●RXR REALTY
RXR closes on $100M
Park purchase
RXR Realty and an affiliate of Walton Street Capital have closed on their acquisition of 237 Park Avenue.
Earlier this year RXR and Walton Street contracted to acquire the 21-story Park Avenue office building in the Grand Central District.
Since then, they have worked with the seller, an entity controlled by Lehman Brothers Holdings, to finalize the approval process for the assumption of the existing first mortgage.
“We have been working over the last couple of months with a team of architects, engineers and other professionals to help us bring our vision for the property to life.” said Scott Rechler, RXR’s chairman and CEO.
“We are very happy with our plans for what will be a truly transformative re-development of this superior Park Avenue building.”
RXR and Walton Street hired Dan Shannon of the architectural firm of Moed de Armas and Shannon to spearhead the project.
Improvements will include a $40 million lobby renovation and upgraded retail with a glass curtain wall.
Outdoor areas are also planned for several of the top floors of the building .
Jones Lang LaSalle is marketing the 240,000 s/f of office space and Newmark Grubb Knight Frank is leasing the retail space available at the property.
● BROOKFIELD FINANCIAL
Offers coming in for
LIC development site
Brookfield Financial is accepting bids for A Long Island City development site valued in excess of $23 million.
27-21 44th Drive is comprised of three adjoining lots zoned R9/M1-5/LIC for as of right residential use.
Eric Anton and Ron Solarz along with Eric Weinberg are spearheading the sales effort on the property.
Located mid-block between 44th Drive and Purves Street, a hot spot for recent residential development, the site offers 114,400 s/f of zoning floor area.
●VANTAGE PROPERTIES
Square deal on trophy building
A partnership led by Vantage Properties has signed an agreement to acquire the Marquis Apartments, a five-building package of 650 apartments in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, for $70 million from Marquis Associates, LP.
Vantage will undertake a multi-million dollar renovation to be completed in phases by the end of 2016.
Planned improvements will include full renovations of the apartments, amenities, and common areas, as well as landscaping, entry ways, and other outdoor enhancements.
Neil Rubler, president and CEO of Vantage, said, “Expanding into Pennsylvania is a logical and exciting next step for Vantage.
“With Philadelphia’s vibrant suburban markets and our significant experience in neighboring New Jersey, this is the ideal time for Vantage to grow our footprint and deliver new, luxury apartments and premier tenant services to greater Philadelphia area residents.
“The Marquis is in an ideal location and has tremendous potential to become one of the most desirable residential apartment properties in the greater Philadelphia area.”
● jones lang lasalle
Storage deal closes
Jones Lang LaSalle completed the sale of a portfolio of three self-storage facilities for $21.3 million.
21st Century Storage announced that Kurt O’Brien acquired 5301 Park Heights Avenue, Baltimore, 101 US Route 9, Marmora, NJ, and 555 North Olden Avenue in Trenton, NJ.
Simply Self Storage will manage the three assets, which total 226,455 s/f.
The seller was represented by Doug McCarron, Steve Mellon and Pete Williams, managing directors with JLL’s national self-storage team, along with Joseph Garibaldi, managing director, and James Molloy III, senior vice president. The buyer was represented in-house.
According to McCarron, “All three facilities have generated consistent revenue growth over the past year and are situated at high-traffic locations with exceptional visibility.”
● MNS
Bushwick owner looking
to diversify
MNS brokerage firm has been retained by Cayuga Capital Management to sell an equity interest in a ten-building, 108-unit portfolio in Bushwick, Brooklyn for $19.4 million.
David Behin, president of the Investment Sales and Advisory division for MNS, will lead the team marketing the portfolio on behalf of the seller.
“Bushwick is exploding in terms of development, retail and nightlife. It is achieving higher rents every day, yet is still a more affordable alternative to North Williamsburg’s $65-$70-per-square-foot rents,” said Behin.
“The Cayuga Bushwick Portfolio is a turnkey investment for any investor who wants to be firmly implanted in this area and take advantage of tremendous upside and values of these assets in a bourgeoning neighborhood.”
The portfolio includes a variety of walk-up and elevator buildings, some with retail.
The walk-up buildings are being offered for 90 percent of equity positions. The other buildings minority positions of 25 percent and 16 percent are being offered.
The combined annual income from the portfolio for 2013-2014 is $1,090,368 with a combined, in place cap rate just under six percent.
Cayuga Capital Management specializes in repositioning, renovation or ground up construction and was one of the first investment firms to purchase properties in Bushwick.
Today CCM has a strong presence in Bushwick and, according to Behin, is looking to diversify its assets.
●OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES
State happy with its
Pyramid scheme
New York State Office of General Services (OGS) Commissioner RoAnn M. Destito announced the sale of the Pyramid Reception Center at public auction for $6.65 million to the Bluestone Group.
The former New York State Office of Children and Family Services’ reception center for boys is located at 470 East 161st Street in the Melrose neighborhood in the central south Bronx.
The minimum bid for the property was $3.9 million and there were six registered bidders at the auction.
“Auctioning Pyramid and other un-needed state-owned properties is a priority for Governor Cuomo,” Commissioner Destito said.
“Its sale will result in reduced costs for New York State and means Pyramid will no longer be a burden on taxpayers.”
According to CFS Commissioner Gladys Carrión, New York’s juvenile justice reform has opened up an opportunity for the State to sell buildings that are no longer being utilized by the department.
The Pyramid Center is a 60,000 s/f former YMCA building built around 1915 on a nearly one-acre lot.
● KISLAK COMPANY
Team completes bulk sale
The Kislak Company announced the $42,225,000 sale of two Pennsylvania properties that marked the successful completion of a Section 1031 like-kind exchange.
The transactions included the $16,125,000 sale of Ashley Court Apartments, a 254-unit apartment community located at 10900 Bustleton Avenue in Philadelphia; and the $26,100,000 sale of Levittown Trace Apartment Homes, a 617-unit apartment community located at 3000 Ford Road in Bristol.
The properties were marketed exclusively on behalf of long-time clients with co-managing director Jeffrey Wiener leading Kislak’s assignments.
Vice president Jacob Friedman represented the purchaser of Ashley Court Apartments and Wiener also represented the purchaser of Levittown Trace Apartment Homes.
“Each sale represented an extraordinary opportunity to acquire a large, desirable and established multifamily asset in the Philadelphia MSA, in which we have a strong presence and successful track record of sales,” said Robert Holland, president and co-managing director.
●ONYX EQUITIES
Shining up some gems
A joint venture of Onyx Equities, LLC and Artemis Real Estate Partners announced the acquisition of Mount Kemble Corporate Center, a 229,500 s/f Class A office complex in Morristown, NJ.
Built in 2001, the complex, which is currently 64 percent occupied, is home to companies such as Coughlin Duffy Kelly, The Willis Group, Liberty Mutual, Taisho Pharmaceutical and Massey Quick.
The new ownership plans to reposition and reintroduce the property to the marketplace as a high-quality, low-cost alternative to the other Class A properties in the Morristown submarket.
In a second joint venture, this time with Rubenstein Partners, Onyx also acquired 211 Mount Airy Road, a 282,000 s/f Class A office building in Basking Ridge, N.J.
Since 2001, 211 Mount Airy Road has been owned by business communications provider, Avaya.
As part of the transaction, Avaya consolidated their operations into 135,000 s/f, and new ownership will have maximum leasing flexibility to market the asset to both full and partial tenant users.
