●Ariel property Advisors
Harlem portfolio hits
market for $62.5M
Ariel Property Advisors has announced it has been retained on an exclusive basis to sell the West 141st Street Portfolio in Central Harlem. The asking price for the five-building package is $62.5 million.
Victor Sozio, vice president of Ariel Property Advisors, is marketing the portfolio with Shimon Shkury, Michael A. Tortorici, and Josh Berkowitz. The five buildings total 193,805 square feet and consist of 233 rental and four employee units of which 38 are studios; 35 are one-bedrooms; 57 are two-bedrooms; 71 are three-bedrooms; and 36 are four-bedrooms.
The portfolio is currently owned and managed by one of the city’s premier multifamily operators, which has implemented an extensive capital improvement campaign in the buildings and worked tirelessly to remove violations that were present when the properties were purchased. Weatherization work has been completed, new windows installed, and upgrades have been made to the security cameras, intercom systems, and common area spaces. Ownership also is installing a new solar panel system on one of the properties and converting all buildings to a gas heating system.
Central Harlem presents many options for shopping, dining, and recreation, and residents of the buildings are walking distance to City College, Harlem YMCA, Harlem Hospital, St. Nicholas Park, and Jackie Robinson Park. Subway stations for the A, B, C, D, and 3 trains are nearby.
●EASTERN CONSOLIDATED
Midtown mixed-use gem up for grabs for $30M
Eastern Consolidated has been retained as the exclusive agent to market for sale 433 Fifth Avenue, a mixed-use office and retail building in Midtown South, for $30 million.
The six-story, 17,000-square-foot boutique building is comprised of a 3,000-square-foot ground floor retail component with 25 feet of frontage and full-floor office suites on the upper five floors, two of which are vacant.
The ground floor retail space currently serves as the flagship store for women’s fashion accessories retailer Prima Donna. All floors including the basement level, which partially serves as storage and inventory space for the retail tenant, have direct access to the building’s elevator. The building is located directly across the street from Lord & Taylor’s flagship store.
David Schechtman, Executive Managing Director at Eastern Consolidated, along with Senior Director Lipa Lieberman and Associate Director Abie Kassin, exclusively represent the seller, Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation.
Situated on the east side of Fifth Avenue between East 38th and East 39th Street, the property is within walking distance of all major subway lines.
●Jones lang lasalle
Three deals in New Jersey for JLL
JLL recently represented SHI International in three separate New Jersey transactions, including the sale of one office property, the acquisition of another office building and the long-term lease of warehouse space. The global provider of information technology products and services sold 33 Knightsbridge Road in Piscataway, acquired 300 Davidson Avenue in Somerset and leased 10 Knox Drive in Piscataway.
The JLL team handling all three transactions was led by Shawn Straka and Steve Fleming, senior vice presidents, and John Buckley, vice president. The JLL team worked closely with Steve Alt, vice president of operations, with SHI International.
SHI sold 33 Knightsbridge Road, a 153,000 SF office building, in Piscataway to Rutgers, The State University for an undisclosed amount in September 2014. The firm had purchased the property in 2007 as its headquarters building but had outgrown the space. The buyer was represented by Bill Brown, senior director, with Cushman & Wakefield Inc.
In late November 2014, SHI signed a 10-year lease with Trammell Crow Co. and Clarion Partners for the 305,751-square-foot 10 Knox Drive warehouse facility in Piscataway. The newly completed property will accommodate SHI’s growing warehouse and configuration business. Nathan Demetsky, executive vice president, and Paul Torosian, managing director, with JLL represented the building owner.
In December 2014, SHI completed the acquisition of 300 Davidson Avenue in Somerset, a 414,000-square-foot office building from MetLife Inc., for an undisclosed amount. The building is located adjacent to SHI’s headquarters at 290 Davidson Avenue. MetLife will continue to occupy a significant portion of the property for an undisclosed period of time, and SHI will occupy a portion of the space in the building to accommodate its future growth. MetLife was represented by Jeffrey Dunne, vice chairman, with CBRE Inc.
●CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD
Hell’s Kitchen lots sold in
all-cash deal for $19.6M
Two adjacent lots at 439-443 West 54th Street, located between Ninth and Tenth Avenues in Manhattan’s Midtown West neighborhood, were sold in an all-cash transaction valued at $19,600,000.
The lots combine for approximately 7,771 square feet and 75’ of frontage. Currently vacant, there are DOB-approved plans for the construction of a 101-room hotel. Residential and/or mixed-use development is also as-of-right and the approved project meets residential specifications. The site holds approximately 32,638 buildable square feet and the sale price equates to approximately $601 per buildable square foot.
The site is within walking distance to major attractions such as Central Park, Columbus Circle, Lincoln Center and the Hudson River Greenway. It is conveniently located near Manhattan’s major business districts, including Times Square, One Worldwide Plaza, and the Time Warner Center. Public transportation is easily accessible, with the A, B, C, D, and 1 subway lines nearby.
Christoffer Brodhead exclusively represented the seller in this transaction with Clint Olsen. The buyer was represented by Michelle Guerrero of Pinkstone Realty.
●PRINCETON HOLDINGS & BLUESTONE
Joint venture acquires four building portfolio
A joint venture led by Princeton Holdings and the Bluestone Group, two leading commercial real estate investment firms based in Manhattan, has acquired a four-property, 850,000-square-foot portfolio of office buildings primarily leased to the General Services Administration (GSA). The four buildings, which are spread out across the United States in key markets, host a diverse roster of government agencies which, all told, represents more than 90 percent of the portfolio’s total rental income.
Princeton and Bluestone acquired the four assets from an Urban American partnership that elected to liquidate its remaining assets. These four properties were part of a complex, larger multi-property financing.
The four office properties are respectively located in Washington, DC, Houston, San Diego, and Sacramento. The Washington, DC property — 999 E Street NW — consists of 175,000 square feet of commercial space located within the sought-after East End submarket near Capitol Hill and the Verizon Center sports and entertainment complex. The balance of the properties within this portfolio includes: 1433 West Loop South, a 138,000 square foot office building in Houston; 8808-8810 Rio San Diego Drive, a two-building office complex in San Diego and the 358,407-square-foot office building at 1325 J Street in downtown Sacramento.
●Ian Reisner & PJ Mcateer
Fire Island sites bought at auction for $10M
THE OUT HOTEL owner & Real Estate Developer Ian Reisner and PJ McAteer, owner of the infamous “Sip & Twirl,” Pines Bistro & Pines Pizza have bought the 320 feet of dock side frontage making up 80 percent of the commercial real estate space on Fire Island Pines for $10.1 million. The properties were originally listed at nearly $25 million, and later dropped to $19.5 million. With the winning bid at the auction, Reisner won the right to negotiate with the seller. Six hours later the deal was done. The final sales price includes the famed Pavilion nightclub, the legendary ‘High Tea’ Deck, the Botel Hotel, Rack Gym, Pines Pool & Bar, the Blue Whale Restaurant, Canteen/ Cultured Elephant Restaurant, a small string of retail shops, 2 residential homes and a boat. Reisner negotiated a win-win deal with the seller, which will close at the end of February.