Declaration Management & Research and CTNY Investors Purchase Class A Office Condominiums at 40 Broad Street

NEW YORK, July 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- A joint venture between DMR CRE Opportunity Fund I LP ("DMR"), the commercial real estate investment arm of Declaration Management & Research LLC ("Declaration") and CTNY Investors LLC, a real estate investment vehicle comprised primarily of Cassidy Turley shareholders, announced today that it has purchased a commercial condominium within The Setai Wall Street at 40 Broad Street in the Financial District. The condominium is comprised of four commercial floors, four through seven, of Class A office condominium space encompassing approximately 70,000 square feet. 

40 Broad Street is a 33-story luxury trophy condominium tower consisting of 159 residential units on floors 8-33, offices on floors 4-7, The Setai Spa, the Michelin-starred restaurant SHO Shaun Hergatt, and ground floor retail. The building features separate entrances, lobby and elevators between its commercial and residential units.

The building is located on the west side of Broad Street between Beaver Street and Exchange Place, and is near two other residential conversions of office buildings at 25 and 15 Broad Street.

DMR, the managing member of the joint venture, acquired this asset for its first fund, a vehicle launched in the second half of 2010, to capitalize on the on-going market dislocation in commercial real estate.  "Our ability to act quickly and decisively allowed us to consummate this off market investment for desirable Class A Manhattan office space in the dynamic downtown market," said Michael Kelley, Head of Real Estate at DMR.  "In addition, our oversight of asset management and implementation of our business plan will reposition this asset to maximize profit for our investors.  40 Broad fits well into our portfolio of opportunistic real estate investments."

"This purchase exemplifies our ongoing strategy of sourcing off-market deals for well-located, underutilized assets," said Anthony McElroy, Principal and Head of Acquisitions for CTNY Investors LLC. "This unit was part of a distressed note sale and we plan to renovate and reposition the asset and re-sell as commercial office condominiums. This is the first acquisition for our current investment vehicle and follows two very successful vehicles from our predecessor company CABR Investors. DMR provided a sophisticated investment partner with timely execution skills. We look forward to working with them in the future on many transactions."

DMR also announced that it has appointed Cassidy Turley as the manager and sales agent for the re-sale of the office condominium units for the building. 

"We are delighted to have closed this transaction with CTNY Investors as our partner, which through its relationship with Cassidy Turley brings the expertise and infrastructure of a full service real estate company along with the knowledge and capabilities of a seasoned investment group,"  said Jin K. Lee, Investment Manager for DMR.  "Cassidy Turley's top flight property management and sales brokerage teams will permit us to significantly improve and enhance the value of this asset.  This investment is the first of what we hope will be many investments between the DMR and CTNY Investors LLC partnership." 

"The commercial condominium product is perfect for medical and non-profit users, government, foreign buyers and small to mid-size companies," said David Lebenstein, Senior Managing Director, Principal at Cassidy Turley. "Space users can affordably own a piece of New York real estate and control their destiny as well as their occupancy costs."

In addition to 40 Broad, DMR has recently closed on an investment in the Ledgewood Mall and is actively pursuing other commercial real estate investments throughout the United States.  "We see many opportunities in the marketplace and will continue to capitalize on our structuring expertise and on our reputation as a trustworthy partner and investor," said Mr. Kelley. 

About Declaration Management & Research LLC

Declaration Management & Research LLC ("Declaration") is an SEC registered investment adviser with approximately $11 billion in institutional assets under management. Declaration was formed in 1989 and has offices in McLean, Virginia and New York City. The firm is a Manulife Asset Management company, indirectly wholly owned by John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.), a unit of Manulife Financial Corporation. In addition to fixed income capabilities, Declaration has established a platform to invest in opportunistic commercial real estate in all property types throughout the U.S.

About CTNY Investors, LLC

CTNY Investors, LLC (CTNY) is an investment fund comprised of the major shareholders of the New York City office of Cassidy Turley.  The objective of CTNY is to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns by acquiring, developing, redeveloping and managing commercial, retail and residential properties which provide value-added opportunities in the New York City Metropolitan area.   CTNY and its investment partners will utilize the real estate services of Cassidy Turley to provide property management, brokerage, investment sales and construction management services where applicable.  Cassidy Turley is a leading commercial real estate services provider with more than 2,800 professionals in 60 offices nationwide. The firm completed transactions valued more than $13 billion in 2010, manages more than 430 million square feet on behalf of private, institutional and corporate clients and supports more than 25,000 domestic corporate services locations.

SOURCE Declaration Management & Research LLC