Akelius Real Estate Management is moving deeper into the Manhattan multifamily market with the $100 million purchase of two adjacent Chelsea rental buildings, the firm told The Real Deal.
The contiguous buildings at 225 West 23rd Street and 220 West 24th Street have a total of 245 apartments, a mix of free-market and rent-stabilized.
The firm, which is the U.S. arm of Swedish real estate giant Akelius, closed Thursday on the deal, paying $808 per square foot and $408,000 per unit.
The seller, Atlas Capital Group, made a quick and hefty profit on the properties. The investment firm bought them from Rao & Rao in 2015 for $72.9 million, and have now sold them for nearly $30 million more in just over two years.
“We will continue to cherry-pick acquisitions and seek out long-term holds,” said Kunal Chothani, who has been head of Akelius’ New York operation since it launched in 2015.
A CBRE team led by Darcy Stacom brokered the deal.
Akelius also closed Wednesday on the $61 million purchase of a Gramercy building.
The two deals bring Akelius’ total New York City holdings to 1,460 rental apartments, Chothani said. The firm started off targeting heavily rent-stabilized Brooklyn portfolios, but has increasingly added more market-rate units through Manhattan acquisitions such as the 199-unit Gramercy building it bought in 2015 for $167.5 million.