Blackstone and Ivanhoé Cambridge are jointly investing in New York housing.
The joint venture between the investment manager and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec subsidiary declined to disclose how much it paid CW Capital for the scheme, known as Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village (STPCV).
STPCV will be held by Ivanhoé Cambridge and Blackstone’s core real estate fund, Blackstone Property Partners.
The transaction is expected to close by year-end.
The scheme was previously owned by Tishman Speyer and BlackRock, having jointly paid former owner and creator MetLife $5.4bn (€4.7bn) in 2006, using $4.4bn of debt.
The California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) and the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) invested in the lower-Manhattan development.
Lenders took possession of the scheme in 2010 following a default.
Almost a decade after that deal, Blackstone and Ivanhoé Cambridge are reported to have paid as much as the 80-acre scheme’s last sale price.
The scheme includes 11,241 apartments, with many subject to rent controls until 2020, put in place following a litigation case.
Around half of the complex’s apartments are leased at market-rate – as high as $10,000 per month, with 5,000 apartments at below-market level.
Under the agreement, Blackstone and Ivanhoé Cambridge will ensure rental apartments remain affordable to “moderate and middle-income families for at least the next 20 years”.
Daniel Fournier, chairman and chief executive at Ivanhoé Cambridge, said: “We have more capital at work in New York than in any other city in the world.
“We are delighted to invest in this exceptional property in partnership with Blackstone, and, together with them, we look forward to building sustainable long-term relations with the community and our tenants.”
