Brooklyn, NY Rosewood Realty Group completed the sale of a Section 8 housing portfolio in the Gravesend section of the borough to a subsidiary of the New Jersey-based property owner Orbach Group for $17 million. The seller was Black Spruce Management.
The 51-unit portfolio is comprised of 17 buildings at 2320 through 2336 West 12th St. and 2315 through 2321 West 13th S,. between Aves. W and X. The 17 structures are all three-unit buildings, in which 34 apartments have three bedrooms each, while the remaining 17 apartments are one-bedroom units.
“It’s a good area and the buildings were well maintained and have a cash flow, and when you combine all that with the scarcity of the market, it was a good deal,” said Aaron Jungreis of Rosewood, noting the properties collectively have a roughly 4.5% cap rate. He represented both sides in the transaction.
Orbach manages more than 6,000 affordable and market-rate multifamily units in various states including New York (in New York City, specifically), New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and California.
The company wants to increase its affordable housing units in the city, and the Gravesend portfolio has a housing assistance payment contract in place with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Tenants generally pay about 30 percent of the rent at the property and the rest is subsidized by the government.
“This is a strategic acquisition for us that strengthens our portfolio in both the short- and long-terms,” Meyer Orbach, the chairman of Orbach, said in a prepared statement. “This also cements our leading role in preserving and maintaining affordable housing options across New York City.”
Rosewood also recently closed the $17 million sale of a six-story elevator apartment building with 60 apartments in Elmhurst, Queens. The 67,200 s/f building at 90-31 Whitney Ave. sold for 16.75 times the rent roll. The cap rate was 4%. It was built in 1936. Jungreis represented the seller, Whitney LLC and Michael Guttman represented the buyer, three private investors that include JD Broadway Realty LLC, JE Broadway Realty LLC and 90-31 Whitney Broad, LLC.
So far this year, Rosewood Realty has closed over ten Queens deals (over 30 buildings) worth over $500 million.
In July, Rosewood closed a $72.15 million dollar sale of a six-building portfolio sale in Jackson Heights, Queens featuring 324 units.