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Olshan, Millhouse scoop up Wash. Heights rentals for $40M
Properties were tied up in ugly ownership dispute
Olshan Properties and Millhouse Properties have teamed up to buy two rental buildings in Washington Heights for $40.1 million — properties that were at the center of an ugly ownership dispute for several years.
The two buildings — at 385 and 395 Fort Washington Avenue — span 113,700 square feet and have 115 rental units and four offices. The apartment buildings last traded hands in the 1950s when they were purchased by the Bistritzky family. Details of the purchase are not available in public records, but the owner was most recently listed as Scandinavian Homes, which was formerly headed by Joseph Bistritzky and Joseph Twersky.
The property sold amid a heated dispute between Twersky and Bistritsky over proper ownership of Scandinavian. Twersky sued Bistrisky in October 2015, alleging that he was entitled to buy Bistritzky’s 50 percent stake in the company.
Scandinavian started marketing the buildings roughly a year ago. According to court documents, the owners received at least 10 different offers for the property and disagreed over its value. The sale to Olshan and Millhouse closed on Thursday. The lawsuit appears to be ongoing.
GFI Realty’s [TRDataCustom] Michael Weiser, as well as Barak Jacobov, Shawn Sadaghati and Yisroel Pershin represented both the buyers and sellers on the deal. Weiser said that most of the units are leased up.
Representatives for Olshan declined to comment. Millhouse and Bistritzky could not immediately be reached on Friday.
Olshan owns and manages roughly 14,000 units in multifamily projects across the United States. The company already manages another apartment building near the two it just purchased in Washington Heights at 245 Fort Washington Avenue. Millhouse, an investment firm run by Eric Gray and Joshua Sacks, recently formed a joint venture with Barone Management and Matt Development to build a Dream Hotel in Long Island City.