David Levitt
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Freelance commercial real estate reporter. Mostly NYC. My pronouns are dese, dem and dose.
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Articles by David Levitt
Hunterdon Central Increases Passing Time to Allow for More Bathroom Stops
World News 3 hours ago This principal in Nepal evacuated 900 students before flooding swept away their school Associated Press - By SHONAL GANGULY and SHEIKH SAALIQ • 3h BIDUR, Nepal (AP) — Rajendra Dawadi was inside his classroom when a colleague rushed in with a warning: Floodwaters were racing through Nepal’s Trishuli Valley, tearing apart homes, bridges and entire villages. Then a teacher received another warning by phone. Moments later, a parent arrived to take …
Developers Are Tackling a Wave of Conversions of Mundane Buildings
The words “Can you change this?” might have more than normal resonance in a bank these days. In the last decade, somewhere between 22 million and 36 million square feet of bank branches closed nationwide, an amount of space potentially larger than the entire Cincinnati office market, according to Best Interest Financial, a West Bloomfield Township, Mich.-based mortgage company.
American Jews Must Go on Offense - David H. Levitt
I am tired – tired of always playing defense against antisemitism. Tired of the lies about Israel and about Jews. Tired of media antisemitic and anti-Israel bias. Tired of politicians saying that “hate has no place in [add your location],” when it very clearly does. Tired of prosecutors who won’t prosecute hate crimes (especially in France).
How crews keep the aging Hudson River rail tunnels operating Original
Every night, about 20 to 30 workers head inside the rail tunnels under the Hudson River to make sure New Jersey commuters can make it safely in and out of Manhattan. They eyeball the decaying 115-year-old tunnels, which for more than a decade have been slated to be augmented by new tunnel projects, and make sure they are clear and passable. Officials in both states want the old tunnels, which opened during the Taft administration, supplemented with newer tubes.
Coworking Spots Continue to Proliferate Farther From Central Business Districts
Coworking Spots Continue to Proliferate Farther From Central Business Districts PHOTOS: Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images; Getty Images; ILLUSTRATION: Commercial Observer The KENTILE FLOORS sign once ruled over this part of Brooklyn. Meanwhile, the Gowanus neighborhood below was best known for the foul smell emanating from the canal that gave the area its name. On the hottest of days, the canal, an EPA Superfund site since 2010, still emits a sulphurous odor.
David Levitt's Portfolio
Former writer for Bloomberg, covering mostly commercial real estate. Also worked for Debtwire and Real Estate Alert. Earlier in life, I...
Steve Witkoff's ultimate real-estate deal
CeasefireGazaIsrael Hamas Warjared kushnerPoliticsReal EstateSaudi Arabiasteve witkoffTrumpUS Stephen Witkoff, President Trump’s Middle East envoy, might be a fresh face for followers of world affairs. But for students of New York real estate, he’s an old familiar presence.
Asking vs. Taking Rents in Manhattan Office: The Gulf Is Widening
Asking vs. Taking Rents in Manhattan Office: The Gulf Is Widening Office buildings in Manhattan. Photo: Godong/Universal Images Group via Getty Images The more everything changed in the Manhattan office market, the more asking rents stayed the same. Yet, a gulf has opened between these static asking rents and the taking rents that tenants actually pay.
Law Firm Leasing in `24: What to Know With Cushman & Wakefield’s John McWilliams
Office landlords’ fondest hope is a tenant sector that understands workers work best when in the office. While a few employees might occasionally work from home or a remote location, landlords appreciate companies that believe the office is an essential place to be.
Tens of Millions of Square Feet of Manhattan Office Leases Expiring
Tens of Millions of Square Feet of Manhattan Office Leases Expiring Office towers above Manhattan's Bryant Park. Photo: Getty Images The Manhattan office market isn’t quite done living through the post-pandemic period. There are still nearly 55 million square feet of lease expirations to get through in the next 36 months.
