I-sales recap: Carlyle buys Park Slope building caught up in Greenbrook probe

High interest rates and the regional banking crisis continue to create a tough environment for commercial dealmakers, as evidenced by the consistently slow output of middle-market transactions in recent months.

But out of a handful of deals that did hit city records last week, one involved two corporate landlords trading a Park Slope apartment building that was recently caught up in an investigation into the seller’s alleged tenant harassment. 

Greg Fournier’s Greenbrook Partners, which drew protests in 2021 for its alleged fix-and-flip strategy at apartments across Brooklyn, sold a Park Slope walkup for $12.7 million to private equity firm Carlyle Group, which has amassed its own empire of Brooklyn rental buildings in recent years. The property was one of several buildings named in an investigation into Greenbrook’s management, which resulted in a settlement with the state last year.

Of four deals recorded across the five boroughs last week in the middle-market range — defined as between $10 million and $40 million — none topped $18 million.

Below are more details on all four, ranked by dollar amount:

1. Manhattan College unloaded a 95-unit dormitory at 3801 Waldo Avenue in Riverdale, the Bronx, for $18 million to Stagg Group, a developer that builds affordable housing and homeless shelters. Dubbed Overlook Manor, the property spans 92,000 square feet. Stagg secured a $13.5 million loan from Ulster Savings Bank to finance the purchase.

2. Artifact Real Estate Development shelled out $13.5 million for an elevator apartment building at 492 St. Nicholas Avenue in Central Harlem. Built in 2019, the property includes 17 residential units and one retail unit across 10,532 square feet. The seller is listed as Boc St. Nicholas, LLC, with an address tied to All Renovation Construction. Javier Martinez signed for the buyer and Rafael Santandreu signed for the seller.

3. Greenbrook sold an eight-unit residential building at 812 Eighth Avenue in Park Slope for $12.7 million to an entity tied to Carlyle. The walkup property, built in 1920, was acquired by Greenbrook in 2020 for $5.5 million, records show.

In 2021, Carlyle and Greenbrook entered into a partnership on a portfolio of about 45 properties, as both companies have been aggressively buying in Brooklyn. That push has become a headache for Greenbrook, which not only faced a state investigation into the management of some of those properties, but also pushback from Park Slope residents.

4. David Kaye and Joe Listhaus’ Rockledge, along with Peter Hungerford’s PH Realty Capital, paid $11.3 million for an apartment building at 401 Edgecombe Avenue in the Upper Manhattan neighborhood of Sugar Hill. The 66-unit building stands six stories with a gross floor area of 53,815 square feet. Rockledge assumed an $8.8 million mortgage from US Bank National Association in May. The deal comes about six months after Rockledge, PH Realty and Shlomo Tajerstein’s TG Realty bought six apartment buildings in the Bronx for $33.6 million. The seller of the Edgecombe Avenue building was REM Residential.