BRG, a Long Island real estate investment company, has acquired a 19-building Queens multi-family portfolio for more than $68 million, a top BRG official told The Real Deal today.
Senior Vice President Charles Agus declined to comment on the identity of the seller, but public records showed the property had been held by Area Property Partners, which is set to become part of Los Angeles-based private investment firm Ares Management, it was announced earlier this month.
The 561-unit portfolio, which spans the neighborhoods of Jackson Heights, Elmhurst and Corona, brings BRG’s total units in New York City to about 5,000, according to a statement from BRG. The company already owns 1,500 or so units in the vicinity of the portfolio.
For Area, a major investor in rent-stabilized multifamily buildings during the boom, the sale of the Queens portfolio is one of a handful in New York. Earlier this year, the company sold a portfolio of 10 Upper Manhattan multifamily properties known as the Decathlon portfolio for $49 million, or about $7.5 million less than the firm paid for the collection of buildings in 2007.
Last year, the company and frequent partner Vantage Properties also sold an 1,800-unit Harlem apartment complex for $210 million.
Ariel Property Advisors and Rosewood Realty represented the seller, according to BRG, with Ariel’s Shimon Shkury, Michael Tortorici, Victor Sozio, Randy Modell and Jonathan Berman marketing five buildings in the portfolio with 311 units and Rosewood’s Aaron Jungreis representing a portfolio of fourteen buildings with 250 units. Ariel’s transaction totaled $38 million, while Rosewood’s was $30 million.
The properties include 35-41 95th Street, 43-23 Ithaca Street and 40-94 Denman Street in Queens.
“It’s rare to see multifamily properties, especially elevatored buildings, in great neighborhoods like this change hands in Queens,” Shkury said. “This package is a testament to the strength of the borough from the point of view of both institutional and private clients.”
Ariel also declined to comment on the identity of its client. Area did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
BRG, headed by Daniel Benedict, has been actively acquiring new assets lately. Last year, the company purchased 117 units in Manhattan for more than $30 million and a medical office building in Garden City, N.Y., for more than $16 million.