●MASSEY KNAKAL
Hudson Square site sells for $50M
A development site at 537-545 Greenwich Street, located between Charlton and Vandam Streets in Manhattan’s Hudson Square neighborhood, was sold in an all-cash transaction valued at over $50,000,000.
The site consists of an approximately 10,000 square foot lot which measures 100’ x 100’. It currently contains a six-story, approximately 57,500 square foot fireproof warehouse. There are two elevators and four staircases in the building as well as two loading docks and two separate walk-in entrances. The site contains approximately 100,000 buildable square feet.
The development site is located in Hudson Square, one of Manhattan’s most rapidly emerging neighborhoods.
“With the recent rezoning of Hudson Square permitting residential use as of right, this property caught the interest of all the major Manhattan developers,” said Massey Knakal’s Robert Burton, who exclusively represented the seller in this transaction.
● CBRE
Upstate shopping center goes for $22M
Jeffrey Dunne and David Gavin of CBRE’s New York Institutional Group represented Montgomery Acquisition, LLC, an entity controlled by Wharton Realty Group, in the sale of Montgomery Towne Square in Montgomery, New York for $22 million. The team was also responsible for procuring the buyer, Montgomery Grocery Owners, LLC, an entity controlled by AAG Management.
Montgomery Towne Square is a 100 percent master-leased, 100,125± SF grocery anchored shopping center located at the intersection of Route 208 and Interstate 84 in Montgomery, NY.
ShopRite anchors the center and master leases the entire property on a long-term NNN basis, occupying the majority of the center and subleasing the remaining portion to a diverse mix of national and local tenants.
The majority of the competing grocery-anchored centers are located in either Middletown or Newburgh, whose borders are 8-10 miles in either direction of the Property, making Montgomery Towne Square the dominant grocery center in the area.
Jeff Dunne commented, “The center’s long-term lease with ShopRite offers stable in-place income. ShopRite recently invested significant capital in store renovations and has experienced very strong sales growth at the center. Metro New York has continued to see strong investor demand for high quality, grocery anchored assets like Montgomery Towne Square.”
● HAP Investments
HAP to develop East Harlem site
HAP Investments, a New York based international real estate investment and development-company announced that the company has closed on the purchase of a development site at 2211 Third Avenue, to be known as “HAP 10.” The purchase price was $13 million.
The site is strategically located on the corner of 3rd Avenue and E. 121st Street in Manhattan’s East Harlem neighborhood.
“We are thrilled to have completed the purchase of this site in a prime East Harlem location. This 17,500 square foot lot will enable us to construct a building which we are certain will have a significant positive impact in further transforming this part of the East Harlem neighborhood, and provide much needed community housing and shopping services, ” said Eran Polack, CEO, HAP Investments.
HAP will acquire and develop the 17,500 square foot vacant lot into a 162,000 square foot luxury rental project. The property will be comprised of approximately 120 residential rental units with 80 per cent market rate and 20 percent affordable. There will be 24,000 square feet of commercial space, utilizing the FRESH program to increase density with the intention to have a supermarket occupy the commercial space. HAP is currently taking offers for that space.
In addition there will be 5,000 square feet of parking, and 1,000 square feet of community facility space. Karl Fisher has been selected as the architect.
● CBRE
CBRE marketing 16-acre White Plains campus
Following a ten-year, in-depth strategic planning process and a two-year review of the future of its 16-acre Good Counsel campus in White Plains, the Sisters of the Divine Compassion said today that they are exploring the sale of all or a portion of the property. They have retained CBRE Group Inc., to determine interest in the property and to market it.
The campus at 52 North Broadway is adjacent to the White Plains commercial center and includes 12 buildings comprising 162,180 square feet. Among the buildings are the Roman Catholic order’s Motherhouse, which today also serves as a convent, administrative offices, and a spirituality and conference center. The site also includes the Good Counsel Academy Elementary and High Schools, the RDC Counseling Center, and the Chapel of the Divine Compassion.
“We have been blessed to be the stewards of this wonderful property for 124 years,” said Sister Carol Wagner, RDC, President of the Sisters of the Divine Compassion, “and our mission and ministries throughout the region emanate from here. At the same time, to assure that we continue our mission and that we are able to provide for the Sisters particularly in their later years, upon careful reflection and thorough analysis we are actively researching and exploring the possible sale of the property.”
