ACQUISITION
A principal member of the team acquired three floors of commercial (office) condominiums totaling 50,464 SF in a building located one-half block from Fordham University and Lincoln Center. Knowledge of the market and access to the owner through industry relationships permitted the team to initiate purchase discussions and enter into a purchase agreement, circumventing an open marketing process. Fordham University and Lincoln Center were in the process of executing significant expansion plans and several investors/developers all had major residential towers either under construction or planned within a one block radius.

INVESTMENT PLAN
Hire a broker to conduct a formal marketing effort targeting the arts and institutional users, develop a website to articulate the unique aspects of the property, and finalize efforts to subdivide the floors into smaller units.

RESULTS
The purchaser was The Gateway School, a private elementary school that serves children with learning disabilities. They cited the unique aspects of the space such as the 30 foot column spacing, 24 foot ceiling heights and significant floor loads as part of their decision to purchase. From a planning perspective, they purchased more space than they needed to account for expansion. The sale was executed 18 months from purchase and resulted in profit representing a multiple of 2.4 times the equity investment. As part of the transaction Gateway agreed to sell their existing school and excess real estate, which ultimately was re-positioned and sold.