In fact, knowledgeable sources say that as many as three candidates remain in the running for the 14-building, 1.56-million-sf portfolio, including Reckson Associates Realty Corp., a Melville-based REIT, and Heritage Realty Services, LLC of New York City, which reportedly paid nearly $200 per sf earlier this year for 2 and 4 Gannett Dr. in White Plains.
A spokesman for Reckson states that the company has no comment on buzz in the market that it had acquired the portfolio, noting, "Reckson would not be in a position to discuss deals not done."
George Constantin, a principal of Heritage Realty Services, had no comment on those reports as well.
Officials with Cushman & Wakefield, which is handling the sale of the portfolio for AEW Capital Management L.P., a representative of the owner of EastRidge Properties, had no comment on the status of the sale. The portfolio was developed in the late 1960s, 1970s and 1980s and owned by Schulman Realty. It was acquired by the General Motors Pension Fund in May 1992.
In an exclusive report published in July on GlobeSt.com, which first reported C&W' as the exclusive sales agent for the portfolio, Cushman & Wakefield executive vice president Andrew Merin said a buyer could possibly be identified by September. At the time the property was put on the market for sale it had an occupancy rate of about 78%.
While there have been some rumblings in the market since the summer about which firm might be in the lead for the portfolio and even some reports that Reckson had taken itself out of the bidding contest, no deal has been finalized to date, sources say.
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.