Naftali Group Close To Finishing Assemblage For UES Development
After some time off, the Naftali Group is back in the New York acquisitions market with an assemblage play.
The New York City firm closed on the third of four consecutive parcels along Madison Avenue in the Upper East Side on Friday, The Real Deal reports. The planned assemblage at 1039-45 Madison Ave. between 79th and 80th streets, now a row of four five-story, mixed-use buildings, comes with over 60K SF of development rights.
Naftali's most recent purchase in the assembly, 1039 Madison, closed for $26M with Buchbinder & Warren as the sellers, according to TRD. The company closed on 1041 and 1045 Madison in the fall for $21M and $23M, respectively. 1039 Madison went for at least $200/SF more than its neighbors, with TRD reporting that the straggler at 1043 Madison is expected to close within two weeks.
Naftali Group founder Miki Naftali hit the pause button on land acquisitions in 2015, but after a period of low activity as sellers asked astronomical prices and lenders tightened the purse strings, it appears that conditions have again become friendly enough for Naftali to jump back in.
Naftali's assemblage is a stone's throw from a similar series of deals HFZ Capital Group has been making on Lexington Avenue, where it is keeping its cards close to the vest. Though Naftali did not comment on TRD's reporting, the company is reportedly exploring buying air rights from surrounding properties.
