Blackstone is set to swallow up another massive New York apartment complex in a deal that, once completed, would stand as the second largest single multifamily sale in the state this year.
Blackstone’s Property Partners vehicle, an open-ended fund that has led the investment giant’s push into the New York rental market, has agreed to pay about $500 million, or approximately $382,000 per unit, for Parker Towers, in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Queens. The 1.7 million-square-foot property comprises three 20-story towers with 1,308-units, at 104-20 and 104-60 Queens Blvd. It was developed in 1960.
Newmark is negotiating the deal for the owner, the Jack Parker Corp., which is selling off about $1.5 billion of New York properties through Newmark. Newmark president Jimmy Kuhn is handling the deal with David Colen and Michael Byrne for Jack Parker Corp., the namesake of late Queens operator Jack Parker.
Parker Towers is a mix of studio to four-bedroom units. Blackstone sees it as a more affordable alternative for renters than nearby Manhattan. CoStar data pegs rent for an average one-bedroom at the property at $2,333 per month.
Only the sale of the 213-unit Belnord, at 2360 Broadway in Manhattan in March, surpasses the price Blackstone is paying for Parker Towers. A partnership between Westbrook Partners and HFZ Capital Group, both of New York, paid a whopping $650 million for that property, which they intend to convert to super-luxury for-sale condos.
Blackstone made its big entrance into the Gotham rental market in 2015, when it bought Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village for an eye-popping $5.3 billion. That sprawling 11,000-unit complex is the biggest in New York.
Since then, Blackstone’s fund has also acquired Kips Bay Court, an 894-unit complex on Manhattan’s Lower East Side for $620 million.
