Developer Richard Ravitch has sold his remaining stake in the 1,400-unit Waterside Plaza apartment community he built on the East River to Brookfield Asset Management.
“Waterside Plaza is a uniquely-situated complex and the home to a vibrant community of residents. Richard Ravitch and his team, who developed Waterside Plaza, managed it with excellence, and we intend to do the same,” said a spokesman for Brookfield.
No details have been released by either party.
Brookfield became an equity partner in the five-building complex in 2018 when public records show Ravitch took out a $250 million loan on the property, which sits on the edge of Manhattan’s east side at 23rd Street. That deal valued Waterside at $600 million.
Cushman & Wakefield arranged the recap in 2018 on an ‘as is’ basis under a ground lease which was expiring in 2069. The firm was able to restructure the ground lease for a 99-year extension between ownership and HPD which was finalized in 2019. The deal with Brookfield was structured such that a ‘put option’ for the remaining interest would be able to occur in 2026. Ownership wanted to accelerate the put option to Brookfield. Cushman & Wakefield advised ownership and Brookfield on the accelerated purchase price for the remaining interest. Brookfield will now own 100 percent interest in the transaction.
The Cushman & Wakefield team was Adam Spies, Doug Harmon, Marcella Fasulo and Michael Collins.
Ravitch – a longtime public servant and real estate player – built Waterside in the 1970s as a Mitchell Lama affordable housing development. In the early 2000s, he began a conversion to market rate, giving so-called sitting tenants the opportunity to enter into an agreement that would guarantee them no more than a 4.25 annual rent increase.
Today, 70 percent of the property has been converted to market rate as the former Mitchell Lama tenants have organically reduced in number.
Waterside Plaza is home to 4,000 residents and famous for its annual 4th of July fireworkS party. As of this week, a one-bedroom unit was available for $3,795 per month, according to a selection of listings on Waterside’s website.
