JSB Capital Group, Holliswood Development and Edifice Partners have acquired a six-building portfolio in the East Village from Kushner Companies for $38 million.
Kushner has been unloading the neighborhood properties over the last few years as it moves to focus on New Jersey developments.
The walk-up portfolio includes four contiguous properties at 329, 331, 333, and 335 East 9th Street, which sold for $26.9 million, as well as two additional buildings at 516 and 518 East 13th Street, which sold for $11 million. The combined properties offer 56 residential units and six retail spaces, spanning a total of 49,513 square feet.
“We find ourselves in an environment that has become inhospitable,” Kushner Companies’ chief executive Laurent Morali told Crain’s. “You can expect to see more sales in the future.”
Kushner Companies, with Nicole Kushner Meyer now at the helm, is turning to expand its portfolio in the Garden State. The company secured $ 1 billion in construction financing in the last year according to the Commercial Observer, as well as a $295 million construction loan for its Jersey City project.
For Holliswood, the deal expands the young developer’s footprint in the neighborhood, bringing its total holdings to nine tax-class 2A/2B buildings. It is the developer’s largest deal to date.
Since buying nearby 337 East 9th Street in 2022, Holliswood has been eyeing the Kushner portfolio.
Holliswood is zeroing in on tax-protected assets, according to Ivy Li, a real estate development assistant at Holliswood. “Tax class 2B buildings provide a hedge against the unpredictability of future NYC property taxation and rising operating costs,” Li said.
“Our focus remains on acquiring vacant buildings or properties with at least 65 percent free-market units, particularly those classified as tax class 2A/2B,” a Holliswood spokesperson told the Commercial Observer.