Press Center

January 31st, 2012 –

Stonehenge Partners is proud to confirm that it has acquired seven (7) multifamily and retail properties in partnership with SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE: SLG). Stonehenge will reposition and manage the residential portion of the portfolio on behalf of the newly formed Partnership which includes a total of 402 rental units as well as prime retail located in the coveted Midtown and Upper East Side submarkets. The partnership plans to significantly upgrade a selection of units and building amenities in an effort to maximize value. SL Green will manage the commercial properties.

The portfolio includes:

•400 East 57th Street, a 290,000 square foot building with 19 stories containing 260 residential apartment units located on one full city block off 57th Street and First Avenue with 16,600 square feet of retail at street level;

•400 East 58th Street, also located along First Avenue. The building is 17 stories comprising 140,000 square feet including 125 multifamily units and 3,250 square feet of ground floor retail space;

•Interests in 752 Madison Avenue, a four-story retail building completely occupied by Armani;

•Interests in 19 & 21 East 65th Street, a pair of mixed-use properties adjacent to 752 Madison Avenue. The combined properties include 9,000 square feet of retail, office, and gallery space, along with 17 multifamily units;

•762 Madison Avenue, a five-story building located between 65th and 66th streets and also adjacent to 752 Madison Avenue. The asset includes 6,000 square feet of office, retail and gallery space;

•44 West 55th Street, a five-story commercial building located between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.

With this acquisition Stonehenge now owns and manages 27 properties which includes over 3,000 residential apartments, 604,191 square feet of retail and commercial space and 158,838 square feet of garage space. The total value of the portfolio is estimated at approximately $2.2 billion based on recent independent, third party appraisals by nationally recognized firms.

Ofer Yardeni, managing partner and co-founder of Stonehenge Partners, said, “This is a milestone transaction for our Company because of the new business relationship we have now formed with SL Green, the largest owner of commercial property in New York and one of the most prominent and reputable public REIT’s in the market.”

Joel Seiden, managing partner and co-founder of Stonehenge Partners, said, “We are very proud of the collaboration from each of our teams and especially grateful for the effort and dedication that everyone assigned to this deal demonstrated.”

Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP represented SL Green and Kirkland & Ellis LLP represented Stonehenge Partners in the transaction. Greenberg Traurig, LLP acted on behalf of the seller.

About SL Green

SL Green Realty Corp., New York City's largest office landlord, is the only fully integrated real estate investment trust, or REIT, that is focused primarily on acquiring, managing and maximizing value of Manhattan commercial properties. As of December 31, 2011, SL Green owned interests in 65 Manhattan properties totaling more than 38.7 million square feet. This included ownership interests in 27.0 million square feet of commercial properties and debt and preferred equity investments secured by 11.7 million square feet of properties. In addition to its Manhattan investments, SL Green holds ownership interests and debt and preferred equity interests in 32 suburban assets totaling 7.3 million square feet in Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, Westchester County, Connecticut and New Jersey, along with four development properties in the suburbs encompassing approximately 0.5 million square feet.

About Stonehenge Partners

Stonehenge Partners is a fully integrated real estate company which was founded over 18 years ago. The Company owns and manages residential apartments as well as commercial property, primarily in the borough of Manhattan in the City of New York. With 27 properties in the portfolio Stonehenge has become one of the dominant landlords in New York City. The Company employs over 55 professionals at its head office located at 888 Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, New York.

December 1st, 2011 – Stonehenge, a New York City-based real estate owner and manager, today announced it has hired Edward Azria as Director of Residential Leasing. In his new position, Mr. Azria will be responsible for overseeing the company’s residential portfolio as well as the company’s in-house leasing team which consists of over 10 leasing agents who are responsible for leasing the 3,000 unit Stonehenge portfolio.

Mr. Azria joins Stonehenge with over 15 years of experience in the New York City real estate industry with expertise in the residential leasing business. Previously, Mr. Azria held the position of Manager of Sales at Rose Associates, one of the largest management companies in New York City.

“Edward is a very talented real estate professional who comes to Stonehenge with a great reputation and strong experience in residential leasing which will be a tremendous asset to Stonehenge as our New York City portfolio and residential leasing volume continues to grow,” said Ofer Yardeni, a Managing Partner of Stonehenge.

“I am excited to join Stonehenge and look forward to making significant contributions as the firm continues to expand its portfolio and seek new opportunities in Manhattan,” said Edward Azria.

Mr. Azria earned a Bachelor of Arts in History at Hunter College. He has also completed courses in the New York University Graduate Real Estate Program and is a licensed New York Real Estate Salesperson.

To handle the residential leasing operations, Stonehenge maintains 4 leasing offices in Manhattan located in its buildings at 315 West 33rd Street, 235 West 48th Street, 141 East 33rd Street and 120 West 97th Street. Stonehenge plans on opening another office in the coming months on the East Side of Manhattan at 360 East 65th Street.

About Stonehenge

Founded in the early 1990’s by Ofer Yardeni and Joel Seiden, Stonehenge Partners is a fully integrated real estate company based in New York. The firm which has 55 employees is primarily invested in Manhattan multifamily real estate. Stonehenge, together with its investment partners, currently owns and manages a real estate portfolio valued at over $2 billion. The portfolio is comprised of over 25 properties representing approximately 3.2 million square feet, including approximately 3,000 residential apartment units, office, retail and garage space.

October 3rd, 2011 – SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE:SLG - News) today announced that it has formed a venture with Stonehenge Partners and entered into a contract to acquire eight retail and multifamily properties for $416 million. Stonehenge, one of New York City’s most prominent multifamily property operators, will reposition and manage the residential portion of the portfolio. The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2012.

SL Green indicated that a key component of the transaction is 724 Fifth Avenue, a prestigious retail location located between 56th and 57th streets in Manhattan’s Plaza District. The renowned Italian fashion house Prada currently occupies approximately 20,700 square feet including the grade, mezzanine, second floor and lower level retail, as well a boutique office floor. The property enjoys prime position along the “Gold Coast” of Fifth Avenue – a retail corridor known to achieve some of the highest retail rents in the world. It is situated in the vicinity of other retail properties which SL Green has ownership of, including 717 Fifth Avenue, home to Giorgio Armani’s flagship store and the future flagship store of Dolce & Gabanna, in addition to 720 Fifth Avenue.

The residential portion of the portfolio includes a total of 402 rental units located in prime Midtown and Upper East Side submarkets. The SL Green/Stonehenge venture plans to significantly upgrade a selection of units and building amenities in an effort to maximize value. Stonehenge, which currently owns and manages over 2,560 apartment units in New York, will bring to bear its specific expertise to the venture and will be responsible for day-to-day management and marketing of the multifamily assets along with the execution of the renovation/upgrade program.

