(Bloomberg)—Manhattan’s American Copper Buildings, a pair of luxury apartment towers, are being sold for roughly $850 million in one of New York’s biggest residential deals since the pandemic began, according to people familiar with the matter.
Owners JDS Development Group and Baupost Group are in contract to sell the Murray Hill buildings to Manhattan-based Black Spruce Management, said people, who asked not to be named because the details are private. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2022, the people said.
A Cushman & Wakefield team led by Doug Harmon and Adam Spies were the brokers for the transaction. Representatives for JDS and Baupost didn’t respond to requests for comment. Black Spruce and Cushman declined to comment.
Manhattan’s rental market has bounced back after taking a hit early in the pandemic, with young people returning to the city and employers calling workers back to offices. The median rent jumped 23% from a year earlier to $3,369, a record increase, according to a report Thursday by appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate. Still, rents are below where they were two years ago.
The American Copper towers, located on the East River waterfront, are connected by a three-story bridge 300 feet (91 meters) in the air. The properties have about 600 market-rate and 160 rent-stabilized units. The amenities include a rooftop infinity pool, hot tub and a sky bar.
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