Whopper Condo Conversion in Greenwich: Two Big Apartments Sold for $223M

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Whopper Condo Conversion in Greenwich: Two Big Apartments Sold for $223M
February 22, 2006
By Paul Miller, News Editor

CPN learned last night that Antares Investment Partners has picked up two of the last remaining rental properties in Greenwich, Conn., for $223 million, and plans to convert them to condominiums, according to a source very familiar with the deal.

The source told CPN last night that the deal may be the largest real estate acquisition in Connecticut history. The Greenwich-based Antares Investment Partners got the inside track on the hotly contested, aging buildings, and won out in a bidding war for the properties sold by an affiliate of Mill Management Group.

The two complexes, the 266-unit Putnam Green I-III located at the juncture of Post Road and Western Junior Highway and the 130-unit Weaver's Hill located off of Weaver Street in the Glenville section of Greenwich, make up more than half of the Greenwich's remaining rental apartments. They will be converted to luxury condominiums priced between $1 million and $2 million-plus.

Antares is essentially eliminating the rental market in Greenwich. "There wasn't a large supply of rentals," the source said. Antares, which is spending more than $125 million to restore the properties and add such amenities as health clubs, swimming pools and tennis courts. In addition, the exteriors will get new roofs, windows, patios and facades, as well as extensive new landscaping. In addition, the interiors will get a drastic overhaul, including new state-of-the-art kitchens and baths, hardwood floors and doors, and extensive wall and molding treatments.

But money can't buy Antares peace and harmony in a wealthy town like Greenwich, which is known to challenge many a commercial real estate venture. "It's going to be a challenge for Antares from a public relations standpoint," the source said, "to win over existing tenants to purchase the units. It will also be a challenge to not have the general public look down on Antares as the evil landlords, even if it is trying to improve the community."

According to the source, Antares won out in the bidding not because it placed the highest bid, but because it is locally based. "Some institutional players came in with higher bids," the source said. "The owner has owned and managed this property for a long time and is very sensitive to the well-being of the tenants, some of whom have lived there for 30 years. It really wanted a local developer."