CBRE is serving as the exclusive real estate agent for the property. The CBRE team is headed by William Cuddy, Executive Vice President. A resident of White Plains, he is fully familiar with the unique nature of the campus. “This is a significant and iconic property,” he said. “Because of its strategic location and its in-place infrastructure, it provides the perfect investment opportunity for a real estate investor or an academic institution. Our initial marketing outreach will gauge the level and type of interest there is in the property, an essential step for the Sisters to be able to explore options and strategically plan for the future.”
● HFF
HFF closes on multi-housing community in Hoboken
HFF announced today that it has closed the sale of Curling Club Apartments, a 240-unit, Class A multi-housing community in Hoboken, New Jersey.
HFF marketed the property on behalf of PNC Realty Investors, Inc., as investment advisor to the AFL-CIO Building Investment Trust. The property was purchased free and clear of existing debt.
Curling Club Apartments encompasses a full city block in the uptown Hoboken submarket between Grand and Adams Streets and 12th and 11th Streets as well as the northern half of the block between Clinton and Grand Streets and 12th and 11th Streets. Completed in 1999, the property consists of four five-story residential buildings above a single level parking garage as well as a free-standing, single-story clubhouse and an interior courtyard. All of the apartments are two-bedroom, two-bathroom units. Community amenities at the pet-friendly residence include a fitness center, resident’s lounge, storage units and garage parking. Residents also benefit from shuttle service to the PATH station.
● MASSEY KNAKAL
Historic UES townhome being marketed for $24.75 million
Massey Knakal Realty Services is pleased to offer for sale the Beaux-Arts style townhome located at 9 East 89th Street. The property is located in the heart of Museum Mile and just steps from the Engineer’s Gate entry to Central Park, making it ideal for museum enthusiasts and Park lovers. It is also surrounded by some of the best private schools in the country. The asking price is $24,750,000.
The property itself is a 23’ wide, six-story elevatored building containing approximately 10,285 square feet above grade that was designed by German-born architect and artist Oscar Bluemner for Charles Glen, and built in 1902. The basement areaway, open at each side of the entrance, is surrounded by tall wrought-iron fences.
The south facing limestone façade has a strong vertical emphasis and a centrally located entry that is complimented by the tall, molded stone openings of the upper stories. Four elongated brackets support the stone cornice above the fourth story. The attic story has a single tripartite window opening and is terminated by a parapet. The roofs of the fifth and sixth floors boast unobstructed views of Central Park, the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir and the Guggenheim Museum.
The property is currently owned by New York Road Runners (NYRR), but will be delivered vacant, affording a prospective purchaser the opportunity to convert the commercial townhouse for residential use.
The sale of the property is a natural next step for NYRR as they look to extend their reach throughout the five boroughs. The building will remain open and continue to provide NYRR services to runners until the property is sold. This historic townhouse is being marketed exclusively by Massey Knakal CEO Paul J. Massey Jr. and Thomas D. Gammino Jr.
● CPEX
CPEX completes 99-year lease of Park Slope development site
The CPEX New York Development & Conversion Investment Sales Team announced the completion of a 99-year ground lease at 535 4th Avenue, the former site of R&S Strauss.
Spanning the entire 4th Avenue block between 14th and 15th Streets, the property has a footprint of approximately 18,195 square feet with an existing building of 14,640 square feet. The site, which is currently vacant, is zoned C2-4/R8A/EC-1, permitting a total of approximately 109,534 buildable square feet for a mixed-use development.
CPEX’s Development & Conversion Team, consisting of Managing Director Sean R. Kelly, Esq., Associate Director Matthew Dzbanek, and Associate Michael Pallas, exclusively represented the seller in negotiating the 99-year ground lease and also procured the ground tenant, a joint venture between Slate Property Group, AdamAmerica Real Estate Group and AEW Capital Partners.
“This was a rare opportunity to pick up a full block front development site in Park Slope,” said Kelly. “We advised our client, a local family focused on income-producing real estate, to lease the property rather than sell it. Ground leases are less prevalent in the outer boroughs and more complicated than a sale, but it made the most sense for our client. They are not builders and given the supply constraint, there was real concern about identifying exchange properties that fit their criteria.
Other recent transactions include a 49-year lease at 95 Rockwell Place for the development of a 116,000 SF hotel, a 49-year lease at 490-504 Myrtle Avenue for a mixed-use development totaling approximately 250,000 SF with 232 apartments and retail at grade, a 49-year lease at 38 Lexington Avenue for a 25,000 SF residential development, and a 49-year lease for a private school at 1 Metrotech for 45,000 SF.