● AVISON YOUNG
Orbach sells The Canterbury
The Orbach Group has sold The Canterbury rental building on the Upper West Side for $32.5 million.
Avison Young’s Tri-State Investment Sales Division team brokered the sale of the 42,186 s/f 48-unit rental building located at 204 West 108th Street.
With the decline in the investment sales market, the deal represents one of the larger single property trades that Upper Manhattan has seen in recent times.
Sam Schertz, associate director at Avison Young, s was the sole broker in the transaction, representing both seller and the buyer, Arkar Inc.
The New jersey-based Orbach Group bought The Canterbury for $27.5 million in 2015.
“The Upper West Side is one of the hottest residential markets in Manhattan and the pre-war Canterbury building is one of the most recognized and charming properties in the entire area,” said Schertz.
“The property’s location, excellent condition and strong cash flow made this an attractive investment and it’s rare that an asset as appealing as the Canterbury becomes available. Avison Young was pleased to be able to strike a deal that was beneficial for both sides.”
Originally built in 1915, the six-story 204 West 108th Street is a low-rise elevator-served rental property featuring two to five-bedroom units as well as a courtyard, laundry room and storage facility. The property is situated near Columbia University and both Riverside Park and Central Park as well as several major transportation lines. Many of the units in the building have been recently renovated.
● CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD
Institutional money bids up industrial offering
Global investment giant Barings Real Estate has paid $65 million for two industrial buildings in Avenel, NJ, on behalf of an institutional investor.
191 Blair Road and 215 Blair Road were sold by the Sitex Group in a deal orchestrated by Cushman & Wakefield’s East Rutherford, N.J.-based investment sales team .
“We maintain a positive outlook on the industrial sector and are pleased to acquire these high-quality, well-located properties that offer the opportunity to add value to our investors,” stated Mike Zammitti, Head of U.S. Real Estate Equity for Barings Real Estate.
Located at Exit 12 of the NJ Turnpike/I-95, the sales included a fully-renovated, 175,182 s/f building and a newly constructed, 198,854 s/f building. Both structures were unoccupied at the time of marketing.
“These vacant-forward sales demonstrate the sustained appeal of well-located industrial product in our region,” noted Cushman & Wakefield investment specialist Gary Gabriel, who represented the seller and procured the buyer with Andrew Merin, David Bernhaut, Brian Whitmer, Kyle Schmidt and Andrew MacDonald.
“Both buildings exhibited significant leasing interest prior to close,” Schmidt added. “Users are drawn to the properties’ Port location, highly functional building designs and site layouts that accommodate highly sought-after excess trailer parking.”
● GFI REALTY
$22M Far Rockaway trade
GFI Realty Services brokered the $22 million sale of 22-11 New Haven Avenue, a six-story, 108-unit apartment building in Far Rockaway, Queens.
The seller was real estate investor Irving Langer, of E&M Associates, who had owned the building since 2014. The buyer, Vincent Ragosta, purchased the property as the back half of a 1031 exchange, following the sale of two Jamaica properties in August 2017. Katz also represented Ragosta in the Jamaica transaction.
The 96,310 s/f property is comprised of 14 studio apartments, 18 one-bedrooms, and 76 two-bedrooms, as well as 21 parking spaces.
GFI’s Yosef Katz was the broker. “Far Rockaway has emerged as a desirable alternative to nearby neighborhoods in Queens and Brooklyn, with relative affordability, access to the A train, and a recently launched ferry service,” said Katz.
“The buyer recognized Far Rockaway’s significant demand and was very eager to acquire quality apartment product with upside opportunity.”
● CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD
Morningside site fetches $20M
Cushman & Wakefield arranged the sale of 415 West 120th Street, a 7,569 s/f, 75 ft. wide development opportunity in Morningside Heights for $20.3 million.
Hall Oster, Robert Knakal, Robert Shapiro, Jonathan Hageman and Teddy Galligan represented the seller.
The site offers 45,565 buildable square feet for a residential property, which can be expanded to 49,198 buildable square feet with the addition of a community facility.
“The property represents a prime opportunity to build ground-up new construction in an area that seldom sees new development,” said Oster. “The neighborhood’s proximity to some of the most prestigious institutions in the city including Columbia University, Teachers College and Barnard College provides an ideal location for student housing focused development.”
The neighborhood is experiencing significant growth driven by the development of the Manhattanville Factory District, a one million square foot mixed-use project, and Columbia’s $7 billion Manhattanville campus.
