Tenants of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village have received an alternative partnership offer just days after it was revealed they had partnered with Brookfield Asset Management to explore buying the properties, Crain’s reported.

A partnership between developer Gerald Guterman and Westwood Capital issued letters to tenants today, reminding them of a proposal Guterman and Westwood sent them in 2010. The duo’s plan involves converting all units in the complex to co-ops, which the tenants would then buy for close to $175 per square foot. [more]

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From the July issue:Double-dip fears notwithstanding, the real estate industry is seeing a resurgence of private equity investment. But this time around, firms who got burned during the financial crisis are taking a different tack.

Instead of doing deals on a one-off basis, with a different developer on each deal, a growing number of private equity funds are forming exclusive agreements with experienced developers through new, independent real estate operating companies in New York City and elsewhere. In an environment where many see enormous potential for growth, these investments give private equity players a leg up on the competition, and a chance to share in higher profits (known as the “promote”) if the project succeeds.

Deals structured in this way are not new; in 2003, for example, the now-defunct developer Clarett Group and Prudential Real Estate Investors formed Clarett Capital LLC, a real estate development company.

But more and more private equity firms are now investing at the general-partner level. [more]

From left: Dan Fasulo, Jahn Brodwin, Simon Ziff and Daniel Alpert

From the April issue: While those in the industry have been relieved to see the New York City commercial real estate market bounce back over the past year, the resulting price increases have prompted many investors and developers to look elsewhere for deals.

Instead of searching for properties to buy in the Big Apple, they are, in many cases, turning to other markets — from prime locations like San Francisco and Los Angeles to secondary markets like Austin, Tex.

“People need to realize that the number of assets truly available for a sales price that makes sense is very few in New York City,” said Daniel Alpert, managing partner of Westwood Capital, a Manhattan-based real estate investment bank. [more]

Following the news that Jonathan Miller is involved in a new venture to convert $1 billion in distressed condos, The Real Deal asked the city’s best-known appraiser whether this could impact the credibility of his widely read reports. After all, quarterly market reports prepared by Miller — the president and CEO of the real estate appraisal firm Miller Samuel — for Prudential Douglas Elliman, have become industry gospel in recent years. Now that he has an additional economic interest in the ups and downs of the market, does that amount to a conflict of interest? No, says Miller. Though he will have an equity stake in the venture, known as Condominium Recovery LLC, he will not be involved in the development end of the business. His job in the new company will be conducting appraisals of properties — his current bread and butter. “I’m still doing the same thing,” he said. “I’m not a developer — I’m on a team with a developer.” Miller said he has given the issue some serious thought. “This is something that I reviewed very carefully in the beginning,” he said. “Essentially, I’m brought in for valuation expertise. I’m not an operator. It’s no different than consulting with a developer.” Not everyone in the industry is so sure.  More [more]

Jonathan Miller, head of Miller Samuel, and Daniel Alpert, a founding managing partner with Westwood Capital

Veteran appraiser Jonathan Miller is teaming up with boutique investment bank Westwood Capital and Gerald Guterman, the apartment building owner and manager, in a new venture to convert $1 billion in new, distressed condo projects to rental apartments. The trio, dubbing themselves Condominium Recovery LLC, plans to make bulk purchases from struggling banks, starting with New York City and South Florida. “The whole question is, especially after all of the reserves are gone, do you take the unlimited liability and run with it, or do you deal with someone who has credibility and has the funds, and sell it to them on a reasonable basis, which today is a rental basis?” said Guterman, who has owned or managed more than 60,000 apartments over the past four decades. The group is looking to make an average 10 percent return on the properties, which it plans to hold onto for about four years apiece. After that, they could create a real estate investment trust or sell the rentals as co-ops or condos. [Reuters]

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