Elliott Investment Management Provides $196M Refi for Chelsea Multifamily Asset
The loan refinances Ruby, a mixed-income luxury rental at 243 West 28th Street
By Brian Pascus July 13, 2023 12:56 pm
reprints
MaryAnne Gilmartin’s MAG Partners has secured a $196 million refinancing loan for its 480-unit mixed-income luxury rental project in the heart of Manhattan’s West Chelsea neighborhood.
The financing was provided by funds managed by Elliott Investment Management, which holds approximately $55.2 billion in assets under management, in a joint venture with an investment platform formed by Adi Chugh, CEO of Surya Capital Partners.
The refinancing retires an existing $173 million construction loan MAG Partners secured from Madison Realty Capital in October 2020, and comes as the luxury rental building — known as Ruby, and located at 243 West 28th Street — has achieved 40 percent leasing capacity less than four months after opening.
“Our belief in this project and this city have been proven by the demand we are seeing for Ruby,” Gilmartin, founder and CEO of MAG Partners, said in a statement. “We are proud to have brought these beautiful homes to market through a remarkable time in New York City.”
Matthew Villetto, executive vice president, Douglas Elliman Development Marketing, handles leasing at the project. Viletto told Commercial Observer that both the leasing volume and rent performance at Ruby have been “unprecedented.”
He added that rents for the studios have entered the $5,000-per-month range, one-bedrooms are in the $7,000-per-month range, and that two-bedrooms have hovered between $10,000 and $15,000 per month since leasing began in late March.
“It’s a testament to the strength of the New York City market and the flight to quality and the specific quality this building is offering,” Villetto said. “It’s just a really spectacular and unique proposition that the marketplace is responding very well to.”
The two-tower property also includes 8,500 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Building amenities include a rooftop pool, a private lobby garden, a fitness room, a club lounge, and a second-floor garden. Roughly 30 percent of the building’s 480 rental units are reserved for affordable housing.
This is the first New York City project for Gilmartin’s MAG Partners, which she founded in July 2020. MAG Partners has designed, built and operated more than 7 million square feet of office, residential and mixed-use projects, including more than 2,000 units of housing, for a total value in excess of $4.5 billion.
The West Chelsea project is a joint venture among MAG Partners, Safanad, Atalaya Capital Management and Qualitas. Safanad is a global holding company located in New York City and Dubai that has invested more than $10 billion in various real estate, education, health care and digital infrastructure projects since 2009. Atalaya Capital Management is a New York City-based alternative investment advisory firm with $5 billion in assets. Qualitas is a leading real estate investment firm in Australia that has a book valued at $8.5 billion.
Ruby highlights yet another headline between MAG Partners and Safanad. The two firms formed a non-exclusive joint venture agreement in November 2020 to pursue New York City real estate projects together for ground-up development or active management.
“We believe the success of the Ruby is indicative of the resiliency of the New York City multifamily market and demonstrates the strength of our partnership with MAG Partners,” Andrew Trickett, head of investments at Safanad, said in a statement.
MAG Partners has its eyes fixed on more New York City developments. The firm recently began demolition for two more mixed-income residential projects: one at 335 Eighth Avenue in Chelsea and another at 300 East 50th Street near the United Nations.
Brian Pascus can be reached at bpascus@commercialobserver.com
