● ariel property advisors
$68M Queens multi-family
portfolios sold
Ariel Property Advisors has sold Metropolitan 1, a five-building, 311-unit multifamily portfolio in the Elmhurst section of Queens for approximately $38 million.
The portfolio consists of four, six-story elevatored buildings and one, four-story walk-up totaling 234,830 s/f.
The properties are located at 41-23 Gleane Street, 37-52 89th Street, 43-23 Ithaca Street, 40-94 Denman Street, and 91-31 Lamont Avenue.
Ariel Property Advisors team of Michael A. Tortorici, Shimon Shkury, Victor Sozio, Randy Modell, and Jonathan Berman, marketed the portfolio, one of two Queens packages sold in the transaction by the seller, a real estate investment group.
BRG purchased the two portfolios for more than $68 million.
“It’s rare to see multifamily properties, especially elevatored buildings, in great neighborhoods like this change hands in Queens,” said Shimon Shkury, president of Ariel Property Advisors.
“This package is a testament to the strength of the borough from the point of view of both institutional and private clients. So far, 2013 is shaping up to be a record year for Queens in terms of the velocity and pricing of multifamily assets.”
Located in the vicinity of Roosevelt Avenue, the five buildings are a short walk to either the 7 train on Roosevelt Avenue or the M/R train at Elmhurst Avenue.
●ASB REAL ESTATE
$41m Soho retail buy
ASB Real Estate Investments announced the acquisition of its sixth Manhattan commercial property, a six-story mixed-use historic loft building on West Broadway.
The 38,885 s/f property at 415 West Broadway was purchased for $41 million on behalf of ASB’s Allegiance Fund. The seller was Willet Companies.
Earlier this month, ASB and Centurion acquired the ground floor retail condo portion of the nearby Jean Nouvel designed residential building at 465 Broadway.
The 415 West Broadway property is on one of Manhattan’s most trafficked retailing districts with 50 feet of street frontage and ground-floor/basement retail space, which is 100% leased to m0851, a high-end fashion retailer, and the Jamali NYC art gallery.
Floors two through five are also fully leased to four office tenants, and floor six comprises two residential apartments, also both rented.
Robert Bellinger, ASB’s President and CEO, said: “This will be our fourth investment in SoHo and our sixth investment in New York in the past two years.
“We are looking forward to further expanding our presence in New York City, particularly in the dynamic, growing submarkets of Midtown South.”
Besides the 465 Broadway acquisition, the company recently made similar purchases for the Allegiance Fund in Manhattan at 72 Green St. and 875 Washington St. in addition to acquisitions in Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Washington D.C., Denver, and in the South Beach district of Miami, FL.
● capstone realty group
Big things planned for Edgewater retail site
Capstone Realty Group purchased the Edgewater Marketplace, a 80,000 s/f retail center anchored by Trader Joe’s in Edgewater, NJ, for a little more than $20 million.
The center, at 715 and 725 River Road, features a roster of both national and regional tenants including Verizon Wireless, Red Mango and JP Morgan Chase.
It was built in 1987 and is located minutes from the George Washington Bridge and Hoboken.
“We plan to upgrade and modernize the Edgewater Marketplace and aggressively seek high quality tenants for the vacant space,” said Capstone managing partner Rob Friedberg.
“Our core strategy is to acquire well located commercial properties like the Marketplace at a low cost basis.”
Capstone also announced plans to capitalize on the property’s Hudson River/New York City views with updated seating and dining areas along the Hudson River boardwalk, according to Friedberg.
Capstone hired Ripco Real Estate of Lyndhurst, NJ. to be the leasing agent for the Edgewater Marketplace.
The Edgewater Marketplace shares a parking field with the Binghamton Ferryboat restaurant and nightclub, the only permanently moored floating restaurant along the Hudson River, that is currently closed and awaiting reuse.
“We believe there is strong demand for retail space with a one-of-a-kind riverfront location and Manhattan views that is unique to the Marketplace,” said Capstone Managing Partner Brad Gillman.
●Marcus & Millichap
Hot Harlem sale
Marcus & Millichap announced the sale of 17-27 West 125th Street, a 57-unit apartment property in Harlem, for $13,600,000.
Peter Von Der Ahe, first vice president investments, Glen Kunofsky, executive vice president investments, Scott Edelstein, vice president investments, and Seth Glasser, investment associate, all from Marcus & Millichap’s Manhattan office had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the seller, a private investor.
The buyer, a private investor, was also secured and represented by the firm’s Manhattan team.
“This is an ideal location for both multifamily and retail redevelopment,” said Von Der Ahe. “There has been little to no renovation to 17-27 West 125th Street for close to 25 years.
“The buyer has the opportunity to capitalize on below market rents in the renewed Harlem market.”
● cushman & wakefield
Shore thing
Cushman & Wakefield, Inc. has orchestrated the sale of Sound Shore Apartments, a two-building, 206-unit high-rise complex in New Rochelle.
The seller was represented by the Cushman & Wakefield Metropolitan Area Capital Markets Group (CMG) team of Andrew Merin, David Bernhaut, Gary Gabriel, Brian Whitmer, Nicholas Karali and Cynthia Foster. The buyer was a private entity.
“In Westchester County, the opportunity to acquire a sizable apartment community — in excess of 200 units — is a rarity,” said Whitmer.
“We were confident that there would be very strong interest in this property, and that was indeed the case.”
Sound Shore Apartments consists of a pair of towers, one 11-story and the other 12-story at 50 and 80 Guion Place, respectively.
The adjacent 252-bed Sound Shore Medical Center had owned the apartment towers since their construction in the 1960s, with the complex occupied exclusively by the medical center’s employees throughout that time.
“The fact that a new owner could take something that had an institutional history and be able to renovate it, upgrade unit interiors and add amenities to change the look and feel of it is what really drew interest to this offering,” said Whitmer.
“The buyer also saw a tremendous opportunity to purchase this property and make it available to the general public, as units become available, with a fresh marketing and repositioning plan.”
● gaia real estate
New York / China deal in Houston
NY Based Gaia Real Estate, in conjunction with its partner Grand China Fund, acquired Whispering Winds, a 286-unit apartment community located in Pearland, a suburb of Houston, Texas.
The property totals 257,400 s/f across 20 apartment buildings and a single-story clubhouse on over 17 acres. It was constructed in 1986 and renovated in 2005.
“We are happy to expand our presence in Houston,” said Gaia’s managing partners Danny Fishman and Amir Yerushalmi. “This well-kept asset will be a great addition to our growing multi-family portfolio.”
Gaia currently owns 1,711 units spread throughout five properties in Houston and 18 other properties in Dallas/Ft. Worth and Corpus Christi for a total of 6,548 units.
“Houston continues to lead the nation in employment growth and the apartment market is now bearing some fruits of a healthy local economy,” added Fishman.
