The massive Stuyvesant Town apartment complex, home to 30,000 people, is on its way back to the market. Five years after being left in a state of limbo when its owners defaulted, CWCapital Asset Management, which is currently in charge of the property, is looking to sell, Bloomberg Business reports. It could fetch up to $6 billion and Blackstone Group LP is among those looking to make a move.
In 2006, Tishman Speyer and BlackRock Inc. bought Stuy Town for a record $5.4 billion, but in 2010, they defaulted on the 80-acre property after a drop in value and an inability to raise rents. Since then, loan servicer CWCapital Asset Management has been in control of the complex. Brookfield Asset Management looked at a deal that would have included conversion from rentals to condominiums, but that's apparently in the past. Last year, a $4.7 billion dollar bid by Fortress Investment Group never came to fruition, which brings us to today. CWCapital has hired Eastdil Secured LLC to market the property, which stretches from First Avenue to Avenue C and East 14th Street to East 23rd Street, and contains 110 buildings.
Residents would probably like to finally know who will really run their complex. In 2007, Tishman and BlackRock were sued for raising rents while taking city tax breaks meant to subsidize affordable housing. The 2013 settlement of that case governs rent hikes through June 2020. Beyond that is the scary world of deregulation. "The tenants are going to insist that the owners work directly with them and with the city to develop a responsible plan to protect the long-term affordability of the place," City Council Member Daniel Garodnick, a lifelong Stuy Town resident, said in an interview quoted by Bloomberg. "The ownership has changed more times in the last handful of years than it had since its creation and tenants want to see this issue resolved for good."
· NYC's Stuyvesant Town Said for Sale With Blackstone Weighing Bid [Bloomberg Business]
· Stuypocalypse Now [Curbed]
· Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village [Official]
· All Stuyvesant Town coverage [Curbed]
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