Diana Sabau

Carlo Bellini’s 99c has expanded its footprint across New York City with the acquisition of a 1.2-million-square-foot office tower in Manhattan’s Financial District. The company forked over $297 million to buy 180 Maiden Lane from a joint venture between Clarion Partners and MHP Real Estate.

A joint venture comprised of Chicago-based Sterling Bay — along with MRP Realty and Declaration Partners — inked two new leases with the U.S. Travel Association and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) for a total of 25,745 square feet at its Washington, D.C. offices at 1899 Pennsylvania Ave.

Harbor Associates and F&F Capital Group secured a $36.3 million refinancing loan from Argentic Real Estate Finance. The five-year loan with a fixed interest rate of 7.5% will be used to pay off existing debt on the 158,000-square-foot property located 1640 Sepulveda Blvd.

Aby Rosen’s RFR Holding recently sold 980 Madison Ave. — a mixed-use building on the Upper East Side known for its art galleries — for more than half a billion dollars. The buyer is Michael Bloomberg’s Bloomberg Philanthropies, which intends to convert the property into a family office.

Hines — a Houston-based real estate investor and developer — is expanding its Hudson Square presence by connecting its existing, 17,000-square-foot office space on the 12th floor of 345 Hudson St. to an additional 15,000 square feet in the adjacent building at 555 Greenwich St. This 12-year lease expansion is part of a joint venture with Trinity Church Wall Street and Norges Bank Investment Management. Hines developed and owns both properties.

The Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) decided to renew its 16,749-square-foot lease at the Jack Resnick & Sons-owned 250 Hudson Street for an additional 16 years. The 70-year-old labor union will maintain its presence on the seventh floor of building, which has been home to their headquarters since 2010.

Architecture firm HOK has signed a 13-year lease at Wanxiang America Real Estate Group’s One Pru, formerly known as One Prudential Plaza. The company is set to occupy a 25,500-square-foot space on the 14th floor of the 41-story building.

HOK will vacate its current premises at 333 S. Wabash Ave. in Chicago early next year upon the expiration of its 27,000-square-foot lease.

Data analytics and intelligence firm Palantir Technologies has agreed to a new lease deal at the RXR-owned 620 Avenue of the Americas. The company, which previously leased the space through WeWork, is set to retain its existing footprint of 140,345 square feet within the Chelsea building.

Kobalt Music Group has opted to maintain a presence in the Meatpacking District by renewing its lease at 2 Gansevoort St.
This decision comes after Kobalt previously subleased all of its office space in the nine-story building. According to an anonymous source familiar with the deal, Kobalt signed a new, 10-year lease for a smaller footprint of 10,000 square feet. The asking rent for this space was $115 per square foot.