Press
2018 Grand Jury Award - Alden Park
“Designed in the English Renaissance Revival style by architect Edwyn Rorke of Kenneth M. DeVos & Co. and constructed between 1923 and 1928. Alden Park was ground-breaking in a city characterized by single-family home ownership. Developers chose a verdant hill-top location and built six residential towers, lush gardens, tennis courts, a swimming pool, and other amenities to attract tenants. But, time took its toll. When L3C Capital bought it in 2015, Alden Park was severely deteriorated and more than 100 units were uninhabitable.
The developer restored the property to its former grandeur, fully rehabilitating the 775 apartments and repairing the facades of the historic towers. The most challenging aspect was the full replacement of 7000 deteriorated casement windows with thermally-efficient units to match the originals. The historic integrity of this landmark property and the designer’s intent as a lush escape from crowded urban living have been fully maintained.”
- Preservation Alliance 2018
Best In American Living 2018 Winner - Alden Park
“Alden Park is a residential apartment community, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The six 10- to 13-story brick buildings, constructed in the 1920s, sit adjacent to Philadelphia’s Wissahickon Valley Park, adding to the existing luxurious amenities of the community. Purchased in 2015, historic tax credits were obtained to assist in the careful and historically accurate exterior restoration of all the buildings.
The dilapidated state of much of the brick and cast stone proved particularly challenging, and had to be rebuilt in many locations. The 7,500+ original windows had frames embedded into the masonry and needed to be carefully cut out and replaced with custom, historically detailed thermal windows; nearly all windows were replaced while the units were occupied.
Within the 760 units, the architects strategically modified the compartmentalized original designs to create a more modern, open feel, along with updated contemporary finishes. While updating original amenities, such as the indoor pool, fitness center, and common areas, a new outdoor pool and dog park were incorporated into the historic site. This renovation also vastly improved handicapped accessibility throughout the hilly site and within all buildings. “
- NAHB Best In American Living
Ari Pearl, Jonathan Leifer acquires Bay Harbor Islands hotel out of foreclosure
“Developer Ari Pearl and investor Jonathan Leifer paid $30 million for the Tryp Hotel in Bay Harbor Islands, with plans to convert it to a condo-hotel, The Real Deal has learned.
Pearl’s PPG Development and Leifer, chairman and founder of L3C Capital Partners, acquired the waterfront property out of foreclosure. Lender Ladder Capital Realty II LLC filed the foreclosure lawsuit in November against Bay Village Condos LLC. Glen Waldman, who represents the borrower, confirmed his client sold the hotel and that the loan was paid off.”
“The purchase marks the first collaboration between Pearl and Leifer, who are close friends, according to a press release. Pearl said that both he and Leifer were searching for “prime distressed assets” in South Florida, and that they purchased the hotel for “well below replacement cost.””
- TheRealDeal
Breathing New Life, Multihousing Pro Magazine - Alden Park
“The 760-unit Alden Park, winner of the title of Best Repositioning of a Multifamily Asset, was built in 1925 as the first co-op apartments in Philadelphia. Now operated as rental, the three towers that make up the community that is listed on both the National and Philadelphia Registers of Historic Places are surrounded by 38-acres of lawns and gardens that once were part of department store founder Justus C. Strawbridge’s estate.
Built in Jacobean Revival style, the community’s six 10- to 13-story brick buildings were renovated with the help of historic tax credits by developer L3C of New York, N.Y., with architectural design by Norristown, Pa.,-based BartonPartners.
The two-year repositioning of the community that includes studio, one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom units involved the historically sensitive restoration of the stone and brick exteriors, replacement of more than 7,500 old casement windows with energy efficient ones, and a new roof.
The apartments that were reconfigured with more open layouts feature hardwood and wood veneer floors, washers and dryers and up-to-date kitchens with new cabinets, quartz countertops and stainless steel appliances.
Community amenities include a new dog park, an outdoor pool, a pergola-covered courtyard with grilling area, walking trails, landscaped meadows and an indoor pool with a retractable roof that was revitalized with new tiles and a re-stabilized trellis.”
