Stonehenge NYC Buys Upper East Side Apartment Complex for $115M
By Celia Young January 24, 2023 1:03 pm
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A 32-story Upper East Side rental tower just got a new owner, and renewed questions about its affordability, Commercial Observer has learned.
Stonehenge NYC picked up the 196-unit building at 408 East 92nd Street for about $115 million from UBS on Monday, as the property nears the end of an agreement to keep 20 percent of its apartments rent stabilized, according to a source with knowledge of the deal.
The tower, dubbed RiverEast, benefits from the state’s now-expired 421a program. But after the deal expires in 2026 Stonehenge can either convert all the apartments to market-rate housing or extend the affordability commitment for another 15 years as long as it makes 25 percent of the units rent stabilized, The Real Deal reported.
Stonehenge hasn’t decided if it will keep the affordability component, the source said. A spokesperson for Stonehenge did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A representative for UBS declined to comment.
RiverEast’s apartments rent for up to $7,000 a month for a two-bedroom unit, though its affordable homes are capped at $931 a month for households making no more than $51,560 a year, according to the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development and RiverEast’s website.
UBS bought the 194,000-square-foot building for $94.8 million in 2006 and started marketing the tower for sale last year, though the deal closed for slightly less than the $120 to $125 million UBS hoped to get, TRD reported.
Eastdil Secured’s Gary Phillips, Will Silverman and Daniel Parker brokered the purchase. Eastdil did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Stonehenge bought RiverEast debt-free, and Eastdil is currently shopping for acquisition financing, according to the source.
Celia Young can be reached at cyoung@commercialobserver.com.