The transaction is the latest in a series of significant investments by SL Green that have involved premier retail properties and locations. Previous notable examples have included the recently-concluded 1552-1560 Broadway transaction, the American Eagle and Aeropostale flagships in Times Square, and the recently acquired 747 Madison Avenue.

The full portfolio being acquired in the transaction announced today includes:

724 Fifth Avenue, a 12-story building that currently includes the Prada retail space and several floors occupied by gallery tenants.

Interests in 752 Madison Avenue, a four-story retail building completely occupied by Armani under a sub-lease arrangement that expires in 2025.

Interests in 19-21 East 65th Street, a pair of mixed-use properties adjacent to 752 Madison Avenue. The combined properties include 9,000 square feet of retail, office, and gallery space, along with 17 multifamily units.

762 Madison Avenue, a five-story building located between 65th and 66th streets and also adjacent to 752 Madison Avenue. The asset includes 6,000 square feet of office, retail and gallery space, with the lease on the ground floor retail space expiring in 2013.

44 West 55th Street, a five-story commercial building located between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. With two floors currently vacant and leases on two additional floors scheduled to expire in 2012, the well-located midtown building offers a significant repositioning opportunity.

400 East 57th Street, a 260-unit multifamily building located on the southeast corner of 57th Street and First Avenue. While already featuring attractive common areas, the SL Green/Stonehenge venture plans to implement a strategic capital plan to upgrade select building amenities. In addition the venture will upgrade the ground floor retail space as needed in order to capture market-level rents from credit tenants.

400 East 58th Street, also located along First Avenue. The building features 125 multifamily units and 4,000 square feet of ground floor retail space, with the latter currently leased at below-market rents to non-credit tenants.

Andrew Mathias, President of SL Green, commented “This is an exciting opportunistic investment for SL Green, which already has an outstanding track record in acquiring and repositioning New York City office and retail properties. We also are excited about making our first significant equity investment in the multifamily area, which helps to diversify our portfolio further while still maintaining our New York City focus.”

Marc Holliday, Chief Executive Officer of SL Green, added, “In joining forces with Stonehenge Partners, we have brought together two companies with complementary strengths. Along with our property renovation and repositioning know-how, we have considerable experience in underwriting residential transactions through our structured finance program. Stonehenge is one of the city’s best multifamily property operators. We believe the residential portion of this venture will produce solid returns.”

Ofer Yardeni, managing partner and co-founder of Stonehenge Partners, said, “The Stonehenge footprint in New York City continues to expand and this venture with one of New York City’s pre-eminent real estate companies further enhances our presence and brand. We look forward to collaborating with the SL Green team in repositioning these properties and bringing them to their full potential value.”

FTI Consulting Inc. served as an advisor to SL Green and Stonehenge in the transaction. Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP represented SL Green and Kirkland & Ellis LLP represented Stonehenge Partners in the transaction. Greenberg Traurig, LLP acted on behalf of the seller.

About SL Green:

SL Green Realty Corp., New York City's largest office landlord, is the only fully integrated real estate investment trust, or REIT, that is focused primarily on acquiring, managing and maximizing value of Manhattan commercial properties. As of June 30, 2011, SL Green owned interests in 57 Manhattan properties totaling more than 33.6 million square feet. This included ownership interests in 25.8 million square feet of commercial properties and debt and preferred equity investments secured by 7.6 million square feet of properties. In addition to its Manhattan investments, SL Green holds ownership interests and debt and preferred equity interests in 32 suburban assets totaling 7.3 million square feet in Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, Westchester County, Connecticut and New Jersey, along with four development properties in the suburbs encompassing approximately 465,000 square feet.

About Stonehenge Partners:

Founded in the early 1990’s by Ofer Yardeni and Joel Seiden, Stonehenge Partners is a fully integrated real estate company based in New York. The firm which has 55 employees is primarily invested in Manhattan multifamily real estate. Stonehenge, together with its investment partners, currently owns and manages a real estate portfolio valued at nearly $1.8 billion. The portfolio is comprised of 19 properties representing approximately 3.2 million square feet, including 2,560 residential apartment units, office, retail and garage space. For more information about Stonehenge Partners please visit www.stonehengenyc.com

Forward-looking Statements

This press release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are intended to be covered by the safe harbor provisions thereof. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release that address activities, events or developments that we expect, believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future, including such matters as future capital expenditures, dividends and acquisitions (including the amount and nature thereof), development trends of the real estate industry and the Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Westchester County, Connecticut, Long Island and New Jersey office markets, business strategies, expansion and growth of our operations and other similar matters, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by us in light of our experience and our perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors we believe are appropriate.

Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially, and we caution you not to place undue reliance on such statements. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by the use of the words "may," "will," "should," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "believe," "intend," "project," "continue," or the negative of these words, or other similar words or terms.

Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by forward-looking statements made by us. These risks and uncertainties include the effect of the credit crisis on general economic, business and financial conditions, and on the New York metropolitan real estate market in particular; dependence upon certain geographic markets; risks of real estate acquisitions, dispositions and developments, including the cost of construction delays and cost overruns; risks relating to structured finance investments; availability and creditworthiness of prospective tenants and borrowers; bankruptcy or insolvency of a major tenant or a significant number of smaller tenants; adverse changes in the real estate markets, including reduced demand for office space, increasing vacancy, and increasing availability of sublease space; availability of capital (debt and equity); unanticipated increases in financing and other costs, including a rise in interest rates; our ability to comply with financial covenants in our debt instruments; our ability to maintain our status as a REIT; risks of investing through joint venture structures, including the fulfillment by our partners of their financial obligations; the continuing threat of terrorist attacks, in particular in the New York metropolitan area and on our tenants; our ability to obtain adequate insurance coverage at a reasonable cost and the potential for losses in excess of our insurance coverage, including as a result of environmental contamination; and legislative, regulatory and/or safety requirements adversely affecting REITs and the real estate business, including costs of compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Housing Act and other similar laws and regulations.

Other factors and risks to our business, many of which are beyond our control, are described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of future events, new information or otherwise.

September 16th, 2011 – Stonehenge Partners (“Stonehenge”) is pleased to announce the acquisition of 1143 Second Avenue, New York, New York (the “Property”).

