Apollo Real Estate Advisors has purchased the 1,590-unit Knickerbocker Village affordable housing complex, a source with knowledge of the deal said. The sale price was in the range of $200 million. The Monroe Street complex, built in 1934 a few blocks from the East River, is owned by Knickerbocker Village Inc, which in turn is controlled by Cherry Green Property Corp.
An Apollo spokeswoman declined to comment. Officials at Cherry Green Property did not immediately return a phone call.
The owners have been trying since at least 2002 to have the apartments deregulated. The property is the only New York City rental subject to Article 4 under the state's Private Financing Housing Law, which tightly restricts rents.
Tenants have had a tense relationship with Cherry Green Property. They have said a high sale price could force out residents who could not afford either high rents or a high price of a co-op.
Knickerbocker Village Tenants Association member Robert Wilson said that "hopefully they won't be as antagonistic towards the tenants as the other owners have been."
In July, Department of Housing and Community Renewal spokesman Dan Irizarry said there appeared to be no precedent for a conversion from an Article 4 rental to an Article 4 co-op.
Rents for one-bedrooms in Knickerbocker Village average about $700 in a neighborhood where landlords can get more than $3,000 or more for similar spaces, residents say.
After several years of legal wrangling, in 2006 DHCR ruled that the property could be transferred to a private entity and then be subject to the less strict rent-stabilization laws.
However, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Walter Tolub ruled in favor of the tenants, who had sought an annulment of that decision. A New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division four-judge panel heard the Knickerbocker Village Inc. appeal on Tuesday in Manhattan. A ruling date is not known.
Source: TheRealDeal.net