Taconic Takes Big Loss on Bronx Portfolio

Taconic Investment Partners is taking a substantial loss on a portfolio of Bronx multifamily properties.

The firm sold a 14-building portfolio — largely centered in the Fordham Heights neighborhood — to InterVest Capital Partners for $60 million, Crain’s reported. InterVest, funded by the sovereign wealth fund of Kuwait and formerly known as Wafra Capital Partners, was the buyer of the portfolio of 5- and 6-story walk-up and elevator rental buildings that were a part of a roughly $100 million play by Taconic.

Taconic, run by Paul Pariser and Charles Bendit, assembled the portfolio through two purchases in 2018. At the beginning of the year, Taconic entered into contract to buy a dozen properties from Related Companies and New York City pension funds for $70 million. That portfolio consisted of 368 rent-stabilized apartments.

Later in the year, an affordable housing joint venture from Taconic and Clarion Partners picked up a pair of buildings in Concourse for $27.8 million. City Skyline Realty was the seller of those buildings, which housed 131 rent-stabilized apartments.

A year after the purchases, state lawmakers titled rent regulations in favor of tenants. At the time of the policy shift, Taconic owned 2,000 rent-stabilized apartments, most in the Bronx.

“We’ll be cutting back significantly on improvements to individual apartments’ living experience,” Bendit said at the time. “They may be more affordable, but not as nice to live in.”

At the 16-unit 2543 Decatur Avenue, it doesn’t appear a single unit has been leased since 2017, according to StreetEasy. Commercial building values have also taken a hit more generally speaking from the pandemic.

A representative for Taconic did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Real Deal. A Newmark team led by Adam Spies and Adam Doneger brokered the sale.

Elsewhere, Taconic was part of a joint venture that recently sold a pair of retail condos on the Lower East Side to an entity connected to Coral Gables-based Amerant Bank for $24.4 million. The units are part of the 15-story, 185,000-square-foot building in the Essex Crossing mixed-use development.

— Holden Walter-Warner