Mann sells Gramercy Park rental for $39M

Maurice Mann’s Mann Realty has sold a 67,000-square-foot Gramercy Park rental building to Benchmark Realty for $39 million, The Real Deal has learned.

This most recent purchase brings Benchmark’s expanding portfolio to a total 500 units in 17 buildings, Jordan Vogel, principal of the newbie investment firm, said.

The property management and residential development company offloaded the 94-unit building at 320 East 22nd Street for $582 per square foot, Benchmark said. The deal for the property closed November 30.

Mann had owned the eight-story building since 1998, public records show. It was not immediately clear how much he paid for it. All but one of the 94 apartments is rented at fair market rates, Benchmark said. The building is fully occupied.

“There are a lot of people that would consider doing a condo there — condos in that area are selling at $1,100 to $1,200 a foot – but we want to keep it as a rental,” Vogel said. Tenants at the building are currently paying around $50 a foot, Vogel said. He thinks he could increase that rate to around $70 a foot by renovating the building.

Benchmark has been actively acquiring in the area in recent months. In October, the company purchased a 101-unit apartment building at 425 Third Avenue in Kips Bay for $44 million.

“A lot of my competitors are fee-driven – they have equity sources that pay them fees and they make money just by buying,” he said. “We’re not interested in that. If it’s a bad deal, I’m okay not buying anything next year.”

Mann did not immediately respond to a request for comment.