NEW YORK CITY — A joint venture between an affiliate of The Carlyle Group and full-service real estate firm Stonehenge NYC has begun renovations of The Ritz Plaza, a 479-unit apartment building located within Times Square in Manhattan, to the tune of $235 million. Deutsche Bank provided the financing for the project, which will fund capital improvements to unit interiors and common areas. Hodges Ward Elliot arranged the funds. Stonehenge has owned and managed the property, which offers studio, one- and two-bedroom units plus amenities like a pool, fitness center and rooftop terrace, since 1996.
NEW YORK CITY — PGIM Real Estate Finance, the commercial mortgage banking arm of Prudential, has provided a $72 million Fannie Mae loan for the refinancing of Olympia House, a 240-unit apartment complex located in Manhattan’s Turtle Bay neighborhood. The 21-story property, which is within two blocks of Grand Central Station, includes ground-floor commercial space and offers studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units. The loan features a 10-year term and an unspecified period of interest-only payments. The borrowers in the transaction were real estate investors Isaac Hakim, Steven Elghanayan and Michael-Henry Krayem.
NEW YORK CITY — Janus Property Co., a developer and manager of residential and mixed-use properties, has broken ground on the Taystee Lab Building, a 350,000-square-foot life sciences property in West Harlem. The 11-story building, located at the site of the former Taystee bread bakery, will be marketed to firms in the life sciences, technology, academic, and arts sectors. Specific features will include floor plates ranging in size from 36,000 square feet at the base to 15,000 square feet at the penthouse level, floor-to-ceiling glass and 20,000 square feet of outdoor space. Designed by architecture firms LevenBetts and SLCE, the project is expected to be complete by late 2020.
CHESTNUT RIDGE, N.Y. — Cushman & Wakefield has brokered the sale of 3 Alpine Court, a 68,862-square-foot industrial facility in Chestnut Ridge, New York, located just north of New Jersey. Situated on 6.3 acres, the property is 30 miles west of Manhattan and within a one-hour drive of Port Newark and all three metro area commercial airports. Privately held firm Weiss Real Estate Investments purchased the asset from CMS Holding Co. Inc. for an undisclosed price. Andrew Merin, David Bernhaut, Gary Gabriel, Brian Whitmer, Kyle Schmidt, Stan Danzig and Stephen Elman of Cushman & Wakefield brokered the deal.
NEW YORK CITY — Knotel, a provider of flexible office space, has signed a lease to open a 14,160-square-foot office space at 101 Fifth Avenue, an office building in Manhattan that is owned by Eretz Group. The space will span two floors at the 11-story property and raises Knotel’s total footprint across the city to 40 locations totaling 580,881 square feet. Greg DiGioia and Michael Morris of Newmark Knight Frank represented Knotel in the lease negotiations.
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — Hunt Real Estate Capital has provided a $6.7 million Fannie Mae loan for the refinancing of Cayuga Village MHC, a 275-site manufactured housing community in Niagara Falls, located just north of Buffalo. The property was built in stages between the 1950s and 1990s and is located near several major retail centers. A portion of the proceeds will be used to expand the property by 20 to 40 additional sites and to fund capital improvements across the manufactured housing community. The loan, which carries interest-only payments for the first three years, was provided to a family-owned operation that has held the property for more than 50 years.
PORT JERVIS, N.Y. — Sentinel Senior Living LLC has opened The Sentinel of Port Jervis, a 160-unit assisted living community in Port Jervis, located along the Pennsylvania border approximately 70 miles northwest of New York City. The building was formerly a Days Inn, which was renovated and expanded for the project. The 65,000-square-foot building sits on over five acres. The Sentinel is seeking to expand its footprint in the area, completing a similar project in Amsterdam in 2017. The company plans to use these projects as a blueprint for future developments.
NEW YORK CITY — Hilton Grand Vacations (NYSE: HGV) will acquire The Central at 5th, a 34-story hotel under construction in Manhattan. The site is located on E. 48th St. in between Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue and offers proximity to several tourist destinations, including Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall and the Theater District. Developed by local firm Hidrock Properties exclusively for HGV, the property will consist of 161 studio and one-bedroom units that Hilton plans to acquire in phases. Anticipated resort amenities will include a fitness center, outdoor terrace and private owners’ lounge. The opening is expected to occur in spring 2020.
NEW YORK CITY — Private equity firm Madison Realty Capital has relocated its New York City headquarters to a 20,000-square-foot space located at 520 Madison Ave. in Midtown Manhattan. After spending 12 years at 825 Third Avenue, the company will now occupy the 35th floor at its new high-rise building, which is located between 53rd and 54th streets. Adam Doneger, Anthony LoPresti and Ethan Silverstein of Cushman & Wakefield represented Madison Realty Capital in the lease negotiations for the new space. Tishman Speyer owns the building, which offers approximately 1 million square feet of office space.
NEW YORK — An affiliate of Miami-based H.I.G Capital, which has offices in the United States, Europe and South America, has acquired a portfolio of industrial and flex assets located throughout the New York City metropolitan area for $487 million. The portfolio spans approximately 3.1 million square feet, comprises 56 properties and is leased to about 260 tenants across a diverse range of industries. With this transaction, H.I.G. Capital now has more than $30 billion of assets under management. Jose Cruz, Marc Duval, Jordan Avanzato, Kevin O’Hearn, Andrew Scandalios, Stephen Simonelli and Michael Oliver of HFF represented the seller, Mack-Cali Realty Corp., in the transaction. In addition, Mike Tepedino, Peter Rotchford, Scott Findlay and Jackie Ferrer of HFF arranged $400 million in floating-rate acquisition financing through Bank of America for the deal.