The Property is a 6-story, 85,000 square foot mixed-use apartment building spanning the entire 200 foot block front from 60th to 61st Street. The Property is comprised of 93 apartments and approximately 10,000 square feet of ground floor commercial space. The 93 residential units in the building are comprised of 52 studios and 41 one-bedrooms with the average apartment size around 700 square feet.

The Property is being acquired as part of Stonehenge Fund III, a $500 million equity fund that was created in 2007 to invest in Manhattan multifamily assets. This is the 5th acquisition by Stonehenge Fund III. Other assets acquired as part of Stonehenge Fund III include 360 East 65th Street, 141 East 33rd Street, 8 Gramercy Park and 555 Sixth Avenue.

Founded in the early 1990’s by Ofer Yardeni and Joel Seiden, Stonehenge is a fully integrated New York City-based real estate company that owns and manages a 19 property portfolio comprised of approximately 2,700 residential units and 700,000 square feet of commercial, retail and garage space. Stonehenge’s primary investments are in Manhattan multifamily real estate.

The Jones Lang LaSalle team of Yoron Cohen, Richard Baxter, Jon Caplan, Scott Latham, Glenn Tolchin, and Jason Gold were the brokers in the transaction.

July 19th, 2011 – After years of dominating the Manhattan rental market, Wall Street dynamos are starting to make way for bloggers and tech geeks.

Media and technology workers are rapidly gaining ground as a percentage of the borough's renters—while the numbers of finance workers in the pool shrink, according to a new report by Nancy Packes, a consultant to some of the city's biggest residential developers.

Developers have taken note. Wealthy young bankers in the 1980s sought a prestigious pre-war building with a Park Avenue address, and more recently, they were on the hunt for a flashy financial district bachelor pad. A new generation of renters is looking for something different.

"The demographic they seemed to have in mind was mostly single men, who were living high on the hog and had money to blow," said David Sigman, a senior vice president at LCOR, which is involved in downtown's 25 Broad St., a condo-turned-rental.

"We recognize now that it's a broader market," Mr. Sigman said.

Young media and tech workers flock to neighborhoods such as Williamsburg in Brooklyn and Chelsea, where many of their employers are also moving their offices. These tenants also demand high-tech amenities such as ubiquitous wireless internet access, movie screening rooms and, in one case, a Wii room.

"The kids that are coming to live today in New York, they want to live with accommodation like they are in a W Hotel," said Ofer Yardeni, managing partner of Stonehenge Partners, which owns and manages trendy buildings such as Stonehenge Gardens on West 15th Street near Sixth Avenue.

The demographic shift is also changing how developers market those buildings.

"Old media is taking second place to the Internet as a medium of advertising. Renters and buyers are almost exclusively finding us through the Internet," said Jeffrey Levine, chairman of Douglaston Development, which has developed the Ohm in West Chelsea and the Edge in Williamsburg. The Ohm has a retro arcade room, while the Edge has a fire pit and a plunge pool with a waterfall.

Ms. Packes used trend data from 700,000 Manhattan rental transactions processed since 2005 through On-Site.com, a provider of electronic tenant screening and lease processing services for landlords.

Until now, her report was released only to residential developers, such as Durst Fetner Residential, Douglaston Development and Stonehenge Partners Inc., which use it to strategize about the location, amenities and marketing of their new buildings.

Ms. Packes provided the most recent version, which is current through mid-year 2011, to The Wall Street Journal. It shows a five-year trend toward more Manhattan renters working in technology and creative sectors, with fewer working in finance.

That held true even prior to the collapse of Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns in 2008.

In 2005, finance workers made up just over 58% of Manhattan renters, while they now comprise 45%, according to Ms. Packes's report. The proportion of creative workers who make up the market has nearly doubled to 17% from 8.6% in 2005.

The proportion of renters employed in the technology sector has also risen to 11.6% from 7.2%, partly because Google, Facebook and Twitter have all expanded their Manhattan offices in the last five years.

Young media and tech workers generally aren't raking in the same salaries as young bankers and can't pay as much for housing, which some believe could drive rents down in the city over the long haul.

Ms. Packes says that fear hasn't yet proved true. Rents have surged in the past six months especially, she said. Moreover, she said she anticipates an upward trend over the next couple of years, based on the percentage of their incomes that people are currently putting toward rent.

In early 2007, when confidence in the economy was at its peak, renters spent the highest percentage of their income on rent, according to Ms. Packes's report. As the economy hit bottom they spent 20% less of their income on rent. The number now sits at a five-year average, suggesting there is room for significant growth.

"We are nowhere near the limit of what people are willing to pay based on their monthly income," Ms. Packes said.

June 24th, 2011 – Yesterday evening, June 23, Inside Broadway hosted their annual Broadway Beacon Awards. Tony Award-winner Karen Ziemba was the special guest performer for the evening, which honored Tony-winner John Larroquette of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, stage, film, & TV star Brooke Shields, New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, and managing partner & co-founder of Stonehenge Partners, Ofer Yardeni. FOX5 reporter Julie Chang served as the evening's emcee.

June 2nd, 2011 – Stage and screen actress Brooke Shields will be among the honorees at Inside Broadway’s 2011 Broadway Beacon Awards June 23 at the Players Club at Gramercy Park.

Fox 5 reporter Julie Change will emcee the event that begins at 5:30 PM and also honors New York City council speaker Christine Quinn and managing partner and co-founder of Stonehenge Partners, Ofer Yardeni.

"Inside Broadway’s aim is to pass down the rich legacy of musical theater to future generations so that the magic, music and universal themes of the genre are not lost but rediscovered and made relevant for today’s youth," said Inside Broadway’s executive director Michael Presser in a statement. "Our honorees this year have each without a doubt greatly contributed to that cause."

Now in its 29th year, Inside Broadway develops and produces touring equity musical productions as well as after-school arts programs that allow students to interact with professionals in the field and experience theatre hands-on.

The annual cocktail reception and awards show is held to support the company's mission of bringing the joys of theatre to New York City’s under-served public school students.

Shields, who will soon step into the role of Morticia in The Addams Family, has also been seen on Broadway in Grease, Chicago, Cabaret and Wonderful Town. On television, she starred in this NBC sitcom "Suddenly, Susan," earning two Golden Globe nominations. She also went on to star in NBC's "Lipstick Jungle" and appeared on several episodes of Fox’s "That 70’s Show."

The Players Club is located at 16 Gramercy Park South. For more information, visit www.InsideBroadway.org.

April 12th, 2011 – Check out this video of Ofer Yardeni speaking at the FIDF November 2010 Real Estate Event at Gotham Hall.

