Former Governor Eliot Spitzer has sold an Upper East Side building for nearly $160 million to a partnership led by The Dermot Group, USAA Real Estate and Dutch pension fund PGGM.
The 28-story building with 147 rental units is located
at 220 East 72nd Street and was developed by Bernard Spitzer, Eliot Spitzer’s
father, in the 1970s.
Apartments at the property average over 1,100 s/f and
start on the seventh floor. Additionally, the building is somewhat unusual for
being a rental in a neighborhood where streets are mostly lined with condos and
co-ops.
The Meridian Capital Group’s Helen Hwang, Karen
Wiedenmann, Brian Szczapa, Yasmin Kheradpey, and Ernie Nichols represented the
seller in the off-market transaction.
“220 East 72nd Street is a rare asset on several fronts
making it highly desired by a number of investor types,” said Hwang, senior
executive managing director and head of Meridian’s Institutional Investment
Sales Team. “Its proximity to the new Second Avenue subway, spacious layouts
and excellent views and light and air throughout provide it with competitive
advantages virtually impossible to replicate.”
Listings for apartments in the building on CityRealty
note that the building has a doorman, storage space and apartments with marble
foyers and baths and alarm systems. Penthouses, in in wings set back from the
front of the building, have fireplaces.
The buyers financed their acquisition with a loan from HSBC, which was arranged by a Meridian Capital Group team led by Rael Gervis.
“Dermot is thrilled to be growing its partnership with USAA and PGGM,” said Andrew Levison, partner and managing director at The Dermot Company. “The Spitzer family built an incredible building and did an impressive job maintaining it for many years. We are excited to bring our unique brand of service to the residents of the building and to modernize and upgrade the building to make it an even better place to live.”
Last fall, Dermot bought the Kestrel, an eight-story,
126-unit luxury in Brooklyn’s Windsor Terrace for $74.7 million. Levison at the
time explained the building produced good cash flow and the company wanted it
for “long term hold.”
Meanwhile, tenants have begun moving in to 420 Kent,
an 856-apartment rental complex built by Spitzer Enterprises in South
Williamsburg. The project recently got $330 million in re-financing from
Starwood Property for construction, negotiated by Meridian.
