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35-145 Cooper Pl.
A New Jersey investor has expanded his west side residential holdings by picking up a 137-unit Upper Westville apartment complex for $21 million — more than double the value the city places on the properties.
According to the city land records database, on Jan. 28, West Gate Ventures LLC purchased 35 Cooper Pl. and 145 Cooper Pl. from 35 Cooper LLC for $21 million.
Those two properties comprise 137 housing units across 14 different buildings, and are known collectively as West Gate Townhomes.
The Cooper Place properties last sold for $12.25 million in 2012. The city last appraised the 10.06 acres of residential real estate as worth a combined total of $10,062,000.
West Gate Ventures LLC is a holding company controlled by Shloime Rosenberg of Lakewood, N.J. At the end of 2020, he and his business partner Shlomo Katz purchased the 294-unit “Westville Village” apartment complex at 400 Blake St. for $50 million.
Neither Rosenberg nor Katz could be reached for comment by the publication time of this article.
City land records show that Katz signed a $17.2 million mortgage on the Cooper Place properties on Jan. 21 with Greystone Servicing Company LLC.
Even the city’s economic development administrator, Michael Piscitelli, was stumped when asked for details about this out-of-state investor currently pouring tens of millions into acquiring New Haven residential real estate.
“I do not know Mr. Rosenberg,” Piscitelli told the Independent by email. He promised to follow up when he learned more about the sale.
Aerial shot of West Gate Townhomes.
The seller of the West Gate Townhomes complex had just a little bit more to say about the property’s new owners.
That seller is UOB Eagle Rock Multifamily Property Fund LP, a private equity fund run by the Long Island-based Eagle Rock Ventures and Singapore’s United Overseas Bank. They’re the same group that sold the Westville Village apartments to Rosenberg and Katz in December.
Eagle Rock Advisors LLC President James Hausman told the Independent by email that his company sold West Gate Townhomes following the “same thought process as when we sold Westville Apartments; the investment period in Eagle Rock’s fund that owned Westgate Apartments is ending —
“The sale of Westgate should not negatively impact residents as the buyer is a strong firm, with a strong commitment to the local area,” he continued. “Westgate Apartments is a solid community and I wish we could have owned it longer. Again, we respect and support New Haven and its future, and hope to make new investments in the area.”
Latest Mandy Tab: $5.4M Spent On 63 Apartments
56 Clinton Ave.
City of New Haven data
Recent local property sales
In other recent local property transactions, megalandlord Mandy Management continued to grow and grow as affiliate companies spent $5,429,000 buying 17 different properties containing a total of 63 different rental apartments across Fair Haven, the Hill, Newhallville, Edgewood, Morris Cove, Beaver Hills, the Annex, and Cedar Hill.
Those recent Mandy acquisitions include:
• 56 Clinton Ave., a 15-unit apartment complex that Mandy’s Re Fund II NH LLC bought for $1.6 million from Clinton Gardens LLC on Jan. 27. The property last sold for $1.2 million in 2006. The city last appraised it as worth $993,700.
• 110 Maltby St., a 16-unit apartment complex that Re Fund II NH LLC bought for $1.4 million from Duskich LLC on Jan. 27. That property last sold for $765,000 in 2007. The city last appraised it as worth $598,900.
• 939 Elm St., a three-family home that Mandy’s SFR 2 DE LLC bought from Brian and Jonathan Smith for $340,000 on Jan. 15. The city last appraised it as worth $235,800.
• 386 Lighthouse Rd., a two-family home that SFR 2 DE LLC bought from 386 Lighthouse Road LLC for $215,000 on Jan. 29. That property last sold for $95,000 in 2016. The city last appraised it as worth $135,000.
• 19 Harding Pl., a three-family home that SFR 2 DE LLC bought from 24 Investment LLC for $200,000 on Jan. 20. The city last appraised it as worth $158,900.
• 769 Dixwell Ave., a two-family home that SFR 2 DE LLC bought from 769 Dixwell Avenue LLC for $190,000 on Jan. 27. That property last sold for $49,000 in 2010. The city last appraised it as worth $106,000.
• 141 Wolcott St., a three-family home that SFR 2 DE LLC bought from Cartagena Properties LLC for $190,000 on Jan. 5. The city last appraised it as worth $157,600.
• 181 Lombard St., a three-family home that SFR 2 DE LLC bought from Cartagena Properties LLC for $190,000 on Jan. 5. That property last sold for $162,500 in 2003. The city last appraised it as worth $168,900.
• 649 Winthrop Ave., a single-family home Menahem Edelkopf bought from Michael Moxam for $184,000 on Jan. 11. Edelkopf then quit the deed of the property to SFR 2 DE LLC for $1 on Jan. 27. That property last sold for $148,600. The city last appraised it as worth $119,200.
• 225 Fulton Ter., a two-family home that SFR 2 DE LLC bought from Gabriel Varca for $140,000 on Feb. 21. The city last appraised it as worth $114,900.
• 76 Third St., a two-family home that SFR 2 DE LLC bought from JLCIII Enterprises LLC for $130,000 on Jan. 5. That property last sold for $118,000 in 2004. The city last appraised it as worth $75,700.
• 52 Button St., a two-family home that SFR 2 DE LLC bought from JLCIII Enterprises LLC for $130,000 on Jan. 5. That property last sold for $75,000 in 2001. The city last appraised it as worth $110,600.
• 79 Exchange St., a two-family home that SFR 2 DE LLC bought from Jose Cartagena for $130,000 on Jan. 5. That property last sold for $166,500 in 2005. The city last appraised it as worth $110,700.
• 26 Grace St., a two-family home that SFR 2 DE LLC bought from bought from Jacob Manner and Lisa Douglas for $130,000 on Feb. 4. That property last sold for $38,000 in 2009. The city last appraised it as worth $81,300.
• 49 Stevens St., a two-family home that SFR 2 DE LLC bought from bought from Jesus Ortiz for $119,900 on Jan. 19. That property last sold for $7,000 in 2001. The city last appraised it as worth $100,500.
• 691 Elm St., a two-family home that SFR 2 DE LLC bought from Constitution Real Estate LLC for $111,000 on Feb. 3. That property last sold for $74,200 in 2019. The city last appraised it as worth $143,700.
• 172 Carlisle St., a single-family home that SFR 2 DE LLC bought from Albina Delima and Rosa Maria Santos for $30,000 on Feb. 3. The city last appraised it as worth $66,200.
Not to sound like a broken horn, but large apartment buildings/complexes have been consistently selling for well over their appraised values. This has real implications for this year's revaluation, subsequent budgets, and housing affordability. It's a mixed bag. The sales prices should be reflected in the reval, decreasing pressure on the budget and on owners of other types of property in subsequent years. But I very much doubt that the large-scale landlords will eat the increases in their property tax bills. Rather, they will pass them on to their tenants, many of whom already struggle to pay their rents.