Fifth Avenue’s Office Market Could Pull Even With Neighbors Park and Sixth
Fifth Avenue’s Office Market Could Pull Even With Neighbors Park and Sixth Illustration: Val Bochkov Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue is known for luxury shops such as Prada and Hermes as well as landmarks like St. Patrick’s Cathedral and the New York Public Library’s flagship building. During the holiday season, it’s the place to be. But as an office corridor, Fifth Avenue has been strangely second-rate.
In Much of Midtown’s Office Market, It’s Like the Pandemic Didn’t Happen
In Much of Midtown’s Office Market, It’s Like the Pandemic Didn’t Happen PHOTO: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images Midtown Manhattan’s office market is like a Timex watch. It takes a licking and keeps on ticking. Trends such as a flight to quality among tenants, a dwindling supply of top-shelf office space, and the sheer history of Midtown as the traditional hub of New York business all have combined for a post-pandemic run that other New York submarkets — and cities — could only envy.
In Manhattan Office Leasing, You Can Always Go ... Downtown
Is Lower Manhattan on the verge of an office revival? Short answer: Yes.
When New York City Office Tenants Move Only a Block or Two
A shift is afoot in the New York City commercial real estate market that might seem familiar. More companies are seeking to relocate very near the offices they have long occupied. Oftentimes, it looks like it’s only a matter of a block or three. The evidence so far is largely anecdotal. But one New York City real estate veteran estimates that well over half the leasing done recently by his team involved companies staying in the same neighborhoods where they were already conducting business.
Developers Team With Airbnb Right From the Start to Fill Condos
Developers Team With Airbnb Right From the Start to Fill Condos Illustration: Jonathan Utracik West Eleventh Residences in Downtown Miami was a going project — though in the early stages — when Airbnb showed up.
Crunch Fitness President Chequan Lewis On Rapid Expansion Post-COVID
If there is one space in the national economy that is living up to America’s ideals of a highly competitive free enterprise system, it’s fitness. There are almost as many fitness companies as there are types of shampoo. If you can’t find a place to sweat off a few pounds and get stronger and more toned, that’s your own fault.
Mixed-Use Conversion Is Not the Answer for Office Owners Original
SEE ALSO: Electrical Supplier WEC Inks 26K-SF Deal at Jamaica Warehouse Or take Hudson Yards. Just the eastern portion, built over a train yard, contains some of New York City’s biggest office skyscrapers, a retail concourse at one time anchored by the city’s first Neiman Marcus, and some high-rise condos, with the western portion, supposedly apartment-tower dominated, still to come. Then there’s Essex Crossing.
FIRE Tenants Are Not Spreading as Much in Manhattan
FIRE Tenants Are Not Spreading as Much in Manhattan Image: Getty The financial industry, the backbone of New York City’s economy for more than a generation, is showing signs of scaling back its appetite for New York offices.
Retail by MONA’s Brandon Singer on the Luxury-Led Resurgence in Storefronts
It appears the comeback in retail, especially in New York City, is coming in luxury first. The timeless appeal of stores with doors seems to be starting with luxury buyers, that is, with high-end goods merchants seeing their paths to sustainable profits being tied to certain parts of town and parts of streets known for supporting the very best — things that people want to taste, touch and experience before they buy. There is no online or e-commerce substitute for this.
Open-Air Retail Defies the Odds With Service-Oriented Businesses
Open-Air Retail Defies the Odds With Service-Oriented Businesses Shoppers explore the City Center Bishop Ranch outdoor shopping mall in San Ramon, Calif. PHOTO: Paul Chinn/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images The day after New Year’s, Kimco Realty closed on its approximately $2 billion purchase of RPT Realty and its 56 open-air shopping centers totaling 13.3 million square feet.
