Week in Review

Manhattan Has World's 13th Most Expensive Office Space

According to CB Richard Ellis Group's ranking of worldwide office space, Dubai has replaced Manhattan as the 12th most expensive office space in the world, bumping New York down one place to no. 13, according to the Real Deal. Manhattan is North America's most expensive office space market at $103.43 a square foot. London's West End maintained its no. 1 spot at $299.54 a square foot, followed by Moscow.

Designer Betsey Johnson Buys on Upper East Side

The clothing designer Betsey Johnson purchased a one-bedroom apartment at 30 E. 85th St., according to the New York Observer. Ms. Johnson's daughter lives in the same building, a broker at the Corcoran Group who represented Ms. Johnson, Gina Serman, said. Ms. Johnson, who founded her first store on the Upper East Side in 1969, also a owns a loft at 45 Fifth Ave., which is currently listed for sale at $2.495 million.

Lower East Side Goes to Brooklyn

Two business owners on the Lower East Side are joining forces to open a bar and restaurant in the Windsor Terrace section of Brooklyn. One of the owners behind Cake Shop on Ludlow Street is partnering with the owner of Tiny's Giant Sandwich Shop on Rivington Street to create a new eatery and performance space on 16th Street and Prospect Park West, at the site of the now-shuttered Universal Video, Brownstoner reported.

GM Building Sold for $2.9 Billion

A group led by the owner of the New York Daily News, Mortimer Zuckerman, bought the General Motors Building for $2.9 billion, the highest price ever paid for an American office tower. The Macklowe family avoided financial collapse by selling the GM Building and three other properties to Mr. Zuckerman's Boston Properties and his partners, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and the nations of Qatar and Kuwait, for $3.95 billion, the New York Times reported. In the wake of the sale, William Macklowe is expected to take the helm of the family enterprise, succeeding his father, Harry, the Wall Street Journal reported. In other news, the chief operating officer of Macklowe Properties, Michael Szollosi, has left the firm to join a commercial real estate firm, Cohen Brothers Realty Corporation.

Starbucks Arrives in Long Island City

The coffee chain Starbucks will finally open in the Long Island City section of Queens, according to the Web site LiqCity. After a handful of failed attempts, a Starbucks is scheduled to open in the lobby of the Citibank tower. The coffee chain had been negotiating to open an outlet in Rockrose's Queens West development, but those talks stalled.