GO Partners Closes on 3 NYC Towers in $850M Deal

GO Partners has closed on the purchase of three NYC apartment towers in Manhattan from Soloviev Group for $850M, part of a larger deal to buy up to $1.75B in property from the portfolio of the late developer Sheldon Solow, now being managed by his son Stefan under the name of Soloviev.

The tranche finalized this week includes One Sutton Place North, Two Sutton Place North and One East River Place, towers encompassing a total of 850 units.

A JLL team brokered the sale of the properties. Cushman & Wakefield arranged the financing.

In September, GO Partners, a joint venture formed by developers Meyer Orbach’s Orbach Affordable Housing and Josh Gotlib’s Black Spruce Management, closed on a 408-unit apartment building a 685 First Avenue for $390 million.

According to reports, the partners expect to close on two more NYC buildings from the Solow portfolio.

GO Partners have been on a buying spree of NYC multifamily assets since the formation of the venture last year. Their acquisitions include the $837M purchase in March of the American Copper Buildings at 626 First Avenue in Manhattan’s Murray Hill section.

The American Copper property—twin towers connected by a three-story glass-sheathed skyway was sold by owners JDS Development and the Baupost Group. In addition to the 300-foot-high air bridge, the buildings have 600 market-rate units and 160 rent-stablized apartments.

Last week, Soloviev Group announced plans to build a casino and 1,000-room hotel on a waterfront site just south of the United Nations building on Manhattan’s East Side. The proposal, known as Freedom Plaza, includes a Ferris wheel and a Democracy Museum.

Sheldon Solow acquired the six-acre site for the proposed casino from Consolidated Edison in 2000 for $600M. A century-old steam plant that produced electricity originally occupied the land.

Soloviev Group is in discussions with several Las Vegas-based gaming firms to partner on the casino bid, CEO Michael Hershman told Bloomberg.