Ziel Feldman's HFZ Capital Group and Acro Real Estate Ltd. have bought the rights in a luxury residential high-rise at Second Avenue and East 51st Street in Manhattan from a financial corporation for $40 million. They bought the property after the financially troubled developed invested $110 million in the project.
The project is in the final sale stages by the receiver. 19 of the high-rise's 30 floors have already been built, and construction is due to be completed within 18 months.
The building will have 150 condominiums with an average net space of 100 square meters. Acro estimates the current market price for similar apartments in the city is between $1 million for apartments on lower floors, to $2 million for apartments on the upper floors. Prices range from $13,000 per share meter to $16,000 per share meter.
Acro said that current real estate prices in Manhattan are 25% from their peak before the economic crisis. The rights to the building were bought at a discount of about 30% on current real estate prices and at a 50% discount on the peak prices.
Acro CEO Ziv Yaakobi told "Globes" that this was the company's first investment in the US, and that the company was reviewing other deals in New York. "Acro was always focused on prime real estate in Tel Aviv, as well as in the US. Miami and Las Vegas don’t interest us. Manhattan is the real estate capital of the US, with high demand even during the crisis."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 15, 2009
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