Eight bidders submitted offers earlier this month. According to published reports, the four finalists include: the NHP Foundation, a nonprofit housing developer, in partnership with the Related Cos.; the Rev. Floyd H. Flake's Greater Allen Cathedral Housing Corp., along with JPMorgan Chase; the Housing Partnership Development Corp., the Cogsville Group, the Clarett Group, the Christian Cultural Center and Aimco; and the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty, the New York City Central Labor Council, Westbrook Partners, Phipps Houses, Provident Resources and possibly Touro College, which is interested in building a school at Starrett City.
Last year, elected officials and tenant groups blocked the $1.3-billion bid of Starrett City to private developer, Clipper Equities, as GlobeSt.com previously reported. Since then, the owners reached an agreement with officials to ensure the complex remains affordable.
Hugh Finnegan, an attorney in the real estate group at Sullivan & Worcester LLP, tells GlobeSt.com that "the bidders had to be a combination of private real estate companies and not-for-profit agencies. The public relations disaster of the previous deal necessitated this result."
GlobeSt.com previously reported that the memorandum of understanding between government officials and the owners of Starrett City here earlier this week, to sustain affordable housing in the development, could lessen potential suitors for the asset. Jay Neveloff, an attorney and partner at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel representing the owner, told GlobeSt.com, that likely bidders could include joint ventures between a group with an affordable-housing focus and another entity interested in its commercial space, including a 142,000-sf shopping center and vast tracts of developable land. "What you'll see is a more focused group of buyers," he said.
As previously predicted by Finnegan, the price this time around will most likely be lower than before "because of the limit of upside and because of the credit crunch, thus requiring more equity than under the original deal," he says. "It is unlikely that any offer will match the Clipper [Equities] price."
A spokesman for Recap Advisers, which is handling the sale, confirmed to GlobeSt.com that there are four bidders, but he could not disclose their identities or further information at this time. Related Cos. tells GlobeSt.com that it is "not commenting on Starrett." Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty tells GlobeSt.com that "we confirm our bid on Starrett City." The Rev. Floyd Flake's Great Allen A.M.E. Cathedral of New York, and Christian Cultural Center were unable to be reached by deadline. The Cogsville Group, the Clarrett Group, the Housing Partnership Development Corp., Westbrook Partners, the NHP Foundation, Phipps Houses, and J.P. Morgan Chase did not return GlobeSt.com queries by deadline.
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Natalie Dolce
Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com and GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.