April 11th, 2011 –

April 11th, 2011 – Check out the attached announcement naming Ofer Yardeni as the Friend of the IDF's new Real Estate Chairman.

March 31st, 2011 –

Ofer Yardeni, Managing Partner, Stonehenge Partners Inc; Norman Sturner, Founding Principal of Murray Hill Properties; Robert T. Lapidus, President and CIO, Co-Founder L&L Holding Company LLC; James Carolan, Esq., Partner, Withers Bergman LLP; Ira Schuman, Executive Vice-President, Co-Branch Manager-Studley; Paul Massey Jr., CEO, Founding Partner Partner, Massey Knakal Realty Services

The NYC Network Group held a forum entitled The Optimists Forum at the NY Bar Building on March 30. The panelists included Ofer Yardeni, Managing Partner, Stonehenge Partners Inc; Norman Sturner, Founding Principal of Murray Hill Properties; Robert T. Lapidus, Pesident and CIO, Co-Founder L&L Holding Company LLC; Ira Schuman, Executive Vice-President, Co-Branch Manager-Studley; Paul Massey Jr., CEO, Founding Partner, Massey Knakal Realty Services and was moderated by James Carolan, Esq., Partner, Withers Bergman.

Anthony Kazazis, Director of The NYC Network Group Introduces The Optimist Forum

More than 200 attendees came to the Optimists Forum which started with a special introduction by Robert Knakal, Chairman, Massey Knakal Realty Services

Robert Knakal, Chairman, Massey Knakal Realty Services

Before getting to the why the glass is half full today Knakal started off by addressing a few of the issues that might lead one to see the glass has really half empty.

First, of course is unemployment. He stated there is no more profound metric than unemployment as an underlying metric that effects the fundamentals of both commercial and residential real estate.

Knakal pointed out that we have lost 8.4 million jobs and the rate of unemployment is not the significant number but the number of "actual jobs created." That he bases on the fact that we need to gain 150,000 jobs per month just to keep up with population growth and we are not getting anywhere near those numbers

After today's unemployment numbers released by the government it seems as though we are at least getting closer. "Without significant growth in jobs it's going to be difficult for our fundamentals to get better." Another area which gives pause is the housing market. It is not as bad in NYC as the rest of the country but when you have had all the government intervention in the housing market we have had like the first time home buyers tax credit and the moratorium on foreclosures you have have an artificial stimulus that didn't let the market really clear so what we are seeing in the housing market nationally is a double dip-There is no doubt about it." That's a problem because our economy is 70% consumer based and for most consumers- their house is their number one asset and if they don't feel they have equity in their home they are not going to go out and consume as much as they would otherwise..

Lastly on the pessimistic side is our interest rate environment. Our interest rate has been a positive in the marketplace. But in order to meet budget deficits- the government has three options- they can raise taxes which they are reluctant to d.Cut spending which they don't have the guts to. Or they can print money and in every case the government has decided to print money. So our money supply has more than doubled and that has to have inflationary pressures someplace.

"The federal Reserve has had it's balance sheet triple in the last two years and the Fed has only four mechanisms for getting out of the market and all of those will exert tremendous upward pressure on interest rates."

What would happen to the real estate market if we saw interest rates at another 150 basis points to 200 basis pints higher. That is not an entirely impossible scenario.

Knakal then moved to the optimistic side of the market- stating first that corporate profits are at an all time high. That's because during the recession corporations cut to the bone. Today there is 1.8 trillion dollars sitting on corporate balance sheets.

Corporations can hire today but they are strategically choosing not to-if they do want to hire they have the ability to do so. Next says Knakal, "the Banking industry is very healthy today. The top 20 banks are very highly capitalized and they have the ability to lend." Two of the most things which are favorable to the market right now are this very low interest rate environment and the second factor is that there is a very acute supply/demand imbalance. There is never an over supply of property available for sale in New York. In fact if you look at the Manhattan market over a 26 year history -the average turnover for a sale of property is only 2.6% of the total stock. That means the average property is held for 40 years.

On the demand side we have a tremendous demand and there is not an oversupply of property so the biggest problem is we don't have enough property to sell but the low interest rates and demand have created a very positive force in the market. Knakal then turned over the microphone to Carolan.

Moderator: James Carolan, Esq., Partner, Withers Bergman LLC

Carolan assumed the job of moderator and began by having the panelists address the diverse comments of Knakal.

Norman Sturner, Founding Principal of Murray Hill Properties

Sturner confirmed the loss of 8.4 million jobs in the US and pointed out NYC's loss of 140,000 of those jobs of which we have regained 65,000 leaving still a large deficit of about 80,000 jobs but much lower than the rest of the country. Sturner also pointed out that the housing market in general is operating at a much highter level than the rest of the country.

Ofer Yardeni, Managing Partner, Stonehenge Partners Inc.

Yardeni was quick to point out that one of the things Knakal didn't point out was the major events of the world which are taking place right now. One of the results of all this turmoil according to Yardeni is that investors around the world and from those troubled countries are looking for a safe haven to invest in. The United States offers the security missing in many countries at the moment. The other point Ofer made was that the jobs market has changed dramatically especially in the gen y'er generation where (kids) as he called them work from the time they get up in the morning until they go to sleep at night doing things like making websites. That is the kind of work ethic that gives Ofer confidence in the economy and he sees himself continuing to invest right here in NYC.

Ira Schuman, Co-Branch Manager, Studley

With respect to optimism Schuman offers that it's not only about statistics but lifestyle that is the big factor. When you look at what NYC offers in the way of basic necessities, small apartments, higher taxes, you often send your children to expensive private schools -there is a disconnect. Why do we live here? Schuman says " It is a very high powered, cultured place to live, intellectually interesting environment. So you can't separate out the city from it's cultural institutions, because these are the reasons why smart young people want to come and live in the city. The optimism generally revolves around the cultural life here-that's why people want to come and work and live here.

Robert T. Lapidus, Pesident and CIO, Co-Founder L&L Holding Company

Lapidus said NY bounced back quickly-when you think about buying real estate in NY you are always buying on the future. Fundamentals don't necessarily line up-they do sometimes but many times do not whether it's capital being deployed from other parts of the world,whether it's tax reasons, or someone is raising a new fund who needs to have a property in NY-if you look at the financial models we use in real estate-they are always wrong-we don't have 3% growth every year. In NY there are many examples where values have double and tripled in a five or ten year period so that is sort of the backdrop of why things are so good here. Also NY is one of those 24/7 global gateway cities where we are not unique but are in a very small subset of other cities like London.

