Quail Ridge in Plainsboro — Courtesy: HFF
By Joshua Burd
The Kushner Cos.’ acquisition of a garden apartment complex near Princeton was not only the state’s largest single-asset deal of 2017, but among the top 20 nationwide in a newly released list of multifamily investment sales.
The analysis by Yardi Matrix, a commercial real estate research and data platform, identified the $146 million trade of Quail Ridge apartments in Plainsboro as the 16th-largest single-asset deal in the country to close last year. The Kushner Cos. announced in mid-September that it had acquired the property from Angelo, Gordon & Co. L.P. and Candlebrook Properties LLC.
At the time, Kushner Cos. President Laurent Morali called the deal “an outstanding opportunity to continue the expansion of our multifamily portfolio while helping to improve an already great community,” touting it as an investment “where we see significant potential value.”
Two months later, the deal gained new attention when Bloomberg reported that Kushner had made the acquisition with a preferred equity investment from Psagot Investment House, Israel’s largest asset manager, and another unnamed partner. Multiple outlets also noted that Kushner had previously owned Quail Ridge before selling it in 2006 to help finance its acquisition of 666 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.
The HFF-brokered sale of Quail Ridge was the only New Jersey deal in Yardi’s top 20, which was led by a Blackstone affiliate’s $231 million acquisition of a 615-unit complex in Alameda, California. For the year, the research firm said Blackstone closed seven deals for a total of $2 billion in multifamily investments.
Yardi also compiled a ranking that included portfolio sales rather than only single-asset deals, which pushed the Quail Ridge transaction down to No. 36.
At the time, Kushner announced the deal as a $190 million transaction, but that amount included the assumption of debt from a previous loan from AIG.
Kushner Cos. buying Plainsboro rental complex for $190 million
