Akelius Real Estate Management picked up a six-building Clinton Hill multifamily complex known as Mohawk Apartments for $56.5 million, or roughly $500 per square foot, sources told The Real Deal.
The 113,900-square-foot complex, located on Washington Avenue and St. James Place, contains 86 apartments. Five of the contiguous brownstones are walk-ups, while one is an elevator building.
Abe Shnay, who now runs SK Development with his son Scott, bought the Mohawk Hotel from the city in 1984 and proceeded to convert it into apartments.
From left: Joe Koicim and Peter Von Der Ahe
Although Marcus & Millichap recently marketed the complex as offering a “clear path to condominium,” Akelius Real Estate Management will likely not pursue that route. The fast-growing U.S. arm of Swedish investment giant Akelius specializes in long-term holds of multifamily properties.
Kunal Chothani, an executive at the firm, said the plan is to renovate the common areas and add amenity spaces in the basement.
Since launching in spring 2015, the Akelius offshoot has a portfolio of over 1,000 apartments.
Marcus & Millichap’s Peter Von Der Ahe, Shaun Riney and Joseph Koicim brokered the deal, which closed Wednesday.
“You’re seeing the institutional higher end of the multifamily market in the city slow down, but the middle market — $50 million to $70 million — is very active right now,” Koicim said.
The buildings, which have a 2.27 percent cap rate, are part of the Clinton Hill Historic District. In the early 1900s, they were constructed in the Romanesque Revival and Beaux Arts styles. The addresses include 369, 373 and 379 Washington Avenue and 76, 80 and 84 St. James Place, property records show.
The apartments are a mix of rent-stabilized and market-rate units, with market-rate rents ranging from $2,500 to $4,000 per month. The average apartment size is 1,000 square feet.
SK Development’s projects in the pipeline include a hotel at 626 Driggs Avenue and a condo building at 280 Metropolitan Avenue, both in Williamsburg. Abe Shnay recently paid $7 million for a co-op unit at 10 Bond Street, a Greenwich Village building he developed with the Chetrit Group and Ironstate Development.