BY JOTHAM SEDERSTROM

Earlier this month, Waterfall Asset Management, a specialist manager of high-yield asset-backed securities, announced its acquisition of Coldwell Banker Commercial Hunter Realty, an independently owned and operated affiliate of Coldwell Banker Commercial, which itself is a franchise system owned by Realogy, the parent company behind Sotheby’s International, the Corcoran Group and Century 21, to name only a few of the dozen or more entities the corporation controls.

Confused? So was The Commercial Observer, which is why we took it upon ourselves last week to untangle the many entities now intertwined with Coldwell Banker Commercial Hunter Realty—which, just to add another level of complication, will now be called Coldwell Banker Commercial Alliance. Below, the interests and investments of Realogy and Waterfall Asset Management.

To see our organizational chart, click here

BY JOTHAM SEDERSTROM

It isn't often that an office tenant willfully relocates from high floors with expansive views to building-obstructed lower levels. But that's precisely what Iris, an award-winning digital marketing firm, did by closing its deal to relocate and expand from the ninth floor to the fifth at the Renaissance Properties-owned 632 Broadway.

The company, which boasts Coca-Cola, Adidas and Saks Fifth Avenue as clients, move into the entirety of a 10,000-square-foot plate that earlier suffered from poorly designed space and little natural light. With the help of Leonard Camposano of the Camposano Architecture Studio, however, the space was miraculously transformed into an ultra-modern office, with the Holland Tunnel as its unexpected inspiration.

Mr. Camposano, Renaissance Properties president Ken Fishel and Tarter Stats O'Toole principal Nora Stats reviewed the floor plan with The Commercial Observer and explained why, exactly, the youthful marketing company chose to remain in Noho's 632 Broadway building.

To see Iris' furniture plan, click here

BY ROBERT SAMMONS

And so it grows–the Midtown South Class B average asking rent that is. That figure closed July at $47.14 per square foot, up a dramatic 2.7 percent in the month alone, and the highest since December 2008, when it was $47.31 per square foot. With the Class A segment of this area presenting limited inventory (20.5 million square feet), it was thought a good idea to take a look at what was happening in the much larger Class B segment (51.3 million square feet).

The popularity of the Midtown South market among technology and media firms is now well documented. But this is not its first time at the rodeo (so the saying goes–Google it if you haven’t heard that one before).

In fact, the asking rent has been higher–hitting a record $51.65 per square foot in April 2008, just a few months after the official start of the recession.

To see the chart, click here

BY CARL GAINES

With Labor Day and the end of summer right around the corner, an agreement between an iStar Financial subsidiary and Madison Marquette may mean faster redevelopment for a popular New Jersey beach community. The agreement is set to speed up redevelopment along the Asbury Park waterfront.

The agreement gives iStar, through its Asbury Partners subsidiary, ownership of roughly 33 acres of residential land along the Asbury Park waterfront. Through the agreement the parties reached, Madison Marquette turned over all of its 5.7 acres of residential land within the redevelopment area to Asbury Partners, the master developer, in exchange for a minority interest.

iStar chairman and CEO Jay Sugarman called the agreement a “game-changer” for the city.

To read the full story, click here