NEW YORK CITY — Savanna, a New York-based real estate private equity and asset management firm, has secured three new leases totaling 70,262 square feet at 31 Penn Plaza in Manhattan. TPG Planning & Design, an architecture firm, has signed a 40,431-square-foot lease, spanning the entire fifth floor and portion of the fourth floor. Mark Ravesloot and Michael Monahan of CBRE represented TPG in the transaction. Regus, a workplace provider, has signed a lease for 23,009 square feet, spanning the entire 15th floor. Patrick Heeg and Jim Wenk of Jones Lang LaSalle represented Regus in the transaction. Real Estate Arts Inc., a digital marketing and branding agency specializing in real estate and architecture, has signed a 6,882-square-foot lease. The agency will be moving into a prebuilt space on the sixth floor. Benjamin Friedland and Michael Hirsch of CBRE represented Real Estate Arts in the transaction. Mitchell Konsker, Matthew Astrachan and Matthew Polhemus of Jones Lang LaSalle represented the landlord, Savanna, in all three transactions. 31 Penn Plaza is an 18-story, 444,000-square-foot office building located at 132 W.31st St.
NEW YORK CITY — Silvershore Properties has purchased two multifamily buildings in Queens in separate transactions totaling $2.6 million. The 17,000-square-foot, four-story building is located in Elmhurst at 43-05 Forley St. and includes 20 apartments. The second transaction includes a 5,500-square-foot, three-story building at 32-38 48th St. in Astoria. Built in 1928, the multifamily building features six units.
PHILADELPHIA — Mack-Cali Realty Corp. (NYSE: CLI) has entered into agreements to form various joint ventures with a fund sponsored by Keystone Property Group to sell 15 office properties and three parcels located in suburban Philadelphia. The portfolio will be sold for approximately $233 million — $201 million in cash, a $10 million mortgage secured by One Plymouth Meeting and subordinated interests in the portfolio with capital accounts totaling $22 million. Mack-Cali will participate in management fees and 50 percent of value creation above certain hurdle rates. The portfolio of assets includes approximately 1.6 million square feet of existing office properties and land that can accommodate future development of approximately 162,000 square feet. Mack-Cali will also receive majority interest in a parcel in Bala Cynwyd, Penn., for multifamily residential development.
NORTH SMITHFIELD, R.I. — CBRE New England’s Capital Markets team has arranged the sale of Halstead at Slatersville Mill, a 224-unit apartment community located in North Smithfield, about 15 miles northwest of Providence. The purchase price was undisclosed. Simon Butler and Biria St. John, both of who hold the title of executive vice president and partner, at CBRE represented the seller, DSF Slatersville Mill LLC, and the buyer, Residences at Slatersville Mill LLC, an affiliate of Acumen Real Estate, in the transaction. The Halstead at Slatersville Mill includes one single-story leasing center and three original mill buildings that were converted to apartment buildings in 2007. Community amenities include a theater/media room, lounge areas, business center, 24-hour fitness center, indoor basketball court, community/billiards room, pool table and an outdoor swimming pool.
NEW YORK CITY — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of 17-27 West 125th Street, a 57-unit apartment property in Manhattan for $13.6 million. Brokers Peter Von Der Ahe, Glen Kunofsky, Scott Edelstein and Seth Glasser of Marcus & Millichap’s Manhattan marketed the property on behalf of the seller, a private investor. The buyer, also a private investor, was also secured and represented by the firm’s Manhattan team. The property includes 115 square feet of frontage on 125th Street.
NEW YORK CITY — GFI Realty Services Inc. has arranged the $3.1 million sale of 239 Prospect Place, a four-story, walk-up apartment building located in the Prospect Heights section of Brooklyn. The transaction translates to 11.25 times the rent roll and $258,000 per unit. The property, constructed in 1931, includes 12 apartments totaling approximately 8,580 square feet. Shlomo Antebi, a director at GFI Realty Services Inc., represented the seller and the buyer in this transaction, both local investors. The buyer plans to keep the building as a long-term investment property within his existing portfolio, according to GFI.
Improvement in the city's employment picture is adding fuel to the fire of an already heated multifamily market. As we enter the summer, the vital signs of continued improvement in apartment operations — rising market rents and lower vacancy — are in place. Investors’ attraction to the relative stability of this market is growing. This is evident as overseas capital and a greater number of private investors join apartment REITs and private equity players, increasing the competition for market listings and compressing cap rates in their wake. On the employment side, the financial sector has yet to rebuild headcounts to the pre-recession level. The loss of this traditional payroll leader during economic expansion has been replaced with the technology and business services’ broad job growth throughout the metro. These sectors have emerged as the new employment leaders, and the expansions of Google, Microsoft, Facebook and others are having a positive impact not only for the apartment market but also for allied employment sectors generating additional renter demand. Additionally, New York City’s emergence as a venture capital powerhouse, closely trailing Silicon Valley and now ahead of Boston, supports additional demand throughout the market. With sound apartment operations in place, investor competition …
NEW YORK CITY — HFF has arranged $100 million in long-term financing for a 510-unit, high-rise residential property in Manhattan’s Murray Hill neighborhood. Prudential Mortgage Capital Co., the commercial real estate finance business of Prudential Financial Inc. (NYSE: PRU), provided the 20-year, fixed-rate loan. The 39-story building is located on 39th Street between First and Second avenues and includes studio, one- and two- bedroom units. Community amenities include a doorman, parking garage, laundry facilities and bicycle storage. The HFF team representing the borrower included senior managing director Michael Tepedino, managing director Steven Klein and associate director Jennifer Keller. Sarah Teunis, director, and Kathryn Bradford, senior analyst, represented Prudential.
WATERBURY, CONN. — Fairmount Heights Associates LP has sold Country Village Apartments, a 232-unit, HUD-subsidized property in Waterbury, for $17 million. Constructed in 1948, Country Village Apartments is situated on 30 acres and is one of the largest apartment complexes in Waterbury. Fairmount Heights purchased the property in January 1983. Steve Pappas of Chozick Realty represented Fairmount Heights Associates in the transaction. The buyer is Country Village Apartments LLC, which secured an additional $15 million in CHFA financing through tax credits for property renovations. The renovation plans include new kitchens, appliances, bathrooms, flooring, windows, doors, roofs, common areas, as well as improvements to the landscaping and playgrounds.
NEW YORK CITY — RKF has arranged the $9.2 million sale of a 6,800-square-foot mixed-use building located at 325 Bowery in Manhattan. Robert Futterman, chairman and CEO, and Brian Segall, senior director at RKF, represented the seller, 325 Bowery Development LLC, and the buyer, Atlas Bowery LLC, an affiliate of Atlas Capital Group LLC, in the transaction. Located on the northeast corner of 2nd Street, 325 Bowery includes retail and loft-style residential space on four floors above a basement and sub-basement. Peels NYC café occupies the ground floor.