Emerald Equity Group continues to make some of the biggest splashes in New York's multifamily market.
The firm, founded by Isaac Kassirer in 2014, is under contract to purchase three contiguous multifamily buildings on the Upper West Side for a total of nearly $100M. New Jersey-based The Orbach Group has agreed to sell 210, 220 and 230 West 107th St. to Emerald, The Real Deal reports. The Orbach Group purchased the buildings from The Dermot Co. for $70M in 2013. Rosewood Realty Group brokered Orbach's sale to Emerald.
The three buildings contain a total of 178 apartments, all of which are rent-stabilized, much like Emerald's purchase of the Dawnay Day portfolio in Harlem in 2016. Combined with the renovation plans for his Bronx workforce housing portfolio, Kassirer has established himself as a buyer focused on long-term occupancy, rather than value-add transactions, which come with more potential profit but substantially more risk.
The Upper West Side and Harlem portfolio acquisitions rank among the most valuable multifamily transactions of the past two years, as Emerald has entered Manhattan in loud fashion after beginning its life with a focus on Brooklyn and the Bronx. Aside from the massive, controversial sale of Starrett City, the only other multifamily acquisition north of $100M in 2017 has been the purchase of 42 buildings in Sunset Park by Fairstead Capital, which sold the Dawnay Day portfolio to Emerald.
