Blackstone Spies Retail Recovery

Blackstone Group LP's $11 billion bet on retail property is showing signs of paying off.

As the retail property market struggled over the past year with high vacancies and competition from online shopping, the private-equity giant made a bold play: It bought up three major retail portfolios to become one of the largest owners of U.S. shopping centers.

Now there are signs that the industry is near its bottom, and perhaps starting a slight recovery.

In the span of 12 months, Blackstone snapped up Centro Property Group's 588 U.S. centers, 36 grocery-anchored centers from Equity One Inc. and—in January—a 95%..


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Deal Signals Market Recovery

In 2007, before the financial world turned upside down, a condominium developer signed a contract to pay more than $33 million for a former assisted living facility in the heart of the West Village.

More than three years later, the developer, FLAnk, has closed on the purchase of the building on Hudson and West 12th streets. But, unlike scores of investors who walked from deals or renegotiated drastically lower prices with sellers after the crunch hit, FLAnk paid just a few million dollars short the full pre-crash price: $33.3 million.


After three years, a developer has closed on the purchase of a building at Hudson and West 12th streets.
.The deal is the latest sign that the city's residential development engine is beginning to crank up again. FLAnk was able to secure construction financing from Quinlan Development Group and M&T Bank to convert the property into 10 condos ranging from 3,300 to 9,000 square feet, according to Jon Kully, a principal at FLAnk.
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