Demand From AI and Crypto Firms Are Straining the Country’s Electric Grids
Demand From AI and Crypto Firms Are Straining the Country’s Electric Grids Illustration: Vito Ansaldi/for Commercial Observer At One Vanderbilt, the jumbo skyscraper completed in 2020 by SL Green Realty, New York City’s biggest owner of office buildings, there’s a water reclamation tank in the basement that, according to SL Green’s own information, is designed “for cooling tower use.” SEE ALSO: Colliers’ Michael Cohen On Filling All That Empty New York Office Space It’s not just new buildings...
Colliers’ Michael Cohen On Filling All That Empty New York Office Space
Colliers (CIGI) is one of them too. Those in high positions at any one of these firms have a special vantage point on New York and its health as an engine for nationwide business growth. Ignore their opinions on the city’s economic health at your own risk. SEE ALSO: Restaurants Put Proptech on the Menu Therefore Michael Cohen’s viewpoint is an important one.
Being Together Turns Out to Be a Big Office Amenity After All
For Mitch Goldenberg, it was a no-brainer. Any return-to-office mandate didn’t really matter. “I live in a one-bedroom in New York City. That gets old,” the 35-year-old financial lines worker from the insurance broker Willis Group said while eating his lunch — a salad — in Lower Manhattan’s Winter Garden on a windy late March day. “If you spend half an hour a month with [a person you work with], rather than an hour a week on Zoom, you’re going to get to that level faster.
What a Tech Company Wants in Its Office, Per Guident CEO Harald Braun
Yes, autonomous vehicles remain in the experimental stage far, far away from being utilized the way their advocates envision: shuttling people from place to place, making deliveries, trucks delivering goods hither and yon — an everyday part of our everyday lives. But, already, experimental cars are moving tech personnel through the Bay Area.
Industrial Real Estate’s Biggest Operators Add Space Despite Slowdown
Despite recent reports showing warehouse users ratcheting back their need for space in the post-COVID period, two major owners in the sector say they have no plans to really curb their stream of new supply. Luke Petherbridge, CEO of Link Logistics, the industrial arm of private equity giant Blackstone (BX), said he expects his company to add a “similar volume” to the 86 million square feet it leased up in 2023.
Downtown Manhattan’s Office Market Can’t Catch a Break
When Manhattan sneezes, its downtown catches a cold. It’s almost always been this way. Its original 17th century design — if you could call it that, with its haphazardly narrow, curving streets best suited to horse carts and two-story buildings — reflects what makes it such a problematic business district in 2024.
More New York City Tenants Are Buying Their Buildings. Here’s Why.
Maybe the name Prada conjures up images of Meryl Streep as the fictional Miranda Priestly riding herd on Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt. Not on Jan. 4. That was the day it became known that the high-end Italian fashion house was intending to buy its second building along Manhattan’s ultra-chic Fifth Avenue shopping corridor, famous for having the highest retail rents in the world. It paid $425 million for 724 Fifth Avenue.
The Learning Experience’s David Slavny On Child Care As a Credit Tenant
The Learning Experience’s David Slavny On Child Care As a Credit Tenant David Slavny, executive vice president of development at The Learning Experience, this February in Deerfield Beach, Fla. Photo: ak Bennett/for Commercial Observer Taking care of little ones is big business.
Where AI Firms Are Looking to Lease Office Space Original
SEE ALSO: Sunday Summary: That Escalated Quickly “In a market as challenged as San Francisco is, it is the one bright spot that is showing growth,” said Derek Daniels, regional director of research for brokerage Colliers (CIGI). His remit includes the San Francisco Bay Area, which encompasses San Francisco proper and Silicon Valley, where many of the innovations in computer and information technology get their start.
ChatGPT Creator OpenAI Looking for a New York Office
David M. Levitt February 13, 2024 at 3:59 PM·2 min read OpenAI CEO Sam Altman at a San Francisco conference in November 2023. Photo: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images OpenAI, the San Francisco-based company that has been leading the drive to spread artificial intelligence (AI) into wide use, is looking to lease about 60,000 square feet of office space in New York City, Commercial Observer has learned.
