A former church with maritime aesthetics has been listed for sale in Marin County’s Belvedere, with a notable twist.

It comes without a list price, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

The property, located at 501 San Rafael Avenue, was designed by architect Charles Warren Callister in 1951 and has a distinctive nautical theme. 

Constructed using locally sourced redwood and Douglas fir, the 3,600-square-foot building pays homage to Belvedere Island’s maritime history, including a steeple resembling a boat’s mast.

The church’s congregation merged with another local congregation during the pandemic, leading to its closure due to its remote location and limited capacity. 

However, the property’s unique architecture and design have generated interest, as it could be converted into a single-family home, even though it’s currently zoned for multifamily housing and it does not have a kitchen and has limited bathrooms, real estate agent Matt Brown of Meridian Commercial — who has the listing — told the outlet. 

The quarter acre property includes a nursery and church office, as well as striking views of the city. 

The unnamed sellers have chosen not to provide an asking price initially, opting to gauge interest and assess offers before deciding on a price, which could be steeper than anticipated considering Belvedere area is among the most expensive ZIP codes in the country, the outlet said.

It’s not unusual for former holy places to be put on the market and converted for other purposes.

The convents that serve as homes and headquarters for nuns’ missions now, in many cases, have a question mark hanging over them, with investors swooping in to develop the properties.

A former convent was converted into luxury condos in Wilmette, a suburb of Chicago. The 180,000-square-foot building was once an outpost for the Sister of Christian Charity.

Alex and Sue Glasscock, the hoteliers and owners of the Ranch Malibu, dropped $11 million on the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate’s 140-acre estate and 40,000-square-foot mansion in Tuxedo Park, New York, in August. Natale Development bought a decrepit former convent from the Sisters of Mercy in Buffalo for $75,000 in 2017, and officially proposed a senior living development for the site this past November, Buffalo News reported. A

Accordia Realty Ventures has proposed a 111-unit multifamily development at the Sisters of Christian Charity convent in Mendham, New Jersey, according to Patch.

Institutional and individual buyers are also striking deals with nuns. Long Island’s Bayport and Blue Point communities bought the St. Ursula Center for $3.7 million from the Ursuline Sisters of Tildonk in 2019. Now the Bayport-Blue Point Library, the nuns had been there since 1935, according to Patch. 

— Ted Glanzer

The post Landmark San Francisco Bay-area church is for sale appeared first on The Real Deal.

Drama-plagued Sculptor Capital already agreed to a sale to Rithm Capital.

Farmington’s Pond View Corporate Center, composed of two office buildings with 225,500 square feet of space, has been acquired by a private family office for nearly $30 million. It’s the largest office deal in Connecticut this year, CTInsider reported, citing information from CBRE.

CBRE brokered the deal between the unnamed buyer and seller Pond LLC, which is controlled by Sovereign Partners LLC. 

The complex, located at 74 & 76 Batterson Park Road, boasts a 92 percent occupancy rate with diverse corporate tenants, the outlet said.

CBRE broker Jeffrey Dunne said the deal was a “strong endorsement for Farmington.”

“[The] leasing market in Farmington is one of best in the region,” Dunne said, according to the outlet.

Indeed, eight new leases for 54,000 square feet have been signed at the Pond View complex since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Built in 1988, the Pond View complex was previously sold to Sovereign Partners in 2018 for $20 million. 

Under the prior owner, the complex underwent $3 million of upgrades to infrastructure and tenant amenities, including a conference room for 90 people, a Wi-Fi lounge, a grab-and-go cafe, a fitness center, and a putting green.

Farmington office owners have recently invested in amenities to attract tenants, introducing features like virtual golf simulators to lure workers back to the office and attract new tenants. In February, the office landlord at a Talcott Notch building gained approval to convert 3,300 square feet of first-floor space into a food court, with six or seven different eateries, Patch.com reported.

The efforts appear to be working. Despite some nearby Hartford suburbs experiencing lease losses, Farmington’s office market remains resilient. 

In the second quarter, over 95,000 square feet of new space was added near Hartford, with vacancies including 60,000 square feet at 700 Stanley Drive in New Britain, 40,000 square feet at 1003 Farmington Ave. in West Hartford, and 30,000 square feet at 160 Bridge St. in East Windsor, CTInsider said.  

The Hartford West submarket, encompassing Farmington, witnessed a 6 percent increase in office-space rent from the first to the second quarter, CTInsider said, citing CBRE data.

— Ted Glanzer

The post CT office complex sold for $30M appeared first on The Real Deal.

A New Jersey contractor was arrested last week on charges of federal tax evasion. 

