Two Trees sells condominium portion of Mercedes House for $170M to Invesco

Two Trees Management has sold the 162 condominium units at the zigzag luxury residential development Mercedes House to Invesco Real Estate for $170 million, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The 1.3 million-square-foot, 874-unit Building On West 53rd Street at 11th Avenue was built in two phases; the first 16-story, 222 rental unit phase hit the market in April 2011, while the 490 units in the second phase that began renting last year are now close to 80 percent leased, Asher Abehsera, general manager at Two Trees, told the Journal. The second phase also contained high-end condominiums.

Two Trees had hoped to sell these condos — located on the top 10 floors of the Mercedes House — for $1,200 to $1,250 per square foot, which would net the developer $185 million for the 162 units. But a bulk sale to Invesco removes the risk and hassle of selling each condo individually, Abehsera told the Journal. “By selling the condos wholesale,” he said, “you’re expediting your exit.”

The Dallas-based Invesco has been on something of a buying spree in New York City, and is planning to do $1.5 billion worth of deals this year, as The Real Deal previously reported. [WSJ]  –Hiten Samtani