In November, Benevel Management quietly closed on 772 rent-stabilized apartments spread across three Bronx towers, widening its New York City footprint without much fanfare. The Rockland County-based buyer paid about $54 million for the portfolio and lined up roughly $40.5 million in acquisition financing to pull the deal together. The firm has said it plans to invest about $65 per square foot in the buildings, a spend it says is aimed at benefiting residents.
Property records show the three buildings - 950 Underhill Ave., 2010–2040 Bruckner Blvd. and 801 Neill Ave. - were purchased from NoMad-based Stellar Management in November for about $54 million, according to Crain's New York Business. Crain's reports the buyer paid roughly $17.9 million for Underhill, $20 million for the Bruckner parcel and $16.1 million for Neill, with the financing carved into approximately $12.5 million, $15.25 million and $12.75 million loans across the three assets. The portfolio comprises about 772 units and roughly 828,606 square feet, per city records cited in the coverage.
Brokerage Arrow Real Estate Advisors said it arranged the $40.5 million acquisition loan through Chase Bank, with senior director Jacob Schmuckler and vice president Meir Schlusselberg leading the assignment. In a statement to the New York Real Estate Journal, Schmuckler called the transaction "confidence in the long-term strength of New York’s housing market." The NYREJ report also highlighted the buyer's stated $65-per-square-foot improvement plan, framed as a tenant-focused upgrade program.
Why this purchase stands out
Rent-stabilized buildings have not exactly been the hottest item on many investors' shopping lists since the state overhauled rent laws in 2019, trimming back several tools owners once relied on to boost returns. The state's Division of Housing and Community Renewal details how the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act reshaped rules on vacancy deregulation, major capital improvement pass-throughs and other landlord levers that had supported aggressive renovation plays.
Against that backdrop, industry trackers say the Benevel deal ranks among the larger rent-stabilized multifamily trades in New York this year, a sign that some lenders and owners still see room to operate in stabilized housing, according to Mann Report.
What $65 per square foot could mean
At $65 per square foot, Benevel's pledged capital plan would total roughly $53.9 million across the portfolio's approximately 828,606 square feet. On paper, that level of investment would nearly match the acquisition price and, if funneled largely into capital projects, could translate into work such as new windows, boilers or refreshed common areas.
Arrow’s deal leads, Schmuckler and Schlusselberg, were part of a hiring push that expanded the brokerage’s financing bench earlier last year, according to Commercial Observer. That build-out, industry watchers say, helped Arrow line up a sizable Chase loan on a rent-stabilized portfolio at a time when many lenders are still cautious around the asset class.
A Benevel representative did not immediately respond to requests for comment, Crain's New York Business noted. For tenants in the three Bronx towers, the coming months will show whether the promised upgrade dollars hit the ground and how much those improvements change day-to-day life in long-stabilized homes.