Joel Konopka, 45, of Elizabeth, New Jersey, was charged with four counts of corporate tax evasion, two counts of filing false corporate tax returns, and two counts of failing to file corporate tax returns, according to a U.S. Department of Justice.

Konopka was the owner and sole shareholder of Konopka Construction, a company providing construction, contracting, and snow plowing services in northern New Jersey from 2014 to 2017.

According to court documents, Konopka allegedly failed to file truthful and accurate corporate tax returns for his company during that period, despite earning over $3.3 million in business income between 2014 and 2017, including more than $1 million in 2016, 

Konopka did not report this income accurately. He filed corporate tax returns for 2014 and 2015 that reported no income for his company, and he failed to file any corporate tax returns for 2016 and 2017. Additionally, Konopka is accused of not making any payments to the IRS for corporate taxes during these years. 

Konopka is alleged to have concealed the income earned by his company by predominantly operating in cash. He received numerous checks made payable to Konopka Construction for services rendered, totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

In 2016, for example, Konopka Construction was awarded an emergency contract to provide snowplowing services to the Township of Hillside and received approximately $388,000. However, he did not declare any of that money in corporate income.

Instead,  according to tax returns filed on behalf of himself and his wife for 2015, 2016 and 2017, he falsely declared business income of $32,070, $33,682 and $35,778, respectively, primarily from Konopka Construction.

Konopka cashed checks he received on behalf of the business at various check-cashing businesses in Essex and Ocean counties.

If convicted, Konopka could face severe penalties, including a maximum potential prison sentence of five years and a maximum fine of $500,000 per count for tax evasion charges. Filing false tax returns charges could result in a maximum prison sentence of three years and a $500,000 maximum fine per count. Failing to file tax returns charges carry a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine per count.

Konopka isn’t the only construction company owner accused of tax evasion.

In May, the owner of a New York construction company pleaded guilty in federal court last week to filing a false corporate tax return, concealing about $6.1 million in business income.

Pawel A. Bartoszek of Lake Grove, New York, admitted that from 2015 to 2017, he cashed checks he received from the clients of his business, Mega State, instead of depositing them into a corporate account, according to a U.S. Department of Justice press release.

The post New Jersey construction company owner accused of tax evasion appeared first on The Real Deal.

The lawsuits continue to pile up for New Jersey real estate influencers and their LLCs, which have been accused of offering fraudulent investment deals. 

Bergen County couple Cesar and Jennifer Pina have had four new cases filed against them since the beginning of August, NorthJersey.com reported. 

The Pinas, along with their companies From Start 2 Flipping, Flip 2 Dao, and various Whairhouse LLCs, now have at least 11 actions filed against them.  

Some of these lawsuits also implicate Raashaun Casey, also known as DJ Envy, a frequent collaborator of the Pinas. 

In one of the recent cases filed on Aug. 4, Enisa Berisha, an Englewood resident, alleges that the Pinas defrauded her of $750,000, the outlet reported. 

Berisha claims she was introduced to Cesar Pina by a mutual friend who had previously invested with him. Pina allegedly promised Berisha a 30 percent return on her investment within five months if she provided $250,000 to purchase a property in Paterson. The lawsuit states that 

Pina told Berisha of two additional properties, encouraging her to invest a total of $600,000. 

Despite reassurances, Berisha says she only received $80,000 and has not received the rest of her investment.

Two other lawsuits, both filed on Aug. 7, involve accusations against the Pinas and Casey. 

Investors Zachary Walker and Alvin Rivera, who learned about the Pinas through Casey’s radio show, claim they invested in properties based on promises of substantial returns. However, they allege that the Pinas have failed to provide the promised returns and have ignored their attempts to contact them.

The most recent lawsuit, filed on Aug. 9 by Derik Deangelo from Massachusetts, states that he invested $100,000 in a property after being assured of a $130,000 payout within four months. Deangelo asserts that he was repeatedly told the investment was “guaranteed money,” but after wiring his funds, he received no response from Cesar Pina and later saw allegations of fraudulent activities involving the Pinas on social media.

In July,  Anthony Barone and Anthony Martini filed a lawsuit accusing the Pinas and Casey of taking off with their combined investment for projects including the 50-unit Taylor Apartments slated for Main Street in Paterson.

— Ted Glanzer

The post Lawsuits pile up against New Jersey real estate influencers appeared first on The Real Deal.

Higher productivity and increased deficits could raise the “neutral” rate of interest, limiting Fed cuts.

Some of the impact will hit right away, changing how users scroll, search and shop online.

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen helped start a case that he thinks could make its way to the Supreme Court.

The R-rated comedy opened to a fifth place showing this weekend, while the comic book movie “Blue Beetle” came in at No. 1. Both were hurt by the actors’ strike.

One problem is defining exactly what these funds actually invest in.