When you talk about college graduates-no matter what school they come from they want to be in one of 8 to ten cities in this country and NYC is one of them.

Paul Massey Jr., CEO, Founding Partner, Massey Knakal Realty Services

Talking about the velocity of the market-in a normal year you have about 3500 transactions. Through this period that number has been dramatically low so now it has been a tale of two cities where you have discretionary sellers that didn't want to sell in an uncertain market- now a lot of those people will be transacting so we will be getting back to those normal levels.

On top of that we are tracking some 8000-9000 properties that are in some sort of financial distress and we think those are going to trade or be restructured over the next few years.

Looking ahead I think we are looking at a period of significantly increased velocities and significantly increased opportunities citiwide.

February 9th, 2011 –

Stonehenge kicked off its social media campaign with the 24 Hours of NYC Luxury Sweepstakes.

The Sweepstakes aims to build the Stonehenge Facebook community while delivering a unique experience to all entrants. Stonehenge accomplishes this by allowing entrants to customize their 24-hour luxury prize. Entrants can select their hotel, restaurants, and nightlife activity. In addition, Stonehenge is including a spa credit and shopping gift certificate.

Participants can access the sweepstakes through multiple entry points including the Stonehenge Facebook Page, a dedicated Sweepstakes URL, and through QR codes placed in lobbies and entrances of Stonehenge properties.

Stonehenge understands that when a renter chooses to live in a Stonehenge building they are making a lifestyle decision. So it was very important that the Sweepstakes grand prize include other aspects of living a luxurious lifestyle in New York City.

The Sweepstakes is the first of many steps Stonehenge is taking to build an online community. "Stonehenge is committed to building its social media footprint in 2011," said Jonathan Fishman, Stonehenge's Director of Business Development, who oversees Stonehenge's interactive and social media initiatives.

Community building has always been central to Stonehenge's philosophy. Stonehenge was one of the first New York City real estate companies that had an in-house creative team dedicated to organizing social and recreational events to foster community building within its properties. Stonehenge's 2011 social strategy will apply the same commitment to building an online community.

As Stonehenge expands its social media community, they hope to be able to demystify the process for renting an apartment in New York City. By building awareness for Stonehenge's high level of quality and service, social media will serve as a way for Stonehenge to provide engaging content and transparency to its residents and other New Yorkers.

Stonehenge's social media campaign comes at a particularly strategic time for the company. In 2010, Stonehenge introduced a newly designed website featuring its new logo and brand colors as well as a live feed of current availabilities. Potential renters can use the site to learn about the process of renting an apartment directly from Stonehenge. In addition, the site allows Stonehenge residents to access the company's resident communication system.

With a strong technological infrastructure in place, Stonehenge is ready to take the next steps in strengthening its online footprint and extending its community. 2011 will be an exciting year for Stonehenge with more creative initiatives on the horizon.

December 17th, 2010 –

Stonehenge Partners (“Stonehenge”) is pleased to announce that they have closed on the sale of 401 West 56th Street (the “Property”).

The Property is located on the northwest corner of 56th Street and Ninth Avenue. The Property was built in 1962 and is a 7-story elevator building containing 95 residential rental units, retail space on grade along Ninth Avenue and a 20 car garage.

The Property was acquired by Stonehenge in 1995 for $5,815,000 and was sold for $37,960,000.

Founded in the early 1990’s by Ofer Yardeni and Joel Seiden, Stonehenge is a fully integrated New York City-based real estate company that owns and manages an 18 property portfolio comprised of approximately 2,600 residential units and 700,000 square feet of commercial, retail and garage space. Stonehenge’s primary investments are in Manhattan multifamily real estate.

Stonehenge was represented by Alan Miller of Eastern Consolidated in the transaction.

September 20th, 2010 –

Stonehenge Partners (“Stonehenge”) is pleased to announce the signing of a new retail lease with NYU Hospitals Center at 141 East 33rd Street, also known as Stonehenge 33.

NYU Hospitals Center is the teaching hospital of NYU Langone Medical Center, one of the nation's premier centers of excellence in healthcare, biomedical research, and medical education, ranked in the top 20 of America’s Best Hospitals in 2009 by U.S. News & World Report. NYU Hospitals Center will occupy approximately 6,000 square feet of space on grade, where it intends to develop an ambulatory imaging center for mammography and breast ultrasound.

Stonehenge 33 is a 120 unit luxury rental building located in the Murray Hill submarket. Stonehenge 33 was purchased in 2008 as a part of Stonehenge Fund III. Stonehenge Fund III is a $500 million equity fund which was created in 2007 to invest in residential and commercial real estate in the Tri-State area. Stonehenge Fund III currently owns 141 East 33rd Street, 8 Gramercy Park, 360 East 65th Street, and in July of 2010 acquired 555 Sixth Avenue.

Founded in the early 1990’s by Ofer Yardeni and Joel Seiden, Stonehenge Partners is a fully integrated New York City-based real estate company. While the firm’s primary investments are in Manhattan multifamily real estate, Stonehenge also has an expertise in commercial property. Stonehenge, together with its partners, currently owns and manages a 19 property portfolio comprised of approximately 2,700 residential units and 700,000 square feet of commercial, retail and garage space. For more information about Stonehenge please visit www.stonehengenyc.com

The RKF team of Ariel Schuster and Ross Berkowitz represented Stonehenge in the lease signing.

July 22nd, 2010 –

New York City, NY: July 22, 2010 - Stonehenge Partners Inc. (“Stonehenge”) is pleased to announce that on Thursday July 22nd, Stonehenge Fund III which includes SITQ, a subsidiary of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec as well as another important Canadian institutional investor, closed on the acquisition of 555 6th Avenue (the “Property”), a coveted residential asset in New York City. The purchase price for this transaction is $67,340,000.

The Property historically served as a housing facility for the staff members of St. Vincent’s Hospital and is being delivered substantially vacant at closing. The Property is located on Sixth Avenue, spanning the entire 200 feet on the west side of the street between 15th and 16th Streets and is centrally located in the Chelsea and West Village submarkets, two premiere residential neighborhoods in Manhattan. The 180,000 square foot building consists of 176 residential units, 30,000 square feet of commercial/retail space, and a 20,000 square foot garage, which is licensed for 90 cars.

Stonehenge plans to complete major renovations in order to reposition both the commercial/retail and residential components of the building. As Stonehenge is widely regarded in the Manhattan marketplace for its luxury apartment buildings, the same level of quality and service will be offered at 555 Sixth Avenue. Ofer Yardeni and Joel Seiden are the two principals of Stonehenge, a New York City based real estate Company that acquires and operates commercial, retail and residential properties throughout the tri-state area.

