Canvas Investment Picks Up Gramercy Apartment Buildings for $105M

A recently formed joint venture focused on multifamily buildings in New York has bought a pair of connected apartment buildings in Gramercy for $104.5 million, according to property records.

Canvas Investment Partners picked up 210-220 East 22nd Street from PGIM Real Estate in a deal that closed on Oct. 16 but was made public Monday, city records show. The buyer secured a $60 million loan from Tokyu Land U.S. for the purchase, according to property records.

Spokespeople for Canvas, PGIM and Tokyu did not immediately respond to requests 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, according to ConnectCRE. They were developed in 1982 and 1930, ConnectCRE reported.

PGIM bought the buildings from Broad Street Development for $49.2 million in 2015 and put them up for sale in April, with JLL (JLL)’s Andrew Scandalios, Rob Hinckley, Jeffrey Julien and Steven Rutman leading the efforts, according to property records and ConnectCRE. A spokesperson for JLL did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

And, while Canvas is a relatively new kid on the block, it’s hardly a blank canvas and is backed by people with plenty of real estate experience. The company launched in July 2022 as a joint venture between Apollo Global Management co-founder Josh Harris and Morgenstern Capital’s Robert Morgenstern along with 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.

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