Jewish Theological Seminary gets $35M for Morningside Heights building

The Jewish Theological Seminary sold yet another building that comprised part of its large Morningside Heights portfolio.

A joint venture between Coltown Properties, Esplanade Partners and Avenue Realty Capital acquired the property, a mixed-use multifamily-and-retail building at 3060 Broadway, for $35.3 million, or $734 per square foot, according to multiple people familiar with the deal.

The transaction is just the latest in the seminary’s bid to leverage its valuable real estate portfolio to raise money toward the modernization of its Morningside Heights campus and the addition of a performing arts space and residence hall. Last month, it sold a parcel of land on the east side of its campus, as well as accompanying air rights, to Savanna for $96 million.

David Carlos and Ira Schuman of Savills Studley represented seminary in this most recent deal. Barak Jacobov and Shulem Paneth of GFI, and law firm Davidoff Hutcher & Citron, represented the buyer.

The 48,000-square-foot building comprises 36 rental apartments and five commercial units. All of the commercial units are occupied by retail tenants with short-term leases, thus providing strong potential upside for the buyer, the brokers said. JTS has leased back the property from the joint venture for a period of up to four years.

“There is a limited amount of quality product available in this neighborhood, and the seminary was able to capitalize on market conditions and redirect capital to other institutional needs,” Jacobov told The Real Deal.

Coltown has been an active investor in Upper Manhattan multifamily units for years. In 2013, the firm, led by investors Israel Weinberger and Steven Neuman, sold a 539-unit portfolio in the neighborhood to E&M Associates for $75 million.