Former President Donald Trump can continue operating his New York-based businesses for now, an appeals court has ruled, granting a stay on a penalty ordered by the judge overseeing Trump’s civil trial in state court.
New York state Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron, who is presiding over the trial, ordered the suspension of business licenses belonging to the former president, his children and The Trump Organization on the eve of the trial, a move some called a corporate death penalty.
But Justice Peter Moulton of the 1st Division of the New York Appellate Court wrote in a Friday order that The Trump Organization, as well Trump, his two…

Apartment rents in Oakland have fallen faster than in any large city in the nation.

Median rent for a one-bedroom pad in the East Bay city fell 7.2 percent in September from a year earlier, the largest drop among the 100 biggest cities in the U.S., the San Francisco Chronicle reported, citing figures from Apartment List.

The median asking rent last month for a one-bedroom unit in Oakland was $1,430, more than $100 lower than in September last year. That’s  the lowest rent since at least 2017, the earliest year of data available from the listing site.

At the same time, median rents in Greater San Francisco fell to $1,880, from $1,960, a drop of 4.1 percent. 

The declines follow the exit of many renters from Bay Area downtowns at the dawn of the pandemic in 2020 for cheaper and larger digs during a shift to remote work, according to Apartment List.

But while some cities such as Fremont and San Jose saw an uptick in rents as tech companies called workers back to offices, rents in Oakland showed few signs of recovery. Among the nation’s 100 largest cities, 71 saw rent declines.

Median rent for a one-bedroom flat across the U.S. fell 1.3 percent last month to $1,170, from $1,190 in September 2022.

Oakland saw the steepest rent decline, followed by Austin, Texas, and Boise, Idaho, where rents fell 6.4 percent. In California, rents fell 5.2 percent in Moreno Valley and 5.1 percent in Long Beach.

Prices in San Francisco remain well below pre-pandemic levels, falling by 4.3 percent over the past year. In Fremont, where rents shot up in 2022, according to the Chronicle, they’ve fallen by the same percentage.

The rate of empty apartments across the U.S. rose to 6.4 percent in September, from 5.2 percent the year before. The vacancy rate in Oakland was 9.4 percent last month, from 7.6 percent a year earlier.

Developers in Oakland have built a large amount of market-rate housing in recent years, and the city plans for even more units than state regulators require, while failing to meet its previous affordable housing goals.

— Dana Bartholomew

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While an increase of online shopping and broader market challenges have been the main culprit in the Magnificent Mile’s retail struggles, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office is working to tackle another that’s hindered a post-pandemic recovery: crime.

The Cook County Sheriff’s Office has boosted its presence in the downtown area since the civil unrest of spring 2020, opening two new locations in River North in January 2022, Crain’s reported. A $276,000 grant from Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul last year allowed law enforcement to bolster its retail theft task force, which now patrols Michigan Avenue and the Gold Coast.

Officers are employing traditional policing methods, such as walking the beat and engaging with businesses, to deter theft and apprehend offenders. Their presence is especially critical as the Chicago Police Department faces a personnel shortage, with 1,700 vacancies. Many retailers are also relying on private security, although their authority is limited.

In the 18th District, which encompasses much of the sheriff’s beat, the number of robberies has risen from 250 in 2020 to 357 in 2023. Thefts have also surged by 83 percent from 602 to 1,101 during that stretch. Notably, motor vehicle thefts have more than doubled since 2019, possibly linked to retail thieves’ use of stolen cars.

The retail theft wave isn’t confined to the 18th District, as neighborhoods like Bucktown, Wicker Park and Logan Square have also experienced a spike in robberies. Citywide, thefts have skyrocketed by 94 percent since 2020, the outlet reported, citing Chicago Police Department data.

Retail thieves now operate in coordinated and sophisticated groups, implementing tactics such as reconnaissance and strategic planning. The sheriff’s office has observed organized crime units recruiting juveniles for operations, given their potential for shorter sentences if caught.

“It is cat and mouse. The real problem lies in people who are well organized,” Roe Conn, director of data-driven strategies for the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, told the outlet. “The vast amount of merchandise that is stolen, high-end merchandise and medium-end, is being stolen in large numbers by individuals who work for organized criminal enterprises.”

