Trinity Place Holdings Sells Gowanus Rental at a Loss

In yet another example of rent-regulated buildings losing value, Trinity Place Holdings posted a loss in the sale of an apartment building in Brooklyn’s Gowanus neighborhood.

Shel Capital and Bluestone Investments bought the 105-unit property at 237 11th for $68.5 million, the Commercial Observer reported. The deal for the 12-story building breaks down to $652,380 per unit.

Trinity purchased the apartment building for $81.2 million in 2018, absorbing a $12.7 million discount on its latest deal. It landed a $60 million debt package from Natixis to refinance the property in 2021.

The building includes ground-floor retail space and amenities such as a residential courtyard, roof deck, exercise facility, package center and parking garage. Rents at the property range from $2,628 per month for a studio to $6,498 per month for a two-bedroom unit, according to StreetEasy.

PincusCo first reported the sale. Bluestone and Shel scored a $44.5 million Freddie Mac loan from JLL Multifamily to finance the acquisition.

A JLL team of Jeffrey Julien, Rob Hinckley and Steven Rutman arranged the sale, while the debt advisory transaction was led by more JLL brokers, including Michael Shmuely and Michael Zaremski.

In 2021, Shel Capital and Bluestone Investments teamed up on a $51.5 million acquisition of a four-building portfolio in the East Village. The properties traded at an average price per square foot of $640, though the buildings were largely free-market units.

Last year, Trinity signed a deal with one of its lenders to push back its senior and mezzanine loans’ maturity until 2025 with a further one-year extension option on the 90-unit tower at 77 Greenwich Street in Lower Manhattan.

The value of rent-regulated buildings in New York City has plummeted, largely thanks to the 2019 rent law. Last month, a 29-unit building at 312 East 106th Street — an 83 percent rent-regulated property tucked between Central Park and the East River — sold for just $285,110, a 97 percent cut in value.

— Holden Walter-Warner