AEW Buys 375-Unit Apartment Building in NYC from Gotham Organization

By Gail Kalinoski, Contributing Editor

AEW Capital Management has acquired New Gotham, a 375-unit rental building at 520 W. 43^rd St. on Manhattan’s West Side from the Gotham Organization and its investor member AIG Affordable Housing for a reported $170 million.

AEW purchased the multi-family building in the Midtown West/Hell’s Kitchen submarket on behalf of AEW Core Property Trust (U.S.), an open-end core real estate fund.

The 34-story building was constructed in 1998 and is located just north of the massive Hudson Yards multi-use project being developed by Related Cos. and Oxford Properties Group. The 13 million-square-foot development will feature office, residential, retail and cultural space and transform the area into a new neighborhood.

“AEW is excited about the potential of this exciting neighborhood adjacent to Hudson Yards and the opportunity to acquire this Class A building,” Dan Bradley, portfolio manager for AEW Core Property Trust, said in a prepared statement. “We believe that the property will continue to increase in value as the Hudson Yards development moves forward, creating a brand new city within a city that is truly a live, work and play destination.”

CBRE’s Darcy Stacom, Paul Leibowitz and Bill Shanahan represented the Gotham Organization.

“Gotham Organization had commenced a renovation program, bringing New Gotham up to the booming standards of this vibrant neighborhood,” Stacom said in a CBRE news release. “AEW is expected to work upon the exceptional foundation Gotham Organization has provided.”

The New York Post, which first reported the sale price of the property as $170 million, also noted that lobby and lounge renovations had been completed at the apartment building, resulting in rent increases. Rents range from $2,495 for a studio to $4,450 for a two-bedroom unit, according to the newspaper.

AEW, founded in 1981, provides real estate management services to investors across the globe. The company and its affiliates manage more than $36 billion of capital invested in $49.7 billion of property and securities. The global firm has offices in Boston and Los Angeles in the United States as well as in Europe and Asia.

Other multi-family acquisitions this year include the purchase of The Haven of Odenton Gateway, a 252-unit garden-style complex in Odenton, Md., and the 328-unit Artisan at Brightleaf in Durham, N.C. Early in the year, AEW teamed up with Mill Creek Residential Trust, L.L.C. and Green City Development to build a 360-unit apartment community in Alexandria, Va.