Canvas Picks Up Gramercy Apartment Buildings for $105M

A joint venture has bought a pair of connected apartment buildings in Gramercy for $104.5 million, according to property records.

Canvas Property Group partnered with Declaration Partners and Tokyu Land U.S. to pick up 210-220 East 22nd Street from PGIM Real Estate in a deal that closed on Oct. 16 but was made public Monday, according to property records and brokers JLL (JLL). Tokyu Land also provided a $60 million loan to the joint venture for the purchase, city records and JLL said.

“Canvas is thrilled to launch its partnership with Declaration Partners and Tokyu Land U.S.,” Robert Morgenstern, founder of Canvas, said in a statement. “Our firm has extensive experience owning and operating luxury multifamily in Gramercy Park … We are pleased to add this asset to our growing portfolio.”

A spokesperson for PGIM did not respond to a request for comment.

The seven-story East 22nd Street buildings between Third and Second avenues contain a combined 204 studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments and are 95 percent occupied, according to JLL. They were developed in 1982 and 1930, ConnectCRE reported.

“Gramercy Park has historically been, and continues to be, one of the most supply-constrained markets in New York City,” JLL’s Rob Hinckley, who brokered the deal with Andrew Scandalios, Jeffrey Julien and Steven Rutman, said in a statement.

PGIM bought the buildings from Broad Street Development for $123 million in 2015 and put them up for sale in April, according to property records and ConnectCRE.

While Canvas mainly focuses on property management, it isn’t Morgenstern’s only real estate venture. Morgenstern launched Canvas Investment Partners in July 2022 as a joint venture between Apollo Global Management co-founder Josh Harris and Al Tylis, Morgenstern’s partner at property management firm Canvas Property Group, The Real Deal reported.

Canvas started with the goal to drop between $1 billion and $1.5 billion on multifamily properties around New York and other cities, thanks to an investment from Harris’s family firm, HRS Management, according to TRD.

Morgenstern told TRD it was targeting high-quality properties for $100 million and up.

While Canvas Investment Partners was listed in property records as tied to the LLC that bought the East 22nd Street properties, a spokesperson for Morgenstern said Harris was not involved in the purchase.

Update: This story has been updated to include that Declaration Partners and Tokyu Land U.S. were also the buyers and that Josh Harris was not involved in the deal.

Nicholas Rizzi can be reached at nrizzi@commercialobserver.com.