Summit Properties Offers $451M for 5K-Unit Pinnacle Portfolio

The bankruptcy saga surrounding thousands of apartments owned by Pinnacle Group might be nearing its end, as Summit Properties USA has agreed to buy the portfolio of more than 5,000 units for $451.3 million.

There is a caveat, however, that could curtail the transaction, prolonging this messy saga even further.

In March 2025, Flagstar Bank filed four separate pre-foreclosure actions against roughly 5,200 units in Pinnacle’s 8,700-unit New York City portfolio for loans totaling over $600 million, as Commercial Observer reported at the time.   

Two months later, Pinnacle placed roughly 5,000 units into bankruptcy due to approximately $574.4 million in debt, as CO reported. 

Pinnacle Group CEO Joel Wiener filed bankruptcy petitions for 82 entities controlling 91 properties throughout four of the five boroughs — all but Staten Island.

In the filing, Wiener blamed the need to file on the cost to cover debt service that rose 75 percent over the previous two years, according to Bisnow. The outlet also reported the complete debt owed by companies owned by Weiner as over $1.1 billion, which was owed to both Flagstar Bank and Israeli bondholders.  

Wiener’s chief restructuring officer, Arbel Capital Advisors founder Ephraim Diamond, noted in the filing that interest on the loans had skyrocketed, “driving the rates from below 4 percent to more than 10 percent in some instances.” Due to this, debt payments rose from $26 million in 2023 to around $45 million in 2025, according to Bisnow. 

In September, Wiener announced that buildings hosting approximately 5,100 units would be put up for auction, according to Bloomberg. Pinnacle’s lawyers noted in a Sept. 19 court filing that “they’ll market the properties for a potential bankruptcy auction and also solicit offers for a potential refinancing.” The filing also noted that any deal would not impact existing tenant leases, and that Pinnacle’s advisers had retained Eastdil Secured to identify and contact potential third-party bidders.  

Summit Gold is now the stalking horse bidder for the approximately 5,100 units across New York City. The auction is scheduled for Jan. 8, according to Bloomberg, which was first to report the news of Summit’s acquisition of the portfolio.   

The purchase amount could be reduced to around $420 million if Flagstar doesn’t agree to finance the purchase price, according to Bloomberg. 

That said, there is potential for a competing bidder — tenants from the buildings themselves. The Union of Pinnacle Tenants, composed of tenants from 40 of Pinnacle’s bankrupt buildings, are examining ways to potentially buy some of the buildings themselves, according to Brick Underground. Tenants from many of Pinnacle’s properties have complained for years of neglect and failure to provide upkeep, citing bugs, mold, burst pipes, nonworking elevators and more. 

Now that Summit has made an offer, the tenants have until Jan. 11 to file an objection to the sale in bankruptcy court, according to Bisnow. 

Representatives for Summit and the Union of Pinnacle Tenants did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Pinnacle could not be reached for comment, and Eastdil Secured declined to comment.

Larry Getlen can be reached at lgetlen@commercialobserver.com.