Sentinel Real Estate adds in NYC with $43M Brooklyn buy

Firm buys buildings in Prospect Park South, Ditmas Park

From left: Joel Wiener, 2105 Foster Ave., 120 East 19th St., 165 East 19th St. (PropertyShark), Aaron Jungreis and Michael Streicker
From left: Joel Wiener, 2105 Foster Ave., 120 East 19th St., 165 East 19th St. (PropertyShark), Aaron Jungreis and Michael Streicker

One of the largest rental apartment firms in the U.S. snapped up five residential buildings in Prospect Park South and one in Ditmas Park for $42.5 million, a source close to the sale told The Real Deal.

Sentinel Real Estate purchased four elevator buildings and two walkups with a total of 261 units from Pinnacle Group and Hudson Realty Capital in a deal that closed on April 29, the person familiar with the deal said. The individual purchase prices were not available.

The properties included in the sale were the 107-unit 165 East 19th Street, the 43-unit 146 East 19th Street, the 41-unit 120 East 19th Street, the 25-unit 287 East 18th Street and the 24-unit 259 East 18th Street, all in Prospect Park South. The sixth building was the 21-unit 2105 Foster Avenue, located in Ditmas Park. (See a map of the properties here.)

This sale comes just over a month after Pinnacle paid $208 million to buy out its partner, Hudson Realty, in a 28-building package that includes properties in Crown Heights and Prospect Park South.

The volume of Brooklyn elevator and walk-up buildings surged last quarter compared with the first three months of 2013, data from commercial firm Massey Knakal Realty Services reported last month.

The total dollar volume for elevator buildings in Brooklyn rose 124 percent to $377 million in the first quarter, while the total dollar volume for walk ups rose by 182 percent to $260 million, Massey Knakal figures showed. At the same time, the rise in average price per foot was far more modest, rising 7 percent to $308 per foot for elevator buildings and up 12 percent to $255 per foot for walk ups, the firm reported.

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The Sentinel package’s gross rent multiple, which represents the purchase price divided by the gross rental revenue, was 13.4, which is higher than the average of 13.14 Massey Knakal reported for elevator buildings in Brooklyn last quarter. However the average price per foot on this transaction was just $141 per foot, much lower than the Brooklyn average last quarter.

The average rents for the package ranged from $870 per unit per month at 146 East 19th Street to $1,344 per unit per month at 2105 Foster Avenue, marketing material created by Rosewood Realty Group and reviewed by TRD revealed. Aaron Jungreis, president of Rosewood, had the exclusive listing from Pinnacle and represented both sides of the transaction.

Sentinel, the Midtown-based firm owned by members of the Streicker family, including Michael Streicker, was ranked 40th nationally with 32,000 units in the U.S., according to an annual survey from the National Multifamily Housing Council found.

The firm is an owner in New York City as well. Two years ago, for example, Sentinel purchased several buildings with a total of 244 units that were part of a former Vantage Properties portfolio in Upper Manhattan.

Jungreis declined to comment. Sentinel and Pinnacle did not immediately respond to requests for comment.