●Rosewood Realty
Brooklyn investors keeping
busy in The Bronx
Brooklyn investor Benzio Kohn has scooped up an apartment building near Yankee Stadium in the Bronx for $31 miliion.
The property is a six-story, elevator building with 182 residential rental units across 278,000 s/f as well as 1,000 s/f of commercial space.
The pre-war property survived a 2012 fire that left 28 firefighters and three residents injured. It was rebuilt by seller E&M Associates, another Brooklyn-based multi-family landlord which owns and manages thousands of apartments all over the city.
According to Arron Jungreis, founder of Rosewood Realty who represented the seller, E&M had acquired 975 Walton Avenue in 2010 for roughly $11.3 million as part of a 21-building package.
Kohn also bought 155 West 162nd Street from E&M last year for $9.5 million.
Eastern Union Funding arranged a $22.5 million loan with Investors Bank for Kohn, who is fresh off the $14.3 million sale of 15-21 Crooke Avenue in Prospect Park South, an apartment building he bought for $3 million in 2003, according to The Real Deal.
Erik Yankelovich of GFI Realty, who brokered the deal for 15 Crooke Avenue, called the $14.3 million price “one of the higher prices per unit [$264,000 per apartment] in the neighborhood.”
Jungreis said he has seen an uptick in activity in the Bronx, adding that he sold 59 buildings in the borough thus far this year.
●CLP
Staten Island apartment complex fetches record price
An un-named Brooklyn-based investment group has paid a record $17.9 million for a Staten Island multi-family property.
Elie Rieder, founder of Castle Lanterra Properties (CLP), a privately-held real estate firm based in Suffern, New York, sold Trantor Place Apartments, a 177-unit property following a $2 million upgrade to the property.
Rieder and a group of investors originally acquired the 16-building complex in 2011 for $11 million as a value-add investment. Situated at 150, 165 and 220 Trantor Place in the northern section of Staten Island, the property includes 106 one-bedroom and 71 two-bedroom units. The neighborhood features multiple parks and a beach area with proximity to Route 440, the Bayonne Bridge, the Staten Island Expressway and the Goethals and Verrazano bridges.
“The disposition of Trantor Place reflects our strategy to acquire undervalued assets and implement a planned recapitalization and repositioning,” said Rieder.
“The Trantor Place investment resulted in a significant and meaningful return during the period of ownership,” he added.
Founded by Rieder in 2009, CLP has acquired $290 million of assets including over 1,900 residential units in the last 12 months.
●thor equities
Thor bringing fresh retail to
Bedford Avenue
Thor Equities is bringing some fresh retail to Williamsburg.
The company just signed a contract to pay $36 million for 180 Bedford Avenue, a site on the heavily trafficked corner at Bedford Avenue and North 7th Street, across from the Bedford Avenue L.
180 Bedford Avenue is a 3,600 s/f site, with the potential to build a total of 14,400 s/f of rentable space on the ground floor, second level, basement and roof.
The property boasts over 60 feet of frontage on Bedford Avenue and an additional 60 feet of frontage on North 7th Street.
“In addition to undergoing an extraordinary amount of residential and commercial development in recent years, Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg has become a major shopping and dining hub, with strong demand and limited availability of new, high-quality retail space,” said Joseph Sitt, CEO of Thor Equities.
A spokesman added that the plans for the site were purely retail.
Apple Store and Whole Foods are opening locations nearby on Bedford Street, and other national brands in the area include J Crew, Joe Fresh, Diesel, Starbucks and Urban Outfitters.
●Marcus & millichap
New hotel for Queens?
A vacant Queens office building coloud be turned into a hotel by its new owners.
Marcus & Millichap broker Scott Plasky just sold the six-story 90-75 Sutphin Blvdin the Jamaica neighborhood sold for $14,875,000 or $185 psf.
Scott Plasky arranged the transaction between the seller, Arbern Sutphin Properties Corp., an experienced Brooklyn multifamily owner, and the buyer, the Flushing, N.Y.-based developer Ampiera Group.
“Arbern Sutphin developed this property for New York City in 1968, and when the city moved on, the building sat vacant for close to seven years,” said Plasky.
“The owners decided that it was better to sell and use the proceeds to do what they do best, which is own and operate apartment buildings, rather than redevelop this property. It is possible that the new owner will completely renovate the building and turn it into a hotel as the group has previously developed large multifamily and hotel properties in Flushing, Long Island City and Shanghai.”
The buyer purchased 75,000s/f of air rights from a neighboring property that would allow the asset to become a 155,000 s/f building once it is fully developed.
The 90-75 Sutphin Blvd. is surrounded by national retailers and the Jamaica Long Island Rail Road station, the largest transit hub on the Long Island Rail Road, with over 200,000 passengers per day.
●marcus & millichap
LLC selling Astoria apartments
Marcus & Millichap is marketing an Astoria apartment building for $18 million.
34-05 44th Street is a 48-unit property of one and two bedroom units, 11 of which will be delivered vacant.
Matthew Fotis, Lazarus Apostolidis and Zachary Golub are representing the LLC which is selling the property located four blocks from the bus and subway on Steinway Street and a 15-minute commute to from Midtown.
●harbor group
Harbor sells CT community
An affiliate of Harbor Group International has sold Towne Brooke Apartments, a 102-unit apartment community in Danbury, Connecticut for a sale price of $17.66 million.
Towne Brooke was acquired in May 2014 for $14.5 million as part of a $108.5 million portfolio acquisition.
“HGI continues to demonstrate its ability to capitalize on complicated portfolio transactions,” said T. Richard Litton, Jr., president of HGI.
“Towne Brooke was acquired as part of a larger portfolio and HGI’s investment strategy of maximizing the individual value of each asset has proven successful.”
Towne Brooke, built in 2009, has a central clubhouse, 24-hour fitness center and an outdoor pool. The property is currently 93 percent occupied.
● normandy real estate partners
New Yorkers Duek it out in VA
NY-based Normandy Real Estate Partners has paid $12.25 million for a 46,996 s/f office building at 1680 Duke Street in Alexandria, VA.
Normandy acquired the property from the National School Boards Association, which will continue to occupy 25,000 s/f. Donohoe Real Estate Services brokered the transaction and will serve as the exclusive leasing agent.
“The location of the property is fantastic, with walkable amenities and proximity to the U.S. Patent and Trademark office, as well as excellent access to transportation hubs,” said Patrick Keeley, vice president of Normandy Real Estate Partners.
