Jones Lang LaSalle
Deals: City agency seeks foreign investors
EDC officials to visit India, Middle East;
Published on May 22, 2006
With global interest in New York real estate growing, the city's Economic Development Corp. is planning its first trips to India and the Middle East this fall to promote foreign investment in the city.
"We are targeting about 25 countries--a combination of those that currently have a presence here and countries with emerging economies," says Laura Aubuchon, the senior vice president for international business development at the EDC.
New York state has seen foreign investment in commercial office buildings surge in the past several years; in 2005 it totaled $25 billion, the second-highest amount for any state. Driving this interest is a weak U.S. dollar and the strength of real estate.
"New York City is very liquid, meaning you can get in and out of a real estate deal quickly because there is always a readily available buyer," says Douglas Harmon, a managing director at Eastdil Secured.
Office rents in the city are also relatively cheap. Of the world's 50 most expensive commercial real estate markets, midtown Manhattan ranks No. 7 and downtown ranks No. 30. London is the most expensive.
Brokers are struggling to satisfy the hunger of international investors and tenants.
"In the past six months, I've been to Asia five times," says David Gialanella, executive vice president of global business development at CB Richard Ellis.
Jones Lang LaSalle is creating a new position for a broker who will specialize in Asian Pacific and European clients who are interested in investing in New York. The firm made a splash when it brokered a 200,000-square-foot lease at 7 World Trade Center for Beijing Vantone Real Estate. The deal, which is expected to close by the middle of next month, is the largest yet at the site of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. Beijing Vantone plans to establish a China Center to house Chinese companies needing office space in New York.
"We have seen interest from Chinese companies that are already in New York and those still in China that want to lease space at the center," says Feng Lun, president of Beijing Vantone.
Luring Beijing Vantone to 7 WTC "was a big coup for the city," says Ms. Aubuchon. But the city development agency, during its recruiting trip this fall, will probably not market Ground Zero as a destination for foreign investors, because other towers on the former World Trade Center site are not expected to be completed for at least six years.
Meanwhile, the EDC is continuing its efforts to find homes for foreign companies. It is aiming to steer two European companies looking to expand their New York offices to space in lower Manhattan, and hopes that a European bank will open back-office space in Brooklyn.
--Julie Satow
Deals: City agency seeks foreign investors
EDC officials to visit India, Middle East;
Published on May 22, 2006
With global interest in New York real estate growing, the city's Economic Development Corp. is planning its first trips to India and the Middle East this fall to promote foreign investment in the city.
"We are targeting about 25 countries--a combination of those that currently have a presence here and countries with emerging economies," says Laura Aubuchon, the senior vice president for international business development at the EDC.
New York state has seen foreign investment in commercial office buildings surge in the past several years; in 2005 it totaled $25 billion, the second-highest amount for any state. Driving this interest is a weak U.S. dollar and the strength of real estate.
"New York City is very liquid, meaning you can get in and out of a real estate deal quickly because there is always a readily available buyer," says Douglas Harmon, a managing director at Eastdil Secured.
Office rents in the city are also relatively cheap. Of the world's 50 most expensive commercial real estate markets, midtown Manhattan ranks No. 7 and downtown ranks No. 30. London is the most expensive.
Brokers are struggling to satisfy the hunger of international investors and tenants.
"In the past six months, I've been to Asia five times," says David Gialanella, executive vice president of global business development at CB Richard Ellis.
Jones Lang LaSalle is creating a new position for a broker who will specialize in Asian Pacific and European clients who are interested in investing in New York. The firm made a splash when it brokered a 200,000-square-foot lease at 7 World Trade Center for Beijing Vantone Real Estate. The deal, which is expected to close by the middle of next month, is the largest yet at the site of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. Beijing Vantone plans to establish a China Center to house Chinese companies needing office space in New York.
"We have seen interest from Chinese companies that are already in New York and those still in China that want to lease space at the center," says Feng Lun, president of Beijing Vantone.
Luring Beijing Vantone to 7 WTC "was a big coup for the city," says Ms. Aubuchon. But the city development agency, during its recruiting trip this fall, will probably not market Ground Zero as a destination for foreign investors, because other towers on the former World Trade Center site are not expected to be completed for at least six years.
Meanwhile, the EDC is continuing its efforts to find homes for foreign companies. It is aiming to steer two European companies looking to expand their New York offices to space in lower Manhattan, and hopes that a European bank will open back-office space in Brooklyn.
--Julie Satow
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 2:09 PM
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