Ratner affiliate buys Williamsburg Social rental building for $55M

SL Green, Magnum acquired 72-unit property in 2013 as part of Triton portfolio buy

250 Bedford Ave
250 Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg (inset, from left: Bruce Ratner and Marc Holliday)

UPDATED, 2:50 p.m., March 15: A private investor affiliated with Forest City Ratner Companies acquired SL Green Realty and Magnum Real Estate Group’s Williamsburg Social rental building in Brooklyn for $55 million, according to property records filed with the city Tuesday.

Records indicate that the investor closed on the five-story building at 250 Bedford Avenue on Feb. 4. While the documents bear the signature of Forest City Ratner executive chair Bruce Ratner and feature Forest City Ratner’s Downtown Brooklyn headquarters as the buyer’s address, sources said the buyer of the five-story building at 250 Bedford Avenue is neither Ratner nor his company, but a private individual affiliated with Forest City Ratner.

Real estate investment trust SL Green and Magnum Real Estate Group, led by Ben Shaoul, acquired the 44,000-square-foot property as part of a Williamsburg residential portfolio acquisition in 2013, which saw the partners buy the 72-unit building and an adjacent 12-unit townhouse development from developer Triton Realty Group for $52 million, as The Real Deal reported.

In December, SL Green announced it had sold its 90 percent stake in the Williamsburg Social for nearly $50 million to an unnamed buyer, in a deal that valued the building at $55 million. The REIT said it had already sold off the 12 adjacent townhouses, known as the Williamsburg Townhomes, for more than $25 million combined.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

By signing up, you agree to TheRealDeal Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy.

SL Green added at the time that it would retain its interest in 250 Bedford Avenue‘s 51,000-square-foot retail space, whose tenants include Duane Reade and HSBC Bank.

Forest City Ratner declined to comment. Neither SL Green nor Shaoul returned requests for comment.

Correction: A previous version of this article stated that Forest City Ratner Companies had acquired two commercial condominium units at the Williamsburg Social building. The buyer is an investor affiliated with the company and the deal is to acquire the entire 72-unit rental property.