Canadian REIT Buys Brooklyn Medical Office For $90M: The N.Y. Deal Sheet
Toronto-based Vital Infrastructure Property Trust is setting its sights on medical office buildings as it repositions itself in the U.S.
The REIT spent 126.7M Canadian dollars ($89.9M) on a 149K SF medical office building in East New York as part of its efforts to chase opportunities it sees south of its home country’s border, it said in a press release.
The East New York Health Hub is anchored by Emblem Health, which has a 70K SF lease at 101 Pennsylvania Ave., according to CoStar data. Its tenant roster also includes AdvantageCare Physicians, which has 10K SF with 11 years left on its lease, as well as New York Cancer & Blood Specialists, Lenox Hill Radiology, New York Health, Advanced Dermatology and Quest Diagnostics.
The sale has yet to be recorded by the city. Property records identify a company owned by Brooklyn-based developer Jonas Rudofsky as the building's most recent owner.
“I’m very happy for Vital,” Rudofsky told Bisnow by phone, adding that it took 20 years to develop the facility. “I’m really happy that we put a medical center on that corner instead of a self-storage facility, and it's something I'll always be very proud of.”
Dominion Management Co. came on board as a partner for Rudofsky, taking a 50% stake in the property at the time, the New York Real Estate Journal reported in 2016.
Newmark's Ben Appel, Adam Spies, Jay Miele, Justin Shepherd, John Nero, Adam Doneger, Matt Berres, Michael Greeley, Ron Ott, Conor Hilton and Drew Martin all represented the buyer and seller. Newmark declined to comment.
The move is part of Vital’s focus on expanding its outpatient healthcare infrastructure portfolio in North America, the firm’s head of investor relations, Steven Hong, said in an email. It has 12 U.S. properties, excluding the East New York building.
“We believe the U.S. presents an attractive opportunity today given its large and highly fragmented healthcare real estate market, favourable demographic trends, and the continued shift of healthcare delivery from inpatient settings to lower-cost outpatient environments,” Hong wrote.
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