In the HeadLinES

In the HeadLinES

Here are some of the latest news items that have hit the headlines. Your thoughts, comments, and impressions matter: Please share!

What Tokyu Land’s move tells us about who’s buying the LES now [The Real Deal]

Japanese developer Tokyu Land US Corporation just made its first major play on the Lower East Side , scooping up 10 Rutgers Street—a sleek, 83-unit multifamily building—for $56 million from AMAC.

Built in 2018, the building sold for about $747 per square foot and came with financing from Japan’s MUFG Bank . Tokyu Land’s growing NYC footprint (including their recent buy of the Azure tower in Brooklyn) signals continued foreign investor interest in LES multifamily assets .

10002: Right at Rutgers and East Broadway, this one’s in shockingly good shape (at least from the outside ). With the F train at East Broadway and Dimes Square around the corner , it’s a no-brainer for young renters seeking style + proximity.

A Midtown handshake that changes the Manhattan map [The Real Deal]

Howard Hanna—one of the country’s biggest brokerages—has landed in Manhattan by acquiring Elegran Real Estate . The newly formed Howard Hanna Elegran is the product of a long-anticipated expansion, following moves across the boroughs and burbs .

10002: While this likely doesn’t (directly) impact the LES landscape, the joining of forces and consolidation happening is not lost on me. “It’s very tough, post-class action lawsuits and the FARE Act, to be an independent firm and thrive in this market.”

Amen. I’m going for it too.

Why MGM suddenly folded its winning hand [The Real Deal]

In a twist no one saw coming, MGM Resorts has backed out of its $2.3B bid to expand its Yonkers casino . Citing “a newly defined competitive landscape” and diminished ROI (thanks, shortened license terms ), MGM exits stage left .

That leaves three players still in the game:

• Resorts World (Queens Aqueduct)

• Steve Cohen’s Metropolitan Park (Flushing)

• Bally’s Bronx

The state’s Gaming Facility Location Board is expected to choose by December 1 .

10002: No direct hit to the LES, unless you count the tax dollars Manhattan won’t be seeing . That, and the casino guest spillover we might have had in the city’s lower zones.

From what I’m seeing in some neighborhood Facebook groups… folks aren’t exactly thrilled about casinos anyway. Some rank them just above prisons and nuclear plants on the NIMBY list.