Blackstone Inc. is nearing a deal to acquire luxury apartment rentals in downtown Manhattan, the firm’s latest wager on the resilience of New York real estate.
The property giant is in advanced talks to acquire a residential tower at 8 Spruce St. from Brookfield Asset Management Inc. and Nuveen for $930 million, according to people familiar with the matter. It’s also nearing the purchase of a 49% stake in One Manhattan West, a trophy office building developed by Brookfield, in a deal that values the Hudson Yards-area property at $2.85 billion.
Representatives for Blackstone and Brookfield declined to comment.
In many ways, the deal for 8 Spruce St., which is located near the Brooklyn Bridge, is a poster-child for the city’s rebounding real estate market. The 899-unit property, whose rippled façade was designed by architect Frank Gehry, saw occupancy rates fall below 75% during the first year of the pandemic, according to Trepp.
The building wasn’t alone. Across Manhattan, vacancy rates were at record highs for much of 2020, as Covid-19 chased renters out of Manhattan or pushed them to seek larger living spaces to work and learn from home.
