Princeton Holdings, a leading real estate investment and finance firm, has sold its interest in a one million square foot portfolio of commercial properties located in Manhattan’s Midtown South submarket for $74 million. The buyer was a major New York City real estate development and investment firm that will significantly boost its existing stake in the portfolio as a result of this transaction. Additional financial details were not disclosed.
With the closing of this transaction, Princeton Holdings and its investors will no longer have any financial interest in the portfolio. Two years ago, a JV led by Princeton Holdings paid a deposit of $10 million to acquire a 25 percent stake in the 98 percent vacant office portfolio (known as the ‘Ring portfolio’) controlled by F.M Ring Associates, which has owned the underperforming though well-located collection of assets for more than thirty years.
The entire portfolio consists of 14 commercial office buildings, among them 212 Fifth Avenue and 251 Park Avenue South, all located in the Midtown South submarket (loosely defined from north-south as 23rd street to 42nd street). Market estimates peg the value of the entire Ring portfolio at roughly $400 million to $500 million.
“Our investment philosophy at Princeton Holdings can best be defined as long-term with the ability to seize upon near-term exit opportunities if they are too attractive to resist,” said Joseph Tabak, CEO of Princeton Holdings, LLC. “Back in 2011, we engaged in a process that will now unfold over the coming years without our involvement. While we are pleased with the outcome here, it’s clear that the portfolio will ultimately yield many rewards for those who have the fortitude to ‘crack the code’ here. As we have done before, we will re-invest the proceeds from this lucrative deal back into our core business of real estate investment and development.”