Mr. Yardeni stated: “We are delighted to have successfully won the bid for 555 6th Avenue. This deal represents Stonehenge’s fourth acquisition through Stonehenge Fund III which brings total gross investments to date for the Fund to $345,000,000 increasing the value of our portfolio to approximately $1.6 Billion.” Mr. Seiden added: “We want to thank our Canadian institutional partners for their continued support. We will be persistent in our efforts to acquire more assets in New York City”.

About Stonehenge Partners: Founded in the early 1990’s, Stonehenge Partners is a fully integrated New York City-based real estate company. While the firm’s primary investments are in Manhattan multifamily real estate, Stonehenge also has an expertise in commercial property. Stonehenge, together with its partners, currently owns and manages a real estate portfolio valued at nearly $1.6 billion. The portfolio is comprised of approximately 2,650 residential units and 700,000 square feet of commercial, retail and garage space. For more information about Stonehenge Partners please visit www.stonehengenyc.com

About SITQ SITQ is a real estate investment, management and development firm specializing in three key sectors: Office properties, Hotels, apartments and retirement housing, and real estate investment funds. As of December 31, 2009, SITQ owned real estate assets of CAN $17.8 billion. A leader in the Canadian real estate industry, SITQ also owns assets in the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Germany and India. SITQ is a real estate subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and employs nearly 450 people in Montréal, home of its head office, and throughout its global network of offices and subsidiaries in Canada, Europe and Asia. For more information: www.sitq.com.

June 29th, 2010 –

An auction for St. Vincent's Hospital's Greenwich Village staff house drove the purchase price for the Sixth Avenue building to $67.3 million, with the winning bidder besting a stalking-horse offer from Taconic Investment Partners by nearly $20 million.

An entity affiliated with New York real estate company Stonehenge Partners Inc. came out on top in the fight for the building, which has housed the now-defunct hospital's medical residents for years. St. Vincent's will seek court approval of the deal with SP 555 Sixth LLC at a sale hearing set for Thursday.

In April, the hospital announced it was putting the property on the block as it shut its doors and began selling off its assets in bankruptcy protection. Taconic was slated to kick off bidding for the building with an offer of $48 million in cash and was promised a break-up fee of $870,000 if it didn't emerge as the winning bidder.

In court papers, St. Vincent's said it intends to close the deal with SP 555 Sixth LLC by July 15, pending approval from a bankruptcy court judge.

SP 555 Sixth LLC is a subsidiary of Stonehenge Fund III Limited Partnership, an investment vehicle focused on investing equity in commercial, residential and retail real estate in Manhattan, according to court papers. The fund's major institutional investors are Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board, and its general partner is controlled Stonehenge's managing members, Ofer Yardeni and Joel Seiden. Yardeni and Seiden's Stonehenge owns and manages a portfolio valued at $1.5 billion.

Representatives from Stonehenge weren't available for comment Tuesday morning.

Earlier this month, the sale of the staff house attracted some criticism, with a creditor of the hospital blowing the whistle on what it said was an unfair attempt by a potential bidder to bolster its bid for the assets. Three medical malpractice trusts that hold a second-priority lien on the building sought to stop the new owner of the mortgage on the building from using its mortgage claim in order to acquire the property. In a lawsuit, the trusts said the claim from VIII SV5556 Lender LLC--an investment vehicle backed by real-estate investment firm Westbrook Partners--should be capped at $39.5 million, the amount St. Vincent's still owes on the mortgage.

The lawsuit is still pending, according to an attorney for St. Vincent's.

The medical malpractice trusts, created during St. Vincent's last bankruptcy, are among those in line to see a portion of the proceeds from the sale. The trusts benefit people with medical malpractice claims against the hospital's staff and, according to court filings, are owed $113 million from St. Vincent's estate.

In addition to the trusts, a number of mortgage holders are slated to see money from the sale.

May 28th, 2010 – The Real Deal By C. J. Hughes

Aidan Sullivan of Corcoran Sunshine and Merritt HouseAt a time when luxury condominium developments are as rare as celebrity-studded launch parties, a real estate company known for its rental business tweaked its business plan to create one.

Stonehenge Partners, which owns and manages 16 rental buildings in Manhattan, is in the process of converting a 17th rental building into the Merritt House condo, a 10-story red-brick mid-block building at 167 East 82nd Street between Third and Lexington avenues.

The building, which dates to 1929, has 38 units, 25 of which will become, or have become, condos by adding white wood cabinets and Miele refrigerators and losing their maid's rooms to allow for expansive kitchens.

The other 13 units will remain as rent-stabilized apartments in a building that is also gaining significant new ground-floor common areas, like a party space, fitness room and children's playroom, from space that once contained maid's rooms, laundry rooms (each apartment is outfitted with washers and dryers) and a superintendent's apartment. A formerly paved courtyard is also set to become a 1,000-square-foot landscaped garden.

Construction won't wrap up until the fall, and the company is still awaiting approval for its offering plan for the Merritt from the attorney general's office, according to Alan Klein, Stonehenge's director of acquisitions.

Still, sales are underway at the Merrit with prices from $1.14 to $2.2 million, Klein said, for one- and two-bedrooms ranging in size from 878 square feet to 1,621 square feet. Twelve contracts have been signed since October, or about 50 percent, though closings can't happen without state approval.

The Merritt, which was named for William Merritt Chase, a 19th century artist whose paintings convey "warmth and luxury," according to the condo's brochure, is coming to market after a notably sluggish period for high-end condos.

Stonehenge executives say that while the conversion was conceived a few years ago during the boom, the market's poised for a turnaround, evidenced by the strong initial interest in the Merritt.

Indeed, despite continuing signs that the rental market might be better off than the sales market, converting the Merritt made financial sense, said Klein, who would not disclose the cost of the project.

"We have very low leverage and are well-capitalized. It was essentially a no-brainer," said Klein, adding that other condos will follow soon for Stonehenge, though he declined to be specific.

It also will help that the building has co-op flourishes, like fireplaces, but is a condo, said Aidan Sullivan, sales agent for Corcoran Sunshine Group, which is marketing the project.

"The rare thing is that we are a conversion in the heart of the East Side and a condominium" she said.

Boosting Stonehenge's confidence might be the fact that they could easily rent the Merritt's units if they don't sell, said Gary Malin, president of the brokerage Citi Habitats, which isn't connected with the project.

"They could lease them up rather quickly because they have the leasing infrastructure in place," said Malin.

