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Successful Sale of 1179-1183 Second Avenue in Turtle Bay, Manhattan
Bob Knakal successfully closed the sale of a prime development site located at 1179-1183 Second Avenue, in the highly desirable Turtle Bay neighborhood of Manhattan. The property was part of a larger portfolio that also included two large white brick apartment buildings. These buildings, constructed in the 1970s, were located on two prominent Upper East Side corners, while the development site boasted frontage on both Second Avenue and East 62nd Street.
The family that owned these valuable assets had already received portfolio offers of around $345 million for all three properties combined but decided to engage Bob Knakal to maximize the returns through a formal sales process which helped them get $375 million for the portfolio.
Sale Details
The apartment buildings were sold for $310 million to a family office, while the development site at 1179-1183 Second Avenue sold for $65 million to a condo developer who had been actively acquiring properties in the neighborhood. The combined sale price reached $375 million, more than $30 million above the portfolio offers the family had received prior to retaining Bob and his team.
Sale Price: $65,000,000 (Development Site)
Portfolio Price: $375,000,000
Seller: Family-Owned Portfolio
Buyer (Development Site): Condo Developer
Buyer (Apartment Buildings): Family Office
Seller Type: High-Net-Worth Family
Asset Type: Development Site and Multifamily Apartment Buildings
Portfolio Overview
The Upper East Side Portfolio included:
- Two large white brick apartment buildings with 334 apartments and a total of 362,000 square feet.
- The development site at 1179-1183 Second Avenue, which wrapped around the small building on the northwest corner of 62nd Street and Second Avenue.
These assets presented a tremendous opportunity for both multifamily investors and condo developers in one of Manhattan’s most prestigious and high-demand neighborhoods.
Marketing Strategy and Process
From the start, Bob Knakal and his team had a strong relationship with the family, based on trust and a long history of working together. The sellers were keen to implement a structured sales process, interviewing several brokerage companies before deciding to retain Bob’s team.
The strategy involved presenting the family with a shortlist of over 250 potential buyers for the apartment buildings, narrowed down from their total residential investor list of over 2,400. The sellers, impressed by Bob’s deep market knowledge and the detailed profiles of each potential investor, chose not to interview any other firms after the presentation.
Bob convinced the sellers that two separate transactions – selling the apartment buildings and the development site independently – would yield higher overall proceeds than a single portfolio sale. This approach led to a substantial increase in the total sale price.
Neighborhood Overview
Midtown East and the Upper East Side have consistently been two of Manhattan’s most desirable neighborhoods for both multifamily and condominium development. With strong demand for luxury living and prime real estate, both asset types present substantial long-term value for investors. The sale of the Upper East Side Portfolio exemplifies the robust demand for well-located assets and the potential to maximize returns through strategic, targeted marketing.
Conclusion
The sale of the Upper East Side Portfolio is a testament to Bob Knakal’s unparalleled knowledge of New York City’s development landscape and the multifamily apartment sale market. By implementing a strategic sales process and dividing the assets into separate transactions, Bob’s team was able to generate over $30 million more than the initial portfolio offers, resulting in a highly successful outcome for the sellers.
Testimonial
“The prices obtained for these assets are a testament to the knowledge possessed by Bob Knakal and his team, of the development landscape in New York City, as well as a profound understanding of the multifamily apartment building sale market in New York. Given the constraints on this process, the results were absolutely remarkable.”
– Peter Davidson, Davidson and Davidson
Learn More About Manhattan Real Estate Development
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