ESG Kullen does bulk condo buy in Delray Beach

ESG Kullen does bulk condo buy in Delray Beach

The deal for the 391-unit Lake Shore Drive tower is the most expensive deconversion in Chicago history

ESG Kullen just closed on a bulk condo deal in Delray Beach, and plans to immediately renovate and sell them off individually.

The New York-based real estate firm, headed by Eric Granowsky and Thomas DelPonti, paid $7.5 million for 93 units at the 275-unit Murano at Delray Beach, according to Mark Meland, an attorney who represented the firm. The seller was USO Norge Murano LLC, an affiliate of Norwegian investment firm Obligo. The deal at 15005 Michelangelo Boulevard comes out to about $81,000 a unit.

MidCap Financial Services provided an $8.4 million loan.

ESG will upgrade the condos and hopes to sell them starting in June 2019 for about $200,000 each, Granowsky said.

Records show the Obligo affiliate sold the units at a loss. It paid $8.8 million for the units in 2009.

In October, ESG bought 118 units of the 219-unit Monteverde at Renaissance in Boynton Beach for nearly $18 million.

ESG Kullen’s deconversion bid accepted by Gold Coast condo owners
 after initial rejection

ESG Kullen’s deconversion bid accepted by Gold Coast condo owners
 after initial rejection

The deal for the 391-unit Lake Shore Drive tower is the most expensive deconversion in Chicago history

If at first you don’t succeed in deconverting a condo building into apartments, try, try again.

After failing to win condo owners’ approval two weeks ago, New York-based ESG Kullen successfully bought the 391-unit tower at 1400 North Lake Shore with an eye toward turning those units into apartments, Crain’s reports.

The deal, at $112 million, will be the biggest condo-to-apartment deconversion in Chicago.

Owners of condos in the Lake Shore Drive building rejected ESG Kullen’s first offer in late July. Under state law, 75 percent of ownership needed to sign off on the sale, but only 74.6 percent did.

The firm secured the deal not by upping its price, but by agreeing to pay some owners a premium for recent renovations to their units.

One condo owner at the Gold Coast tower told Crain’s the deal was a “no-brainer.” That’s because owners will be paid about about $425 per square feet, well above recent sales prices in the building that were closer to $300.

More and more investors have been willing to pay a premium for residential towers in order to take advantage of Chicago’s hot rental market.

Recently, Marc Realty Capital attempted a similar buyout of the 449-unit River City complex, but the deal fell apart after the developer abruptly lowered its offer from $100 million to $89 million.

ESG Kullen, Angelo Gordon Conclude $128M Project

REIT firm ESG Kullen returns tens of millions to investors, demonstrating success of “de-conversion condo thesis”.

BOCA RATON, Fla. (PRWEB) September 24, 2018

Real estate investment firm ESG Kullen today announced the completion of a transaction totaling $128.1 million begun four years ago. An entity sponsored by ESG Kullen and Angelo Gordon & Co. sold 97 condominiums in the BelAire Condominiums in bulk to an entity sponsored by Axonic Capital for $12.9 million, marking the successful completion of a business plan that started in 2014.

That plan began with two bulk condominium purchases and included 120 condo buy-backs, two condominium terminations, the separation of one property into two independent properties, more than $10 million in capital improvements and, finally, the sale of all three assets.

“This is both a very exciting result for the partnership, and a validation of our de-conversion condominium thesis,” said ESG Kullen President Eric Granowsky. “I think the most gratifying part is that we dealt fairly and respectfully with each individual owner, got to know their concerns and motivations, and ultimately got to an amicable resolution.”

The partnership’s initial investments in 2014 included 279 of 356 condominiums in the Mission Club Villas on International Drive in Orlando for $31.5 million, and 392 of 522 condominiums in The BelAire Club Condominiums in Boca Raton for $43.9mm.

In July 2017, the partnership sold Mission Club Villas for $50.7 million to White Eagle. The partnership divided The BelAire Club Condominiums into two phases. It sold the first phase, The BelAire Gardens, in January of 2018 to Priderock for $64.5 million. The second and final phase, The BelAire Towers, was sold llast week to Axonic Capital for $12.9 million. All totaled, the three phases of this business plan included 791 units sold for $128.1 million or an average of $161,946/unit.

Based in New York City, ESG Kullen has been investing in Florida bulk condominiums and value-add multifamily properties since 2009. The company currently owns more than 5,000 units and is actively pursuing additional opportunities in Florida. For more information, visit ESG Kullen’s website http://www.esgkullen.com.

ESG Kullen does bulk condo buy in Delray Beach

NY firm plans to upgrade and sell units for more than twice the purchase price

ESG Kullen just closed on a bulk condo deal in Delray Beach, and plans to immediately renovate and sell them off individually.

The New York based real estate firm, headed by Eric Granowsky and Thomas DelPonti, paid $7.5 million for 93 units at the 275 unit Murano at Delray Beach, according to Mark Meland, an attorney who represented the firm. The seller was USO Norge Murano LLC, an affiliate of Norwegian investment firm Obligo. The deal at 15005 Michelangelo Boulevard comes out to about $81,000 a unit.

MidCap Financial Services provided an $8.4 million loan.

ESG will upgrade the condos and hopes to sell them starting in June 2019 for about $200,000 each, Granowsky said.

Records show the Obligo affiliate sold the units at a loss. It paid $8.8 million for the units in 2009.
In October, ESG bought 118 units of the 219 unit Monteverde at Renaissance in Boynton Beach for nearly $18 million.