Stonehenge's portfolio includes 2,500 apartments. They are in buildings like Stonehenge Tower at 210 West 89th Street, its first acquisition in 1995, as well as 10 Downing in Greenwich Village, a more recent acquisition, where studios start at $2,895.

Plus, the income from all those units, Malin said, "gives them a sizeable cushion if they're wrong."

But there's a strong chance Stonehenge is right about the health of the Upper East Side's condo market, which has recently offered huge ground-up luxury projects like the Brompton and the Lucida but few smaller-scale projects, brokers said.

At $1,300 a square foot, the Merritt is "a little pricey for the East Side for a conversion, but you've got to start someplace," said Bob Scaglion, a senior managing director at Rose Associates, a real estate company that rents and sells apartments but has built a few condos, too.

In fact, the Merritt may compete for buyers with one of Rose's properties, Sheffield57, also a conversion, although it is Midtown on the West Side. Its price per square foot is $1,400, though its amenities -- like a 50-foot pool, lounge and sundecks -- are more extensive. Of Sheffield's 540 units, 48 percent are sold, Scaglion said, adding "we would do a condo now if it made economic sense."

April 29th, 2010 – Click on the link below to access this story

January 29th, 2010 – If Donald Trump has his way, orphaned Manhattan apartment complex Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village could one day be called TrumpTown.

The Post has learned that the real estate mogul and TV personality has thrown his hat into the ring to either buy or manage the massive apartment complex, whose fate was cast into doubt this week when owners Tishman Speyer Properties and BlackRock said they would hand over the keys to the 11,000-unit property to creditors after defaulting on a loan payment earlier this month.

"People have asked us if we would get involved in running it or buying it," Trump said in a telephone interview. "We are looking at it right now very seriously."

"No one has a better track record running properties," he added.

Meanwhile, The Post has learned that Boston-based WinnCompanies, the country's eighth-largest apartment manager, is vying to be StuyTown's property manager. Such an assignment would give Winn entry into the New York market, said a person close to the company.

Both Trump and Winn join a growing list of real estate firms interested in getting their hooks into StuyTown, which has become a high-profile symbol of the real estate market's boom and bust.

Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross was among the first to put his name into the ring, teaming up with investment shop Centerbridge Partners and real estate titan Richard LeFrak, whose properties include Newport in New Jersey and LeFrak City in Queens.

"Richard has more experience managing rent-controlled and rent-stabilized properties than anyone else," Ross told The Post earlier this week.

Tenants are also hoping to get in on the action, while Ofer Yardeni's Stonehenge Partners, an unsuccessful bidder in 2006, has been mulling a bid to manage or acquire the complex, a source said.

Rose Associates, Related Cos. and Prudential Douglas Elliman are each said to be interested in managing the property.

The potential for a bidding war caps what has been a wild ride ever since Tishman and BlackRock bought StuyTown for $5.4 billion. Tishman had hoped to convert what were rent-regulated apartments to market rates, but ran into trouble as the credit markets collapsed and tenants resisted the higher rents.

Then in October everything fell apart when the state's highest court ruled Tishman could not raise rents on the apartments.

Regardless of who takes over the property, the new owner could be on the hook to pay back an estimated $200 million in rent overages tied to that court case.

Alex Schmidt, the attorney representing the tenants in the case, says the new owners will be responsible for the back rents unless they hammer out a deal with Tishman and former owners MetLife to foot the tab.

"There's no doubt that the subsequent owner has to assume this liability," he said.

January 26th, 2010 – Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross yesterday said he's ready to save beleaguered Manhattan apartment complex Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village the moment someone asks for his help. "To the degree there is a role for capital -- whether to give [StuyTown's bondholders] an exit for cash or put new cash into the property -- we would be prepared to do that," Ross told The Post. "We're waiting to see what the bondholders would like to do and we'll try to accommodate them." Ross has teamed up with Richard LeFrak of the LeFrak Organization and investment firm Centerbridge Partners in a proposal to manage the 11,000-apartment complex whose fate has hung in the balance ever since owners Tishman Speyer Properties and BlackRock defaulted on a $3 billion loan earlier this month. Though he was short on specifics, the billionaire, who specializes in snapping up distressed assets, appeared willing to entertain any number of scenarios for rescuing the property. "We could do a financial transaction of some sort as well, but for the moment, the big vacuum that needs to be filled" is property manager, Ross said. "Richard has more experience managing rent controlled and rent-stabilized properties than anyone else." His comments come after the Tishman decided to turn over the keys to StuyTown to its creditors after negotiations between Tishman and the creditors broke down after loan servicer CW Capital offered to give Tishman a long-term contract as property manager without an ownership stake for it or its partners, according to a person briefed on the talks. This person added that after Tishman decided to walk away, a group of debtholders led by Winthrop Capital Management offered a so-called "standstill agreement," suggesting they were taken aback by Tishman move. The standstill would have stopped the lender from demanding payment until a new deal could be crafted, not unlike a forbearance. However, Tishman declined the offer, this person said. It is a stunning defeat for Tishman, which ponied up just $112 million of its own money and took on a huge debt load to pay a record $5.4 billion for the East Side complex in 2006 -- still the highest price ever paid in the US for a residential property. Ross isn't the only one vying for a piece of the property. With Tishman out as manager of the complex, the door is open for a number of parties to land a potentially lucrative contract to manage StuyTown. Among those in contention are Prudential Douglas Elliman, Related and Rose Associates, sources said. Related declined comment. A spokeswoman for Prudential confirmed the group's interest in the role. Adam Rose, Rose Associates' co-president, declined to comment. Meanwhile, Alvin Doyle, president of the property's tenants association, told The Post that StuyTown's tenants are also interested in making a bid for the property. They were outbid in 2006 by the Tishman group. "There's a lot of interest in the neighborhood," he said. "If we had the opportunity we would be interested." Like Ross, Doyle also was short on specifics, saying it all depends on how the creditors proceed. Ofer Yardeni's Stonehenge Partners, an unsuccessful bidder in 2006, is also interested in either managing or buying, a source said. Indeed, with Tishman out, StuyTown's creditors are in control, with a company called CW Capital calling the shots. However, it's unclear whether the creditors want to keep the property under their control or try to get someone else to take it over. Another wild card is a group of secondary creditors who also have the power to seize control of StuyTown by either foreclosing on the ownership entity or working out a deal with the senior lenders. Representatives of the secondary creditors, including Philadelphia attorney Steven Ostrow, either declined to comment or didn't respond to comment. With Lois Weiss

January 3rd, 2010 – What if you ordered a memorial to your son, but it wound up with a haberdasher’s name? That’s what happened to the developer Abraham Lefcourt, who began the Alan E. Lefcourt Building at Broadway and 49th Street in 1930, a month after his teenage son’s death. Just above the door of the Art Deco structure is a bronze bust of the younger Lefcourt, although not a trace of the Lefcourt name remains. But 1619 Broadway is still world famous — as the Brill Building, a center of the music industry.