Despite these challenges, the retail theft task force has made strides, with an 18.3 percent reduction in thefts in the area from May 15 through October 1, compared to the same period in 2022. Retailers and community leaders, like Magnificent Mile Association CEO Kimberly Bares, have supported the sheriff’s officer program.

— Quinn Donoghue 

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The post Sheriff Dart ramps up efforts to curb Mag Mile retail theft appeared first on The Real Deal.

In June, Texas took a drastic step to cut down on building permit delays. 

As commercial developers reported monthslong waits for basic permits, the legislature approved House Bill 14. The legislation requires that local development authorities hand down decisions on permit applications and inspections within two weeks of their review deadlines. If they fail to do so, developers can take their applications to staff from another municipality or, more dramatically, any licensed engineer in the state. 

Texas isn’t the first place to allow third-party reviewers to handle permit applications — Florida has similar provisions — but the law is nonetheless a major step toward speeding up the pipeline as the state looks to house a booming population. It has echoes of California’s builder’s remedy, which allows developers in certain situations to bypass local zoning regulations.

But so far, its impact has been muted. More than a month since the law took effect, cities are still figuring out how to implement it, and many developers don’t even know it exists.  

On the day in June when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed the bill into law, his office issued four news releases, but none were about the building permit legislation. 

Even among developers, many just don’t know about the new law. When one Dallas developer with a significant online following tweeted about the bill, many of the responses showed surprise.  

Of those who are aware of the law, there’s a spirit of cautious optimism. The plan sounds promising, but cities across the country have vowed to fix permitting before, and bottlenecks persist.

In Dallas, where a building boom and bureaucratic dysfunction have made delays a common problem, the city is taking steps to speed up the process. Last year, the city received about 4,500 commercial development permits, either for new buildings, additions or renovations. The vast majority — some 4,179 — were for remodels, according to data on the city’s development portal. Initial reviews took, on average, 12 days, according to city data.

It also recently opened a commercial permit hotline for developers dealing with delays. The city promises to respond to each request within 24 hours or a business day. “We are confident this additional customer service point will help facilitate faster permit issuance and strengthen our relationships with our customers,” the city wrote in its announcement. 

But many developers have had a different experience. 

“We’re still getting complaints from commercial developers about how long it takes to get a permit,” said Linda McMahon, president and CEO of the Real Estate Council, known as TREC. “Honestly, it’s the biggest barrier we have to economic development, because a lot of developers won’t even do anything in the city of Dallas.”

One issue is that permit reviews involve parts of government outside of development services. Even if development services speeds along its reviews, the water department may slow the process, for example. With so many cooks in the kitchen, it can be hard to get a dish out on time. 

Even Houston, a city known for its lax zoning regulations, came down strongly against the bill. In its annual legislative analysis, the city’s government relations team panned it as an attempt to strip local control over the building review process.

“This bill will have a significant impact on the Planning Department’s process for reviewing land development applications,” the analysts wrote. It also pointed out that the bill doesn’t detail how it will hold third-party reviewers accountable for their decisions. 

In Austin, the building code gives reviewers four months to complete permit reviews. Still, the average project spends an additional 3.5 months in review before receiving its site plan approvals, according to a study from the University of Texas at Austin. 

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Mayor Kirk Watson ran on updating the city’s development review process, which he has called “wildly inefficient.” There are 1,470 steps in the process, according to a study the city commissioned from consulting firm McKinsey & Company. It would take 20 full-time employees a week to complete a formal review cycle, and the average application goes through five cycles.

The city recently approved a suite of zoning reforms, meant to spur development, and said it is working to update its permit documents in line with HB 14 by Jan. 1. 

The post Texas wants to slash permit delays. Will HB 14 do the trick? appeared first on The Real Deal.

Rick Caruso may be poised for a political comeback — and a future run against Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, or for state governor.

The billionaire developer, who lost to Bass in November despite his $104-million self-funded campaign, appears available for another political challenge, according to an interview with Politico.

When asked about a possible rematch with Bass in three years — or the 2026 race for California governor — the shopping mall magnate appeared willing, if not ready.

“I am open to it, but there’s a lot of time and things will unfold,” Caruso told Politico. “If there is an opportunity that makes sense, I will look at it.” 

