand The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is expanding to New York, with the first store having opened Aug. 28 in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Fort Greene. Franchisee Hudson River Coffee & Tea plans to open a number of stores across the New York metro area, including a second Brooklyn… Read more »

How KDA Has Helped Tenants Weather the Pandemic – and Why Commercial Real Estate May Rebound Faster Than Most People Think
By Neil A. Dolgin Nearly nine months into the pandemic, the long-term impact on commercial real estate is still anybody’s guess as virtually every industry continues to feel the economic fallout. Over the past month in New York City alone where life finally appears to be returning to some normalcy, multiple hotels, including the Times… Read more »