Diversified real estate and private equity investment firm Pebb Capital and TriArch Real Estate Group, a New York-based real estate investment and management firm, announced today the sale of The Alabama, a 175-bed, trophy student housing asset located at 15 E. 11th St. for approximately $104 million. The transaction closed on January 31.
Located on an idyllic tree-lined block of 11 th street between Fifth Avenue and University Place in Greenwich Village, one of Manhattan’s most desirable neighborhoods, the historic pre-war building known as The Alabama was acquired by the partnership for $58 million in October 2016. The partners completely gut-renovated the building, added over 50 bed-spaces to the building’s inventory and opened its doors to the students of New York University, The New School, and the Cardozo School of Law for the 2017/2018 academic year. The Alabama was awarded the “Best Renovation of Existing Product” by Student Housing Business in 2018.
“We designed the Alabama to provide a strong value proposition and sense of community to local students and young professionals in the form of turnkey, furnished units in a fully-amenitized building with immediate proximity to campus and unparalleled train access,” said James Jago, principal at Pebb Capital. “We’re thrilled to see our vision realized for this iconic asset and our economic thesis proven for our partners as we continue to execute opportunistic business plans in an evolving market.”
The Alabama uniquely offers furnished units with modern, fully-equipped kitchens and high-speed Internet and cable included. Community amenities include an attended lobby, fitness center, 24-Hour business center with study and conference rooms, 24-hour coffee bar, on-site management, Hub by Amazon package receiver, and resident lounge. The redevelopment of The Alabama was led by Chris DeAngelis from TriArch and Todd Benson from Pebb Capital on behalf of ownership. The project was a substantial renovation that included infrastructure upgrades, building system replacements and an interior renovation of 98 apartments and the building’s common areas.
“The redevelopment of the Alabama, a 100+ year old property with existing tenants living in the building during the renovation, was completed in nine months. The expedited construction schedule was necessary in order to ensure that we were open for the Fall 2017 school year,” said Chris DeAngelis, president of TriArch. “While this timeline presented a multitude of challenges to the design and construction team, we were able to navigate those challenges together and demonstrate that the right team with the proper execution can achieve great things. Once the renovation was complete, we were proud to have created one of New York’s only privately owned, state-of-the-art off campus rental properties.”
The success of the off-campus student housing strategy led Pebb Capital and TriArch to Morningside Heights where they are co-developing a ground-up 80-unit property across from Columbia University. The project, “Monarch Heights,” is slated for completion in July 2020 to serve students for the 2020/2021 academic year. Since 2014, Pebb Capital has acquired more than 5,500 student housing beds representing approximately $350 million of transaction volume, serving over 12 universities across five states.
About Pebb Capital
Founded in 2014, Pebb Capital is a diversified, multi-strategy real estate and private equity investment firm. The firm invests across the capital stack and focuses on value-oriented and cyclically-defensive investments that generate attractive risk-adjusted returns. Since its inception, the firm has amassed a portfolio exceeding $1.5 billion of investment value across multiple ventures, including in student housing, retail, lending, hospitality, and more. For further information, visit www.pebbcap.com.
About TriArch Real Estate Group
TriArch Real Estate Group is a full-service owner and developer focused on the acquisition, management, construction and leasing of multifamily, mixed-use, office and student housing properties. Founded by Chris DeAngelis in 2008, the company currently has 140 properties under management representing over 3,000 units in New York and California. For more information about TriArch, please visit www.triarchmanage.com.