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New York City-based grocer Fairway Market filed for bankruptcy for a second time in about four years, with plans to sell up to five stores to ShopRite-owner Village Super Market for $70 million, the Commercial Observer reported, citing court records show. Under the Chapter 11 proceeding, Fairway agreed to sell five Manhattan locations - including its flagship Upper West Side outpost at 2131 Broadway - along with its distribution center in the Bronx to Village Supermarkets. The deal is a stalking-horse bid, meaning it sets the base price for the stores in an auction. Low vacancy rate. Burgeoning population. Expensive real estate. The Big Apple's multifamily market has always been the champion compared to the rest of the country, but the recently passed rent regulations have the city on the ropes and in danger of losing its title, the Commercial Observer reported. Investors scared off by New York City's laws are looking at cities like Dallas, and others across the country, that lack rent regulation, said Shimon Shkury, the president and founder of Ariel Property Advisors. "Florida and a lot of [investors] are going to Dallas," Shkury said. "Cities that have less or no regulation and that have growth." Signature Bank reined in loans to owners of rent-regulated apartments in the fourth quarter, the latest institution to cut back after sweeping changes were made last year to the state's rent-control law, Crain's New York reported. The bank, one of the city's largest lenders to multifamily properties, said apartment-renovation loans fell by about $450 million in the fourth quarter, to $1.27 billion. The decline came after the state Legislature restricted the amount landlords can raise rents to pay for improvements on nearly 1 million rent-regulated apartments in the city. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has revived efforts to require union-level wages on certain publicly funded projects, The Real Deal reported. Under the governor's proposal - which was included in the state's proposed 2021 budget - owners would pay construction workers prevailing wages on projects where public funds are covering at least 30 percent of overall construction costs and such costs exceed $5 million. As with the version of the bill proposed by last year, the measure includes a carveout for projects receiving the tax break formerly known as 421a (now Affordable New York) and developments initiated by certain homeowners and not-for-profits. City officials recently gathered in the Fordham Heights section of The Bronx to celebrate the commencement of construction at 2050 Grand Concourse. Designed by Magnusson Architecture and Planning, the 13-story building will contain 96 affordable apartments, comprehensive support facilities for the formerly homeless, and residential amenities, New York YIMBY reported. Specific support services include low-cost medical services, vocational training and employment placement, transportation services, nutrition and general education services, home-making assistance, and mental health counselling.
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