Jungreis of Rosewood Realty handles 14-property sale: $110 million

308-310 and 318-340 West 49th Streets - Manhattan, NY

Manhattan, NY Rosewood Realty Group has completed the $110 million sale of 14 walk-up rental buildings in Hell’s Kitchen.

Aaron Jungreis, Rosewood Realty Group

Aaron Jungreis represented both the buyer, Black Spruce Management and the seller, The Orbach Group. The properties are clustered on West 49^th St., between Eighth and Ninth Aves. They would be entirely adjacent, if not for a co-op building and the one-story home of Brazilian steakhouse Churrascaria Plataforma, which are not included in the portfolio.

The portfolio spans 136,000 s/f and contains 273 rental apartments, the majority of them market-rate. The addresses are 308-310 and 318-340 West 49^th St. Black Spruce plans to continue operating the apartments as rentals, sources said, despite the portfolio’s potential for redevelopment.

It has about 75,000 s/f of air rights, but only about 10,000 s/f are usable given that the buildings are in the Special Clinton Zoning District.

The seller, Orbach Group, paid $70 million for the portfolio back in 2008. In 2011, Phoenix Realty Group purchased a majority stake from Orbach for an undisclosed price.

“The buildings have a capitalization rate of about 4%,” said  Jungreis. There are six retail spaces, which currently house tenants such as the classic barbershop Little Tony & Igor Be Good and pet store Spoiled Brats.

The all-cash deal closed on July 28^th for $800+ per s/f.

Black Spruce, which focuses primarily on rentals in the Bronx and Brooklyn, has been expanding into Manhattan. Roughly two-dozen blocks south, the real estate investment firm closed in May on the acquisition of a 13-building, 135-unit Chelsea portfolio for $80 million.

Last year, Black Spruce was the majority buyer of Normandy Real Estate Partners and Westbrook Partners’ 42-building “Three Borough Pool” multifamily portfolio, spanning the Bronx, Brooklyn and Manhattan. The firm has since sold some of the buildings.