NEW YORK CITY–Benchmark Real Estate Group has acquired a 55-unit mixed-use apartment building in the East Village for $57 million. The deal was done with the help of financing from Mesa West Capital, which was arranged by Estreich & Co'sJon Estreich, founder and president; and Chris Barnet, broker.
The 12-story building, 55 Third Ave., sits at the southeast corner of Third avenue and 11th street and features 55 one-bedroom rental units, and 10,500 square feet of retail space. The retail space—which is currently 100% occupied by three tenants—includes the lower east side location of the Smith, a popular American Brasserie with three locations throughout Manhattan.
“We are excited to make 55 Third Avenue the first acquisition of Benchmark Western Real Estate Fund I, an $80 million investment vehicle raised to target multi-family value-add opportunities in Manhattan,” says Benchmark co-founder and managing member Jordan Vogel.
A portion of the proceeds from Mesa West Capital's $45 million first mortgage loan will be used by Benchmark for capital improvements, which include extensive in-unit renovations, common area upgrades, and the addition of a modern lobby and amenity building.
"Our financing allowed Benchmark to capitalize on an opportunity to buy a well located building with tremendous potential in a very tight East Village submarket," adds Mesa West's Russell Frahm, who led the New York-based origination team. "Little has been done to the building since it was built in 1986, and the planned improvements will allow Benchmark to achieve rents in line with the high end residential market of the East Village and Union Square. Benchmark has a demonstrated track record of rebranding and repositioning multifamily properties in New York and we believe they will do the same with this asset."
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Rayna Katz
Rayna Katz is a seasoned business journalist whose extensive experience includes coverage of the lodging sector, travel and the culinary space. She was most recently content director for a business-to-business publisher, overseeing four publications. While at Meeting News, a travel trade publication, she received a Best Reporting award for a story on meeting cancellations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
