TPG, Aurora Capital Team on $71M Meatpacking District Buy

The trendy Meatpacking District is ushering in more major real estate deals from players both old and new to the neighborhood.

Global alternative asset manager TPG Angelo Gordon and Bobby Cayre’s Aurora Capital Associates teamed up to buy 410 West 13th Street for $71 million, Crain’s reported. The deal for the five-story, 80,000-square-foot building breaks down to $888 per square foot.

British real estate firm Epic sold the property, which is also known as 15 Little West 12th Street. The company purchased the property for $69 million in 2011, suggesting there was not much profit to be had for the boutique office and retail building, which was developed by Taconic Investment Partners and Square Mile Capital Management.

Tenants include Red Bull, energy company Kimmeridge and the Match Group, parent company of dating services Tinder and Hinge. The estimated rent for office space at the property ranges from $82 to $100 per square foot, according to CoStar.

TPG and Aurora did not respond to requests for comment on the deal.

Aurora is already one of the largest owners in the neighborhood, ranking up there with William Gottlieb Real Estate. This may be TPG’s first foray into the Meatpacking District, though.

Bobby Cayre founded Aurora in 2001, focused on “high street” retail. It has since expanded out into developing ground-up boutique office and retail projects, as well as the occasional residential. In August, the company made news when Aurora snagged a signed contract for a penthouse at 140 Jane Street asking $87.5 million.

TPG just made a massive deal of its own to start the year, buying a majority stake in Lennar’s multifamily arm, Quarterra. TPG Real Estate plans to invest $1 billion in the business and could raise additional capital for growth; Quarterra has built 43,000 apartments across the country since 2011 and has another 13,000 in the pipeline.

Elsewhere in the Meatpacking District, Bilt recently signed a 58,000-square-foot lease to take over Samsung’s former office at 837 Washington Street.— Holden Walter-Warner