High Profile NYC Restaurants go bust; leave empty space

"I wouldn't identify a theme to it, because all the closings happened for completely different reasons," said JDF Realty's Leslie Siben, a prominent restaurant broker.
But many of NYC's major high end restaurants are going bust, including Angelo & Maxie's steakhouse at 233 Park Avenue South and its sister eatery, Maxie's Grill. Already this year, the industry has seen theclosings of Tabla, Matsugen, Japonais, Montenapo, and, most buzzed about, the abrupt shutterings of Convivio and Alto, high-end Italians owned by Chris Cannon. 

However, plenty of new restaurants are opening as well.  Cushman & Wakefield's Brad Mendelson sees lots of activity in Midtown. But, "It's kind of funny," he said, "We're seeing tenants out of Florida and other parts of the country, not local."Read the full story at the New York Post.

Broadway Partners seeks capital infusion at 280 Park Ave

The Real Deal reports that Scott Lawlor's Broadway Partners is seeking a capital infusion at 280 Park Avenue. The building's interest reserves have been dwindling, and the partners have hired Edgerock Realty Advisors to help find investors, as was reported to Crain's Business News.
In 2007, Broadway acquired the 1.2 million-square-foot trophy property with Investcorp for around $1.2 billion. The building has around $440 million in outstanding securitized debt, and while the loan payments are current, reserves are only at around $36 million. To see the full article, please go here.

Greg David of Crain's Reports Economic Growth Likely to Accelerate

It's looking like the number of jobs the city gained last year will be revised upward from the preliminary stats that showed 55,000. Greg David stated " This is what usually happens in the first year of a recovery, as the paperwork that shows new hires often lags." Greg David also cited the Crain's article "Big Tenants getting spaced out" as evidence that business services sector is hungry for larger spaces, indicating expansion and new hires. He also stated that the private school sector is on the rise, with applications rising to 10% and entrepreneurs opening new schools. He also cited a report that stated 192,000 jobs have bee added in the US in February, and that New Yorkers should pay attention to Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's statement last week that the public sector job cuts "would not derail economic growth." To read the full article, please go here.

Target and developers buy a Bronx Postal Service Building

The Real Deal Reports that Target and developers bought a Bronx Postal Service in the Throgs Neck section of the Bronx, for $35.2 million, where they plan to build a 300,000-square-foot mall.

The owner was listed as Lafayette Nominee Owner LLC, with an address at Target's corporate headquarters in Minneapolis, Minn. The acquisition of the site at 815 Hutchinson River Parkway at Lafayette Avenue went into contract in November and closed Feb. 11, city property records published last Wednesday show. 

"We plan to build about 300,000 square feet of retail," said
 Paul Slayton, a principal with PA Associates. Target would own its own portion as a condominium, and the rest would be leased to other tenants. 
For the full story, please go here.