The Kaufman Organization Looks East For New Capital Partner
Investing $60M in equity for four Flatiron office buildings—19 West 24th, 13 West 27th, 45 West 27th and 119-125 West 24th St—Chinese financial services firm China Orient Asset Management has been brought on as a capital partner for the Kaufman Organization.
According to Kaufman New Ventures president Fredric Leffel, China Orient was brought on because Kaufman’s original partner, Iowa-based Principal Real Estate Investors, was looking for a shorter-term, $34M investment, but Kaufman wanted a partner who will own the properties for the long term, The Real Deal reports.
“We think we can benefit from this value-added real estate as it finishes up leasing,” China Orient Asset Management US real estate managing director Roy Chen told the Wall Street Journal. This is the Chinese firm’s 11th investment in NYC since coming to the city in 2014.
Kaufman and Principal acquired the buildings—totaling 341k SF—from Gary Barnett’s Extell Development two years ago. Extell originally snagged the buildings as part of Frank Ring’s 13-building portfolio. With 99-year ground leases, Kaufman has renovated the properties and begun leasing office and retail. [TRD]
