Ariel Property Advisors Sells Adjacent Manhattanville Buildings for $15 M.
By Al Barbarino November 27, 2013 7:30 am
reprintsAriel Property Advisors has announced the sale of two adjoining six-story multifamily properties at 556-562 West 126th Street for $15 million, or $384,615 per unit.
The buildings, with a combined 36,599 square feet, feature 39 units, with 36 four-bedrooms, two one-bedrooms and one commercial unit and are located steps from Columbia University’s new 17-acre Manhattanville campus.
Between the Columbia project and the three-acre Manhattanville Factory District under development by the Janus Property Company, brokers anticipate a transformation of the area.
“It’s very significant because Columbia is investing a tremendous amount of capital in the vicinity,” Shimon Shkury, president of Ariel Property Advisors, told The Commercial Observer. “Both residential and commercial property owners are going to benefit.”
Mr. Shkury called Columbia’s venture an “impressive master plan,” noting that its inclusion of an “exciting street level design” reserved for retail shops and open green spaces will further energize the community.
Twenty six of the units are occupied at below market rates, presenting significant room for growth in rents as the area develops, he said.
“My assumption is that he’s going to rehab what he can and increase rents over time,” he added about the undisclosed buyer, a local investor.
Bordered by West 125th Street to West 134th Street between Broadway and 12thAvenue, the $7 billion Columbia University expansion will feature more than 6.8 million square feet of space for teaching, research, cultural, and recreational facilities.
The Manhattanville Factory District, including the Mink Building, the Sweets Building, and the 300,000-square-foot Taystee Building, is located on Amsterdam Avenue between West 125th and 128th Streets.
Additionally, other major retail, residential, and cultural developments planned for 125th Street has many touting that the east-west corridor will transform into a world-class arts, cultural, and entertainment destination.
Mr. Shkury’s team included Victor Sozio, Michael Tortorici, and Jesse Deutch, who represented the seller and procured the buyer, both real estate investors. Mr. Shkury was unable to disclose information regarding the buyer and the seller.
