Residential dealmakers storm city’s investment sales market

8 of 14 middle-market transactions in second week of October involved residential properties

Clockwise from left: 79 Clifton Place, 80-01 37th Avenue, 45 East Mosholu Parkway North (LoopNet, Google Maps)
Clockwise from left: 79 Clifton Place, 80-01 37th Avenue, 45 East Mosholu Parkway North (LoopNet, Google Maps)

Rising rents appear to have investors bullish on the ongoing recovery of the city’s residential market, with a majority of middle-market deals last week targeting residential and mixed-use properties.

Other markers of how the pandemic has refocused the city’s property market included an industrial purchase by warehouse giant Prologis, an Amazon-leased parking lot bought by Wildflower and another discounted hotel sale by middle-market lodging king Sam Chang.

Six deals closed in Manhattan, three in Brooklyn, three in Queens and two in the Bronx. In total, the 14 transactions fetched $245 million, well ahead of last week’s $173 million.

Below are more details on investment deals in the $10 million to $30 million range recorded during the second week of October.

1. The Carlyle Group bought a 40-unit apartment building at 79 Clifton Place in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, for $34 million. European investment firm Freo Group, which sold the 58,000 square-foot building, had bought it for $22.9 million in January 2020. The former knitting factory was built in 1939 and converted into loft apartments in 2001.

2. A&E Real Estate bought a 99-unit, mixed-use building at 80-01 37th Avenue in Jackson Heights, Queens, for $26.3 million. The 98,500 square-foot building, one of two recently acquired by A&E, has 87 residential units. The Joseph Bruno Trust, which managed the property since its development almost a century ago, sold the building.

3. Rettner Realty sold a portfolio of mixed-use buildings totaling 125 residential units at 45 East Mosholu Parkway North in Norwood and 741 East 217th Street in Olinville — both in the Bronx — and 501 West 147 Street in Hamilton Heights for a combined $24.5 million. The buyer of the 116,000 square-foot portfolio was Denali Management. Rosewood Realty brokered the sale.

4. Prolific hotel developer Sam Chang sold a nine-story hotel building at 548 West 48th Street  in Hell’s Kitchen for $22.7 million. Hengjiang Mu of All States Capital Group signed the sales deed for the buyer. Chang purchased the 28,500-square-foot hotel, which operates as a Comfort Inn, in 2018 for $29 million.

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5. Land Finance Corporation, an affiliate of gun manufacturer Beretta USA, bought a 5,000 square-foot retail building at 991 Third Avenue in Lenox Hill for $19.8 million. The Heskel Group sold the building, which it had bought in 2012 for $18.4 million. The Beretta affiliate recently bought 28 Howard Street for $21.8 million, and sold 407 Park Avenue in May for $31 million.

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6. Warehouse giant Prologis bought a 66,800 square-foot industrial building at 1124 Close Avenue in Soundview, Bronx, for $18.4 million. Seller Watclo Realty had owned the building since 1982.

7. North River Investment Company picked up 19,200 square feet of mixed-use space at 34 and 36 East 4th Street in Noho for $16.5 million. The buildings have a combined 34 residential units. Brooklyn-based Granite International Management was the seller, via East Fourth Corp., which had owned the buildings since 1995.

8. A Wildflower-affiliated limited liability company bought a 58,000 square-foot parking lot at 125 Shepherd Avenue and 12505 Flatlands Avenue as well as an adjacent parcel in New Lots, Brooklyn, for $14.5 million. Alan Soiefer’s Selar Realty was the seller. Amazon has agreed to lease the lots, a Wildflower representative said. The company owns an additional 236,000 square feet of industrial and parking space along Flatlands Avenue.

9. Prana Investments bought 98 residential units at 192 and 200 Nagle Avenue in Inwood for $13 million. Morris Lieberman sold the 87,000 square-foot buildings. Rosewood Realty brokered the deal.

10. A Bushwack Capital affiliate bought a 42,200 square-foot parcel at 25 Stewart Avenue in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn, for $12.2 million. Seller J Stewart Realty LLC purchased the vacant land from Yoel Goldman last year for $3 million. Bushwick Capital’s Dawson Stellberger recently bought an interest in 154 Scott Avenue, a manufacturing building in East Williamsburg.

11. Branko Mustac bought a 45-unit multifamily building at 30-47 29th Street in Astoria for $11.2 million. Three limited liability companies sold the 34,500 square-foot square-foot building.

12. Thor Equities sold two commercial condo units spanning 11,200 square feet at 24 West 40th Street for $10.8 million. Chinese textile company Loftex bought units, which will become a showroom for furnishings it supplies to home goods stores such as Ikea, Kohls and Walmart. Thor had initially asked $14.5 million for the condos.

13. Rockledge Properties bought three rent-controlled buildings with 72 total units at 90-16 171st Street and 90-75 179th Street in Jamaica, plus 106-15 217th Street in Queens Village, for $10.6 million. Noah Freedman was the seller.

14. Davean Holdings bought a 9,600 square-foot, mixed-use building at 164 First Avenue in the East Village for $10.4 million. Louise Pfister signed for the seller, Casabel LLC. Davean recently bought two similar buildings spanning 14,700 square feet in the Financial District for $10.1 million. Those buildings house two ground-floor bars and seven apartments.