Akelius Real Estate Management, a subsidiary of Swedish investment firm Akelius Residential Property, picked up a three-building Lower East Side rental complex from Lawrence Marolda’s Marolda Properties for $24 million.
The deal marked Akelius’ first Manhattan purchase and a continuation of its expansion into the U.S. The adjacent five- and six-story properties at 144-150 Ludlow Street, between Stanton and Rivington streets, span nearly 35,000 square feet. The majority of the 52 apartments are rent-regulated, one-bedroom units.
Rosewood Realty Group’s Billy Billitzer represented the buyer, while David Scheer, also at Rosewood, represented the seller. The property sold for $685 per square foot.
Akelius aims to hold its rental buildings, including this one, for roughly 10 years.
“We’re going to do everything we can to be good property managers,” Kunal Chothani, an executive at Akelius, said.
Marolda bought the complex in 2013 for $11.9 million and last year, sought to sell it for $32 million. The Chinatown-based landlord is in the spotlight for an investigation by the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal into allegations that it forced tenants out of rent-controlled apartments.
Akelius’ first New York City deal closed last month, when it bought two Crown Heights rental buildings from BCB Property Management, as TRD reported.