World Wide makes Greenpoint’s first $100M-plus resi deal

In the priciest sale of a residential building in the history of Greenpoint, World Wide Group paid $103 million for a 130-unit rental property known as the Viridian, sources told The Real Deal.

World Wide acquired the six-story, 185,000-square-foot property at 110 Green Street late last week from Meadow Partners, paying just over $550 per square foot. The deal is the first residential trade to cross the $100 million threshold in the neighborhood, according to an analysis by TRD.

In 2007, developer Joel Schwartz broke ground on the site, located between Manhattan Avenue and Franklin Street, with plans for a condominium tower. Canyon-Johnson Urban Funds, a partnership between NBA legend Magic Johnson’s Johnson Enterprises and Canyon Capital Realty Advisors, provided financing for the project. But after sales failed to take off, Schwartz filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and opted to develop the property as a rental tower. The building received a certificate of occupancy in 2009.

In 2010, a group of Brooklyn investors including Joseph Brunner, Chaim Gross and Martin Friedman bought the property through a bankruptcy auction for $58.2 million. The investor group then sold it to Meadow Partners for $72 million in 2013.

Meadow then upgraded the common areas and opened a roof deck. The firm also increased monthly rents to an average of $4,000, up from $3,400. Amenities include a gym, sauna and an indoor pool. The average rental price in Brooklyn was $2,344 per month in December, according to MNS data.

World Wide, a Midtown East-based development firm founded by the late Victor Elmaleh and now led by James Stanton, has no immediate plans to redevelop the property. Sources said the acquisition was part of a 1031 exchange.

In October, World Wide sold six contiguous Upper East Side properties on East 60th Street to Kuafu Properties for $300 million. The Chinese developer is planning a condo tower on that site.

David Lowenfeld, chief operating officer of the World Wide Group, confirmed the sale. Rosewood Realty Group’s Aaron Jungreis, who brokered the deal, declined to comment.

Pricey residential deals in Greenpoint are rare, given the dearth of large apartment buildings.

Prior to the recent Viridian deal, the priciest residential building sale in Greenpoint was Meadow’s $72 million purchase of the property in 2013, according to TRData.

Greenpoint is expected to see pricier investment sales and residential deals as more luxury projects come to fruition. The penthouse condo at Saddle Rock Equities’ the Gibraltar at 160 West Street is under contract for a record-breaking $1,482 per square foot, or $2.1 million.