Flattening the City: How COVID-19 is Reshaping Commercial Real Estate
In the five-plus months that have passed since the U.S. declared a country-wide state of emergency due to COVID-19, we have all had to adapt in some way or another, to change our shape to match our new vessel. These changes were made rapidly, even under duress, and they were shaped and enabled by technology… 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 »
It’s a Broker’s Market
We will talk more about the commercial and industrial marketplace in additional posts over the next weeks. Right now we think this is a terrific marketplace for brokers. So we’d like to welcome the newest member of the KDA broker team, Max Duclos. As Max and our brokers canvas neighborhoods, we’re seeing an influx of… Read more »
City Planning Commission Greenlights Industry City Rezoning
Despite the opposition of the local city councilmember, the City Planning Commission today approved the controversial rezoning of Industry City in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, which is expected to generate several hundred thousand square feet of new commercial space. Commissioner David Burney was the only member of the planning board to vote against the proposal, which… Read more »
Amazon Delivers Hope to Brooklyn Office Market
The coronavirus has slowed an already lagging Brooklyn office market, but Amazon Music has signed a lease in a new Williamsburg building that has local brokers feeling optimistic. Amazon’s music streaming service took 40,000 square feet of production space at Rubenstein Partners and Heritage Equity Partners’ 25 Kent. Commercial Observer
SIOR: More CRE Transactions Stay on Schedule
The commercial real estate industry is gradually getting a handle on how to do business during a pandemic, according to the results of the August Sentiment Survey from SIOR. Back in April, only 26.1 percent of transactions were proceeding according to schedule, but that figure increased to 45.2 percent in the latest survey. Parallel to… Read more »
Four Things To Know Before Making the Switch from Residential Real Estate to CRE
by Neil A. Dolgin For New York City’s ultra-competitive residential brokerage community, these are uncertain times. Amidst an already-softened sales market and growing concerns about a lack of affordable housing that have led to swifter rent stabilization measures and the possibility of a recession pending the outcome of the presidential election, it is also grappling… Read more »
What We Can Learn from Lewis and Clark
by Kalmon Dolgin During breaks from business-related work and trying to maintain sanity, I have been reading the story of the Lewis and Clark expedition, Undaunted Courage. I am struck by the similarities and lessons that we can learn from this venture which took place nearly 220 years ago, yet it remains relevant to the… Read more »
Kalmon Dolgin Affiliates Inc. Named a 2019 CoStar Power Broker!
Kalmon Dolgin Affiliates, Inc.(KDA), one of the New York metropolitan region’s leading commercial and industrial real estate firms, has been named a 2019 CoStar Power Broker, the industry’s most prestigious award from CoStar Group, honoring the very best brokers and brokerages in commercial real estate. KDA won this award based on overall transaction volume as… Read more »
The squeeze on resi brokerages is forcing consolidation, cooperation
Residential firms are going lean. Call it a sign of the times that these days brokerage executives show off their smarts by pulling out financial statements and reviewing expenses line by line. “Everybody is doing that right now,” said Steve Murray, president of Real Trends, which analyzes brokerage valuations. The question is whether they’re making… Read more »
Food and beverage sector gains ground in warehouse leasing
Home of the Blue Point Brewery and event space with 100,000sf of space on nearly 10 acres at Patchogue Lake, with great water views and an iconic clock tower as it’s focal point. A recent multi-million-dollar renovation was made to accommodate the brewery which is equipped with an entertainment venue as well as tasting rooms… Read more »
Not In My Back Highway: Inside the Fight to Rebuild the BQE in Brooklyn Heights
As the Brookyn-Queens Expressway (BQE) approaches 80 years old, the city has to decide what to do with the triple cantilever. DOT recently determined that, within five years, the cantilever will become structurally unsound and unable to carry the current amount of traffic. The agency is mulling whether it should be repaired in stages, rebuilt… Read more »
Modular Is Poised For Greatness — If Only CRE Understood How To Use It
Nationally, modular construction accounts for just about 5% of all commercial construction, per the Modular Building Institute. But it is gathering strength, and market value for modular in new real estate construction could hit $130B in Europe and the U.S. in the next decade, according to McKinsey & Co. In New York City, where real… Read more »
The Death of a Co-working Startup Highlights User Experience vs. Unit Economics
Stroll through any major city in the United States and you’re sure to find an excess of completely built out, potentially useful, vacant spaces. Whether it’s a restaurant only open for dinner or a vacant retailer, there is no lack of finished, usable space. Spacious saw these vacancies as opportunities and sought to occupy them… Read more »
The 50 biggest NYC office sales of 2019
2019 turned into a pretty good year for New York City’s investment sales sector. Rising rents stoked investors appetite not only in Manhattan, but in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. And tech giants Amazon, Google and Facebook continue to expand their presence in the city, signaling to investors that the industry is thriving in the… Read more »