Kushner Cos. Acquiring Privately Held REIT for $280 Mil

FLORHAM PARK, NJ-The Kushner Cos. has been in the news a lot recently with a number of transactions that have made it one of the fastest-growing real estate organizations in the Northeast, no mean feat in this super-heating market. No recent deal has been bigger for the Florham Park, NJ-based Kushner than its acquisition, just announced, of Freehold, NJ-based WNY Group. Entering the Kushner fold, the self-administered and self-managed REIT will bring an apartment portfolio of 8,000 units in 42 properties and a price tag of $280 million.

WNY’s residential portfolio is spread throughout New Jersey (Cherry Hill, Marlton, Eatontown), Delaware, Pennsylvania and Maryland, and it will boost Kushner’s own residential portfolio to more than 20,000 units. That, in any language, makes it one of the largest privately owned multifamily owners in the country. The acquisition will also add 300 staffers to Kushner’s existing base of 500 employees.

“WNY has consistently improved and maintained its portfolio and has enjoyed high occupancy levels,” says Charles Kushner, chairman of the company that bears his name. “That portfolio includes some of the most desirable apartment communities in their markets.”