After years of selling off properties, Benchmark Real Estate Group is back in the buying game.
The firm paid Renaissance Properties $21 million for a six-story building in the heart of the West Village, according to sources familiar with the deal. The property at 35 Bedford Street has 33 apartments and three retail units. Renaissance has owned it since at least 1982, according to property records.
Aaron Jungreis of Rosewood Realty Group brokered the transaction.
Renaissance declined to comment on the deal. Jordan Vogel of Benchmark said they plan to renovate the property and were interested in it because of its location and the upside they see in its rents.
The deal is a relatively rare purchase for Benchmark, which has been much more focused on selling its properties in recent years. Between 2015 and the end of 2017, the firm sold more than $400 million worth of its holdings, including 82 West 12th Street and 65 Bank Street in Greenwich Village.
“We’re definitely buying now,” Vogel said. “The market has moved such that if we can buy in a great location like the West Village at a 4.5 cap, we’re buyers.”