- Multihousing Pro Magazine
L3C Acquires Multifamily Asset in Nashville’s Metrocenter Submarket for $93.6 Million
“Newmark announces the $93.6 million sale and $69.0 million financing of Apex Glassworks, a 282-unit, recently constructed multifamily community located in Metrocenter, a fast-growing infill submarket in the heart of Nashville. The property traded from seller, Alpha Capital Partners, a Pittsburgh-based real estate private equity firm, to buyers, Invictus Real Estate Partners LLC (Invictus) and Jonathan Leifer of L3C Capital Partners (L3C), both New York-based real estate private equity companies. The buyers have rebranded the asset, Glassworks. At the time of sale, the Class A+ property was 94% occupied.”
“Apex Glassworks is in the heart of the mixed-use development, Metrocenter. This highly sought-after location is minutes from 150,000 downtown jobs, including those at Amazon and Oracle, two of the most significant job announcements in Nashville history. Metrocenter boasts 1.3 million square feet of retail space and 3.4 million square feet of office space, making it an ideal alternative to the urban core.”
-Newmark
Ari Pearl, Jonathan Leifer sell Bay Harbor Islands condo-hotel units for $21M
“Developers Ari Pearl and Jonathan Leifer sold more than half of the units at their converted Bay Harbor Islands condo-hotel for about $21.4 million, or roughly $389,000 per key.
Pearl’s PPG Development and Leifer, chairman and founder of L3C Capital Partners, acquired the waterfront property out of foreclosure for $30 million in December. Last month, they converted the 96-key hotel into a condo-hotel. The former Tryp by Wyndham Miami Bay Harbor hotel, at 9540 West Bay Harbor Drive, is now The Altair.”
“In the largest recent deal, PPG Bay Harbor Owner LLC sold 45 units to LC Altair and affiliates for nearly $16 million, property records show. The buyer is led by Yitzi Karasick of New Jersey-based Liquid Capital. It financed the purchase with two loans totaling $10.4 million from American National Bank.”
- TheRealDeal
Best Repositioning of a Multifamily Asset - Alden Park
“Built in the 1920’s, the Alden Park apartment community was one of the first large-scale multifamily communities in Philadelphia. The location was prime - a beautiful hilltop next to Wissahickon Valley Park. Its amenities - lush gardens, tennis courts and a swimming pool - were designed to encourage city dwellers to consider moving away from downtown to enjoy a more relaxed lifestyle.
The 37-acre campus was purchased in 2015, but after decades of use, more than 100 of the building’s apartments had become uninhabitable, and common areas had become shabby. The community was purchased in 2015, and the new owners obtained Historic Tax Credits to fully renovate. The exterior masonry was restored, and almost all 7500+ windows were replaced to comply with historic and Park Service requirements. All 760 usable units were refurbished, and the others, as well as some office spaces, were turned into new, accessible units. The lobbies, indoor pool and fitness center were renovated, and a community room and outdoor pool and lounge area were added, as well as a dog park. Trails and park improvements add to efforts to improve community health. All renovations took place while the buildings remained occupied.”
- Multifamily Pillars of the Industry Awards Book 2018
PPG, L3C pays $32M for Bay Harbor Islands condo complex
“Developer Ari Pearl and investor Jonathan Leifer paid $32 million to acquire all of the units in an older Bay Harbor Islands condo complex on a waterfront property that they could redevelop.
Nearly 30 individual owners at Bay Harbor Towers, at 10141 and 10143 East Bay Harbor Drive, sold their units to Pearl and Leifer, records show. Pearl’s PPG BHT Owner LLC financed the 30-unit deal with a $70 million loan from an affiliate of New York-based MSD Partners, an investment firm that invests on behalf of Michael Dell, his family and other investors.
The owners banded together last year following the deadly Surfside condo collapse to seek a bulk buyer for their complex. The Art Deco-style Bay Harbor Towers property was developed in 1956.”
“It marks the second joint venture partnership for Pearl and Leifer in Bay Harbor Islands. Pearl, founder & CEO of Hallandale Beach-based PPG Development, and Leifer, principal of New York-based L3C Capital Partners, bought the waterfront hotel at 9540 West Bay Harbor Drive out of foreclosure for $30 million in 2020. They converted it to a condo-hotel, and have been selling units since October, records show. It’s now called The Altair.”
- TheRealDeal