NEW YORK CITY — Locally based investment firm A&E Real Estate has acquired a 20-story apartment building located at 1080 Amsterdam Ave. in Manhattan’s Morningside Heights neighborhood for $42.5 million. The 96-unit building was originally constructed in 1931 to house the staff of St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital. The seller, SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE: SLG), acquired 1080 Amsterdam in 2014 in a partnership with Stonehenge NYC and repositioned the asset. Amenities now include a fitness center, resident lounge, bike storage space and 24-hour lobby attendance.
WEST HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — RIPCO Real Estate has brokered the $5.6 million sale of a 10,125-square-foot retail building located in the Long Island community of West Hempstead. The property is leased to CVS through 2032. A partnership between two locally based limited liability companies sold the asset to private investor Kenny Mauer. Stephen Preuss, Kevin Louie, Gene Spiegelman, Kevin Schmitz and Andreas Efthymiou of RIPCO brokered the deal.
NEW YORK CITY — HLTH, which organizes conferences and events for the healthcare industry, has signed a 19,000-square-foot office lease expansion and renewal at 10 Grand Central in Midtown Manhattan. The firm is growing its footprint from 7,000 to 19,000 square feet on the sixth and seventh floors. Marx Realty owns the 35-story building and completed a $48 million redesign and capital improvement program in 2019. JLL represented the landlord in the lease negotiations.
NEW YORK CITY AND AUSTIN, TEXAS — Blackstone Inc. (NYSE: BX) has agreed to acquire American Campus Communities (NYSE: ACC) in a deal valued at $12.8 billion, including the assumption of debt. ACC is the largest publicly traded owner, manager and developer of student housing in the United States. Blackstone plans to take the company private through Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust Inc. and Blackstone Property Partners, which unlike its traditional private-equity funds can hold properties as long-term investments, according to media sources. This move comes as the price of public equity has been more expensive than private institutional capital over the past few years, according to Bill Bayless, co-founder and CEO of ACC, in a letter to employees. During that time, many of the private players in the sector were able to acquire and develop more aggressively than the cost of public equities permitted. The purchase price represents a premium of 22 percent against ACC’s 90-day, volume-weighted average share price as of April 18, and a 30 percent premium over the company’s closing stock price on Feb. 16, the day prior to ACC disclosing an indication of willingness from Blackstone to acquire the Austin-based firm. This transaction marks Blackstone’s largest investment …
NEW YORK CITY — JPMorgan has unveiled plans to build 270 Park Avenue, a 60-story skyscraper rising 1,388 feet in Midtown Manhattan, for the financial firm’s new global headquarters. Construction is scheduled for completion by the end of 2025. 270 Park Avenue replaces a previous building, which was designed in the late 1950s for about 3,500 employees. The new project will feature 2.5 million square feet of flexible and collaborative space. The asset will offer 2.5 times more outdoor space on the ground level of Park and Madison avenues, with wider sidewalks and a large public plaza. The office tower will also include a food hall, health and wellness center, communal spaces, HVAC filtration systems and a conference center. The property will be fully powered by renewable energy sourced from a New York State hydroelectric plant and will operate on net zero carbon emissions. The asset will include technology to help it run efficiently, including intelligent building systems that use sensors, AI and machine learning systems to adapt to energy needs; advanced water storage and reuse systems to reduce water usage by more than 40 percent; and automatic solar shades connected to HVAC systems for greater energy efficiency. JPMorgan is …
NEW YORK CITY — Merchants Capital has provided $104 million in financing for Harlem River Houses I and II, a 690-unit affordable housing community located between West 151st and West 153rd streets in Manhattan. The buildings were constructed in the mid-1930s and were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The financing structure consists of a straight-to-permanent New York City Housing Development Corp. (NYCHDC) loan crafted by the NYCHDC, Freddie Mac and Merchants Capital. The borrower, a joint venture between the Settlement Housing Fund and West Harlem Group Assistance, will use a portion of the proceeds to fund capital improvements and preserve affordability. Upon completion of the renovation, the property will offer 693 apartments across eight residential buildings that will house more than 1,400 residents Renovations will include upgrades to apartments, common areas and elevators, as well as security and heating systems. Upgrades in units will include new kitchens, bathrooms, floors and appliances, along with updates to windows and building exteriors. Sidewalks, gardens and sculptures within the property grounds will be restored, and new playgrounds, benches and activity spaces will be installed. Additionally, all electrical, mechanical and plumbing systems will be renovated or replaced.
NEW YORK CITY — JLL has brokered the sale of The Vitagraph, a 302-unit apartment community located in the Midwood neighborhood of Brooklyn. Constructed in 2019, the eight-story building features one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments with high-end finishes, in-unit washers and dryers and private terraces. Amenities include an indoor and outdoor kids’ play area, courtyard, 24-hour doorman service, business center, fitness center and a rooftop patio. Jeffrey Julien, Steven Rutman, Ethan Stanton, Rob Hinckley, Brendan Maddigan and Stephen Palmese of JLL represented the seller, New York City-based developer Northlink Capital, in the transaction. The buyer was a partnership between The Dermot Co., Principal Real Estate Investors and Dutch pension fund PGGM.
NEW YORK CITY — Avison Young has negotiated a 41,937-square-foot office sublease at 195 Broadway in downtown Manhattan. Lattice, a consulting firm focused on improving company cultures, will sublease the space at the 11-story building from Namely, a provider of human resources software. Brooks Hauf, Peter Johnson and Leah Zafra of Avison Young, along with Bryan Emanuel and John Diepenbrock of Raise Commercial Real Estate, represented the sublessee in the negotiations. Steve Rotter, Brett Harvey, Justin Haber and Kyle Riker of JLL represented the sublessor.
NEW YORK CITY — MetLife Investment Management has provided a $70 million permanent loan for the refinancing of 21 West Street, a 33-story apartment tower in Manhattan’s Financial District. The pet-friendly property offers 293 units in one-, two- and three-bedroom formats and amenities such as a fitness center, rooftop deck, community lounge with a playroom and catering kitchen and a 24-hour lobby attendant. Jonathan Schwartz, Adam Schwartz, Aaron Appel, Keith Kurland, Michael Ianno and Triston Stegal of Walker & Dunlop arranged the financing on behalf of the borrower, locally based owner-operator Rose Associates. The 12-year loan was structured with a fixed rate and interest-only payments for the entire term.
WOODBURY, N.Y. — New Jersey-based Cronheim Mortgage has arranged a $13 million loan for the refinancing of a 55,000-square-foot retail property on Long Island. Located along the Jericho Turnpike in the community of Woodbury, the property is fully occupied by grocer Stop & Shop. Andrew Stewart and Dev Morris of Cronheim Mortgage arranged the 10-year, nonrecourse loan, which carried a fixed interest rate and four years of interest-only payments. The borrower was full-service firm Woodpath Associates LLC. Texas-based Aurora National Life Assurance Co. provided the loan.