Last week, in a public filing, New York-based Brookfield Property Partners announced that it was under contract to purchase 3,962 apartment units in Upper Manhattan.
"In July, we executed definitive agreements to acquire a 4,000 unit multifamily portfolio located in Manhattan had a very attractive evaluation relative to replacement cost," said CEO Ric Clark, in his second quarter earnings call, which was transcribed by Seeking Alpha.
The Real Deal reported the company's intentions to buy the $1 billion, 3,962-unit Putnam portfolio earlier this year.The portfolio originally changed hands in 2007, during an era of mega-deals before the recession. Unlike Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village, the portfolio did not go into default.
"Each of the assets in this portfolio is positioned to benefit from unique growth characteristics within its local submarket," Clark said on the call. "With our institutional partners, we will invest $350 million in this transaction .... which is expected to close in September."
The purchase would give Brookfield more than 26,000 units, which would put it at No. 46 on the NMHC 50 Owners list. But more growth could be coming in the future, including an 850-unit tower in Manhattan.
"Given our success within the multifamily sector and the synergy with our central business district office holdings, we are expanding our focus within the apartment space to some of the major urban markets, but we have a sizable presence," Clark said on the call.
Brookfield's multifamily occupancy was at 93.5 percent in the second quarter, while rents moved two percent in the quarter.
"We’re continuing to create value within our 22,000 unit apartment holdings by executing our renovation program returns unlevered returns of 20-percent through rent increases," Clatk said on the call.
Brookfield did not respond to Multifamily Executive's request for comment for this story.
