UDR to acquire Dwell95

Colorado-based UDR announced today that it entered a “definitive agreement” to acquire Dwell 95, a 507-unit Financial District apartment complex owned by the Moinian Group, for $325 million. The deal brings the company closer to its planned $1.8 billion investment in New York City multi-family properties.

Located at 95 Wall Street, the 22-story building once served as JPMorgan’s headquarters before Joseph Moinian’s Moinian Group converted it into luxury rentals.

It is one block east of 10 Hanover Square, a 493-unit apartment building UDR acquired for $261 million in April, which marked the firm’s first foray into the New York City market despite owning 60,000 units nationwide. In July the company spent $581 million on multi-family acquisitions in the city, closing on a $443 million purchase of the 706-unit Rivergate complex in Murray Hill and paying $138 million for the 210-unit 21 Chelsea.

Harry Alcock, UDR’s senior vice president of asset management, said the firm plans to invest up to $1.8 billion in the city over the next few years during an earnings call last week. Including Dwell95, the firm has invested $1.17 billion in 1,916 units.

The transaction comes to about $550,000 per apartment, not including the 97-space parking garage and 7,526-square-foot retail space at the building’s base. The apartments are 93 percent occupied and average a rent of more than $3,100 per month, according to UDR, which anticipates the deal will close by Aug. 31.
Doug Harmon, senior managing director at Eastdil Secured, was the sole broker in the transaction, advising the buyer and the seller.

Though some industry analysts worry that the faultering economy could affect returns on multi-family investments for the worse, according to the Wall Street Journal, UDR CEO Tom Toomey told the paper he wasn’t concerned. “The financial district is coming back,” he said. “The restaurants will come. The retail will be there. With all that vibrancy, I think it’s going to be a great spot to have rental properties.”
— Adam Fusfeld