ChatGPT Creator OpenAI Looking For a New York Office
ChatGPT Creator OpenAI Looking for a New York Office OpenAI CEO Sam Altman at a San Francisco conference in November 2023. Photo: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images OpenAI, the San Francisco-based company that has been leading the drive to spread artificial intelligence (AI) into wide use, is looking to lease about 60,000 square feet of office space in New York City, the Commercial Observer has learned.
Brooklyn's Office Market Awaits Its Own Flight to Quality
Photo: Max Touhey | www.metouhey.com On a quiet street in Brooklyn’s Gowanus section sits 92 Third Street, an arched-windowed, red-brick hulk from the borough’s industrial past — a former candle factory, according to its broker. The entire 94,000-square-foot building is available for sale, according to listing site Loopnet. For now it’s 57 percent leased, but a broker said those tenants are on short-term leases and could be moved out in haste if the right kind of taker comes along.
Brooklyn’s Office Market Awaits Its Own Flight to Quality
On a quiet street in Brooklyn’s Gowanus section sits 92 Third Street, an arched-windowed, red-brick hulk from the borough’s industrial past — a former candle factory, according to its broker. The entire 94,000-square-foot building is available for sale, according to listing site Loopnet. For now it’s 57 percent leased, but a broker said those tenants are on short-term leases and could be moved out in haste if the right kind of taker comes along.
TailoredSpace CEO Drew Sanden On How to Smartly Grow Coworking Companies
TailoredSpace CEO Drew Sanden On How to Smartly Grow Coworking Companies Drew Sanden at TailoredSpace's San Juan Capistrano location in mid-January. Photo: Patrick Strattner/for Commercial Observer Like a monster in a horror movie, coworking is the idea that refuses to stay dead.
What Office Space Costs Landlords and Tenants Now
What Office Space Costs Landlords and Tenants Now Chicago is one of the major markets where effective rents have declined since the pandemic. Photo: Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images For all the emphasis on remote or hybrid work, there remain employers intent on having workplaces in office buildings like the good old days pre-pandemic. And the numbers suggest that these landlords are willing to pay more to make that happen.
The Office Market's Brightest Spot Going Into 2024: Law Firms
One industry in particular is standing athwart history and doubling down on the importance of physical office space: law firms. U.S. law firms leased some 12 million square feet of office space through the first three quarters of 2023, said David Smith, head of Americas insights for brokerage Cushman & Wakefield (CWK).
The Office Market’s Brightest Spot Going Into 2024: Law Firms
The Office Market’s Brightest Spot Going Into 2024: Law Firms 1345 Avenue of the Americas, where Paul Weiss took 765,000 square feet. Photo: Fisher Brothers One industry in particular is standing athwart history and doubling down on the importance of physical office space: law firms. U.S. law firms leased some 12 million square feet of office space through the first three quarters of 2023, said David Smith, head of Americas insights for brokerage Cushman & Wakefield (CWK).
Accelerometer Experiments Clarify Einstein’s Gravity Theory
Einstein’s astonishing gravity theory is now easy to understand and prove, using our mobile phones. Finally see just how curved spacetime causes gravity — math optional. This material, including the poster below, was presented in 2023 at The 3rd African Conference on Fundamental and Applied Physics. This research demonstrates a little known fact: recent technology in many of our own pockets now offers clear and startling proof of Einstein’s theory of gravity.
Multistory Warehouses Draw Investors and Developers Despite Challenges
Hard by the water of New York Harbor in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park stands the Whale Building. It could be a relic of the borough’s industrial past, but instead now has a future in modern industrial storage. The 500,000-square-foot, seven-story black structure is where Portal Warehousing is readying two floors — six and seven, totaling 59,000 square feet — for small “maker” businesses to store their goods. It should be ready to go in mid-January, those involved with it say.
