The buyer, an undisclosed local investment firm, will continue to run the residential, mostly rent stabilized apartments and retains the Metropolitan Center for Mental Health as a tenant in the basement-level commercial space.

1090 St. Nicholas Avenue

“The buyer was drawn to this property because of its proximity to the hospitals, which are just around the corner,” said Marcus & Millichap’s Peter Von Der Ahe, who brokered both sides of the transaction with Scott Edelstein and Sean Lefkovits.  “It’s a great play on their part – there will eventually be upside in the residential units and the large commercial space that’s already leased out to the medical group provides them with a healthy chunk of stable income.”

The residential units in the building are mostly rent stabilized, with rents that fall 15 percent below market rate, which ultimately could land higher rents with upgrades and renovations, as a wealthier populace made up of medical professionals filters into the neighborhood.

“The new developments and services coming into the area are drawing workers from all over the city,” Mr. Von Der Ahe said.  “Over time the buyer will reposition the property, which means a higher quality of tenant made up of nurses, medical students, and other people from the medical industry.”

The neighborhood is anchored by a number of medical institutions – including New York-Presbyterian Hospital, where Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was recently treated for a blood clot in her brain.

Peter Von Der Ahe

The university hospital is affiliated with two Ivy League medical schools – Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons and Weill Cornell Medical College – and it is made up of two distinct medical centers, Columbia University Medical Center and Weill Cornell Medical Center.

The Metropolitan Center for Mental Health, the basement tenant at 1090 St. Nicholas Avenue, offers low cost psychological treatment for people with emotional problems and provides affordable mental health services and training opportunities to the medical community.