For the moment, Caruso is focused on a plan to help swing-seat Democrats retake the House next year, according to the interview.

Caruso has spent months laying the groundwork for a comeback in California, including meetings with top House Democrats in Los Angeles and Washington and making donations to their committees.

He pledged to invest time and an unspecified amount of money into five California congressional districts President Joe Biden won in 2020, now held by Republicans. 

He also expects to be involved in the presidential and U.S. Senate races, and wants to court Latino voters who failed to tip the scales in his favor in his own mayoral race last year.

“Stick with the central theme of getting moderates in the House,” Caruso told Politico regarding his strategy for the next year. “I am not out to support extremists or, frankly, ideologues.

“We’ve got to get things moving and get out of this ridiculous constant fighting and everybody kicking sand in each other’s face in the sandbox.”

During his Los Angeles mayoral campaign, Caruso had pledged to curb crime, cut homelessness and restore the city’s depleted police department as he vied for the attention of Angelenos hungry for someone from outside the political ranks. 

But the developer of The Grove at Farmers Market in Los Angeles, the Americana at Brand in Glendale and the Commons at Calabasas stressed that his concerns go beyond Los Angeles, including the need to build more housing and promote pro-business policies across the state.

While Caruso didn’t dwell on the mayoral race, he suggested voters remained frustrated — contending homelessness and the housing shortage have grown worse under Bass.

“It hasn’t gotten better,” Caruso told Politico. “The homeless count was up 10 percent. There are areas where crime is continuing to grow. I would love to have someone tell me how many new units have been built.”

Yusef Robb, a political advisor for the mayor, disputed Caruso’s allegations.

“Mayor Bass was overwhelmingly elected to change the status quo on homelessness, public safety and opportunity, and she is doing just that by bringing 17,000 people inside and counting, funding a record number of new police officers and making City Hall more responsive to every Angeleno,” Robb told Politico.

— Dana Bartholomew

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The post Rick Caruso open to another run for LA mayor or California governor appeared first on The Real Deal.

After piling up billions in business, he pledged to donate almost all of his money to causes before he died. He succeeded, and then lived a more modest life.

The Katz family’s MacArthur Holdings has expanded its footprint at a commercial building in the Meatpacking District.

The company paid $11 million for a commercial condominium unit that was previously foreclosed on. The amount was 68 percent less than the unit fetched a dozen years ago.

Unit 1S at 415 West 13th Street unit adds to the six floors MacArthur already owns in the building. MacArthur took out a $10 million loan from Cerco Funding.

The seller is Torchlight Loan Services, a special servicer that manages the loan default process for Wells Fargo. Torchlight acquired the unit from DWS Group for $21.1 million in 2022. DWS had bought it for $34 million in 2011.

The condo deal was one of two investment sales last week in New York City’s middle market, defined as those between $10 million and $40 million.

In the other, Penske Truck Leasing paid $25.4 million for three Springfield Gardens parcels that serve as storage for Penske Truck Rentals. Two of the properties have buildings and the other is an empty lot. The seller was the estate of Frederick Nurge, who died in 2021, and Richard Nurge.

One building, at 145-52 167th Street, is zoned for industrial and manufacturing. It was built in 1971 and features 15,000 square feet over two floors of one building. 

The second is at 165-17 146th Avenue and is zoned for parking facilities. It was built in 1970 and has 5,000 square feet. The empty lot does not have an address but is zoned for parking.

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The post Commercial condo in Meatpacking sells for 68% off 2011 price appeared first on The Real Deal.

The average age of business founders in Seattle dropped by more than three years over the pandemic.

An Austin, Texas-based infill housing developer is putting its 28-property project portfolio on the market in a receivership sale as it faces a series of financial challenges.

S&P Global Ratings put Brookfield Property Partners on a negative watch, meaning the ratings agency might downgrade the real estate giant to junk status, citing its “substantial” maturing debt amid high interest rates and downward pressure on property values.
“While we acknowledge that BPY’s sizable liquidity position and consistent execution of asset sales mitigate the risk of the company not being able to pay its fixed charges over the near term, BPY has one of the weakest financial risk profiles within our North America real estate coverage, given elevated leverage and thin interest coverage,” S&P said in a statement.
“This designation relates to a specific entity…