Stuyvesant Town’s latest appraisal is putting the once-teetering residential giant onto much firmer footing. (Bloomberg)
The owners of Manhattan’s sprawling apartment complex Stuyvesant Town – Peter Cooper Village just moved a step closer to putting out a long-awaited “For Sale” sign.
Last week, an independent appraiser for CW Capital, which controls the rental property on behalf of the bondholder owners, valued the 80-acre complex at roughly $3.2 billion, The Post has learned.
That’s up $400 million from 2010, when bondholders took over the beleaguered property from an investment group led by developer Tishman Speyer.
At the time, the appraiser valued the property at $2.8 billion — less than the $3 billion first mortgage. Struggling with a mountain of debt, Tishman was forced to hand over the keys after buying the property for a record $5.4 billion in 2007.
Stuy Town’s higher price tag boosts the odds that bondholders will finally OK a sale. They need roughly $3.4 billion to break even on the investment, including the $3 billion mortgage and some $400 million in costs, according to sources.
“Now the property will start to get interesting again,” said Steve Kuritz, who analyzes mortgage-backed securities for Morningstar Credit Ratings.
Kuritz pointed to an uptick in cash flow from the rentals, which he estimates has risen to $167 million this year from $129 million in 2009.
He said the property could be worth even more than the $3.2 billion appraisal value — a stark contrast from 2009, when credit-ratings firm Fitch valued it at just $1.8 billion.
With the property’s value rising, the biggest barrier to a sale is a dispute over rents, which is nearing an end. Last month, tenants agreed to a $147 million settlement over claims of improperly raised rents. The deal still needs court approval and could be delayed by appeals, said Greg Cross, a lawyer for CW, who sees final resolution “sometime in 2014.”
The owners will have no shortage of bidders, based on the many suitors who have been salivating over the property for years.
“We are here, and we are ready to act,” said Dan Garodnick, a New York City councilman who has been working on a plan, in conjunction with the property’s Tenants Association, to convert the units into condos. “We’re pushing now,” he said when asked about the timing of a sale.
Other Stuy Town bidders have included hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, billionaire investor Wilbur Ross and real-estate developer Gerry Gutterman.
Gutterman told The Post that he still wants the property — with or without the tenants’ backing. “I offered $3 billion before, and I would still pay that,” he said.
Ross said he would be interested only if the tenants could all agree on what they want from the property.
“I would have no interest in it if it is simply an expensive ticket to internecine warfare among the tenants,” he said in an e-mail.
To be sure, not all tenants want to own. Hurricane Sandy, which slammed the property with tens of millions in damage, has reignited fears about the hassle of ownership, tenants said.
Kuritz said the property’s $250 million in flood insurance should cover the damage from the storm.