Multistory Warehouses Draw Investors and Developers Despite Challenges
Hard by the water of New York Harbor in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park stands the Whale Building. It could be a relic of the borough’s industrial past, but instead now has a future in modern industrial storage. The 500,000-square-foot, seven-story black structure is where Portal Warehousing is readying two floors — six and seven, totaling 59,000 square feet — for small “maker” businesses to store their goods. It should be ready to go in mid-January, those involved with it say.
Wells Fargo Real Estate Head Richard Henderson On the Hudson Yards Move
Neiman Marcus’ loss turned out to be Wells Fargo (WFC)’s gain. The Dallas-based luxury goods retailer, which emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2021, had shuttered its first Manhattan store the year before after just one year, leaving a 188,000 square-foot hole at the center of Hudson Yards, the city’s most promising new commercial development.
Wells Fargo Real Estate Head Richard Henderson On the Hudson Yards Move
The Dallas-based luxury goods retailer, which emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2021, had shuttered its first Manhattan store the year before after just one year, leaving a 188,000 square-foot hole at the center of Hudson Yards, the city’s most promising new commercial development. But, by 2026, some 2,300 new people from the San Francisco-based bank will be working there in some 445,000 square feet overall that Wells Fargo will own rather than lease.
How Architects and Designers Shifted Focus During the Pandemic
875 Third Avenue. Photo: Global Holdings Management Group Time was when architects designed entire office buildings for owners that tenants then filled, with no thought to workers’ comfort beyond maybe the restrooms and the kitchenettes. Not anymore.
How Architects and Designers Shifted Focus During the Pandemic
How Architects and Designers Shifted Focus During the Pandemic 875 Third Avenue. Photo: Global Holdings Management Group Time was when architects designed entire office buildings for owners that tenants then filled, with no thought to workers’ comfort beyond maybe the restrooms and the kitchenettes.
Funlab’s Blaise Witnish On the Australian Firm’s Holey Moley Plans
Go to Australia, and all over the landscape you will see outlets proclaiming “Holey Moley.” It’s not just a peculiarity of the populace in the land where marsupials thrive and folks call everyone “mate.” It’s a place where you can play miniature golf while quaffing a brew. In other words, it combines some of adults’ guilty and not-so-guilty pleasures: mini-golf, eating and drinking alcohol. Now the company behind Holey Moley wants to bring that concept here. Funlab Ltd.
Target’s Recent Moves: What’s Behind Them?
Whether or not crime pushed them there, it seems clear that target Corporation has arrived at a crossroads. There’s evidence pointing both ways. In favor of crime, the Minneapolis-based retail giant announced in September that it would close nine stores, citing organized retail theft as the key reason. Arguing the other way, in response to financials going in the wrong direction, is the downward drift of Target’s net earnings and stock price.
Scare Tactics: How Pop-Up Stores Like Spirit Halloween Find Spots Now
Scare Tactics: How Pop-Up Stores Like Spirit Halloween Find Spots Now A Spirit Halloween pop-up in Manhattan's SoHo in 2020. Photo: Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images Stephanie, 78, needed a pumpkin pouch for her daughter, 52, who is in a group home that planned a Halloween party in the coming days. So, Stephanie, who lives nearby, drove over to the Spirit Halloween pop-up store in a strip mall on Route 18 in East Brunswick, N.J. “I just looked up Halloween stores online,” she said.
Anchoring Retail and Hospitality to Sports Stadiums: Is It Worth It? Original
The Battery Atlanta — developed using a professional sports stadium as an anchor to a much larger development — has become a go-to model for big league sports teams whose playing fields are by far their largest and often most controversial expense. And in the age of $40 million-plus a year for pitchers, that’s saying a lot.
‘Yes, But’ and the Law of Armed Conflict: Sieges - David H. Levitt
It didn’t take long – less than a week in most cases – for the finger-waggers and tsk-tskers to change from condemnation of Hamas’s atrocities and statements agreeing Israel has the right to defend itself to lecturing Israel, from a safe distance of course, about its supposed obligation under international law to protect Gazan civilians. According to such advocates of “Yes, but . .
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