Manny Malekan has returned to the Manhattan market with a bang. The Long Island-based real estate investor has entered contract to acquire five Lower Manhattan buildings that belong to the Gindi family, owners of discount retailer Century 21, the New York Observer reported. Malekan will take title to the rental buildings at 20 John Street, 8-10 Liberty Street, 20 Beaver Street, 53 Nassau Street and 122 Nassau Street. Each of the properties has a ground-floor retail space. According to PropertyShark, the properties have about 300 combined units. The purchase price was not yet available.
These five properties represent a portion of a nearly 30-building portfolio, largely held in Queens and Manhattan, owned by the Gindis that is being marketed by Massey Knakal Realty Services. Chairman Bob Knakal previously told the Observer the portfolio would sell for more than $200 million.
Some properties in the Gindi portfolio have already sold, but the details are vague. The Observer said one of the buildings was the 31,500-square-foot 360 Broadway, which traded for $22 million.
Malekan told the Observer that this is his way of getting back into the Manhattan real estate market. He previously owned 2,000 residential units in the 1980’s, but sold them in the next decade to invest in other locations. [NYO]