Abraham Lefcourt began as a shoeshine boy, but by the 1920s was a prominent developer, with millions of dollars in completed construction, much of it in the garment center. He had two children, Mildred and Alan, and was particularly devoted to the boy.

In 1914, when Alan was about 2, Lefcourt built a loft building on 37th Street under the name Alan Realty. And in 1925 he gave Alan, then 13, a $10 million property on 34th Street near Madison Avenue “to arouse his son’s interest in real estate,” The New York Times reported in 1930.

The land that became the home of the Brill Building had been owned since the 1910s by the Russell and Pyne families, prominent members of New York society. They leased the property, at the northwest corner of Broadway and 49th, to Brill Brothers, a men’s clothing store established in the 1880s.

In 1929, the Brills sublet the property to Lefcourt with the requirement that he build a structure to be completed no later than November 1931. Lefcourt announced his plan for the site on Oct. 3, 1929: the tallest building in the world, a $30 million, 1,050-foot-high skyscraper.

No plans were published or filed at the Department of Buildings, and it is difficult to conceive just how Lefcourt imagined the structure rising from its constricted 13,000-square-foot lot. He had jumped into a height race against the Chrysler Building, then under way on a plot of 37,000 square feet, and the Empire State Building, just about to begin on 91,000 square feet, and the upper floors of those projects were already considered far too small, after the space allotted to elevators and mechanical systems.

When the stock market crashed later that month, Lefcourt, like some other real estate men, saw a silver lining in the loss of millions of dollars in stock values. He believed that investors would desert Wall Street paper for the solidity of land.

But on Feb. 3, 1930, the ground under Lefcourt’s feet shifted when Alan, 17 years old, died of anemia. Perhaps Lefcourt had already decided he was not going to put up the world’s tallest building, or perhaps Alan’s death persuaded him to seize the day, but within a month he filed plans for a 10-story office structure, designed by the little-known Victor Bark Jr.

Bark’s drawings bear the name Alan E. Lefcourt Building in large letters, and show the chunky Art Deco building as built with tight bands of swirling ornament distributed over a conventional structure. It departs from normal in two statuary niches, one over the main door, and one at the parapet level. The upper niche is difficult to observe from the street, but appears to shelter the bust of a mature man, perhaps Abraham Lefcourt himself.

The lower niche, not more than 20 feet above the street, is in polished bronze, and definitely houses a bust of a young man, certainly Alan E. Lefcourt.

Published accounts indicate that the structure was finished by the spring of 1931, and known as the Lefcourt-Alan Building as late as November 1931. But according to David G. Transom, who managed it for many years, Lefcourt soon defaulted on his sublease, and the Brill Brothers took over the corner store in what was identified as the Brill Building as early as April 1932.

The earliest leasing announcements for the Brill Building refer only to ordinary businesses, but by the 1940s it was full of musicians. The composer Johnny Marks, who wrote “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” in 1949, had space in the Brill no later than 1950, and his firm, St. Nicholas Music, still has offices there, as does the singer Paul Simon. But there are fewer musicians in the Brill Building these days, and more filmmakers.

Lefcourt had less than a year to contemplate the vagaries of monuments and memory, for he died in December 1932. Although his obituary in The Times reported that as of 1928 he had a net worth exceeding $100 million, the petition for probate said he had no more than $2,500 left, none of it in real estate.

Every year millions walk past the monument to his grief, the unlabeled bronze bust of a young man staring out into the distance. The Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing on the landmark designation of the structure in October. At the hearing Ofer Yardeni, a principal of Stonehenge Partners, one of the owners, supported designation, which will surely come at some point in the near future.

That would certainly please Abraham Lefcourt, even though the designation report will undoubtedly read the Brill Building.

January 1st, 2010 – Download the recent Ofer Yardeni profile that was featured in the January 2010 Mann Report

October 13th, 2009 – Stonehenge Partners is pleased to announce the official launch of its first condominium project at 167 East 82nd Street, now known as the Merritt House.

The property is located on Manhattan’s Upper East Side between Lexington and Third Avenues. Designed by Andres Escobar, the theme of this conversion is a “modern restoration” re-establishing the building’s pre-war charm while updating the property to include modern amenities demanded by today’s buyers. Some of the features of each apartment include working fireplaces, herringbone floors, premier appliances, individually controlled HVAC systems, and washer/dryers.

The Merritt House offers two different apartment layouts: the 1,621 square foot Classic 5 residence and the 878 square foot 1-bedroom residence. The Classic 5 boasts two spacious bedrooms, two full bathrooms, a powder room, a gourmet kitchen, and a generous formal dining room that may be converted into a third bedroom. The 1-bedroom layout features a master bedroom with a large walk- in closet, a full master bathroom, a spacious powder room (in the C-line only), and a bright, open living space.

The building amenities will include a 24-hour attended lobby, fitness room, storage room, formal dining room with catering kitchen, and a children’s playroom with landscaped courtyard.

Iva Spitzer, an Executive Vice President of the Corcoran Group, is the exclusive marketing and sales agent for this project. For more information, please visit www.themerritthouse.com or call (212) 734- 8282.

Stonehenge Partners, Inc. is a New York based real estate company which acquires, redevelops, owns, finances and manages real estate in New York. The company has expertise in commercial, retail, and residential real estate with its primary focus on the Manhattan market.

Today, Stonehenge controls a portfolio of nearly 3 million square feet of commercial and residential space.

With over 20 years of experience in marketing and collective sales of $20 billion, Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group is the recognized industry leader in the predevelopment planning, marketing, and sales of luxury residential development. Representing properties throughout the United States and in select international locations, Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group’s portfolio contains a curated collection of the world’s most desirable new addresses.

Andres Escobar & Associates is an innovative design firm with international recognition in the corporate, hospitality and real estate sectors. Together with its visionary principal and dedicated team, the firm is focused on being an industry leader, bringing high quality service, design and standards to every project undertaken.

August 4th, 2009 –

Stonehenge Partners, whose principals are Ofer Yardeni and Joel Seiden, has closed on the refinancing of the Ritz Plaza. The Ritz Plaza is a 43-story, 510,000 square foot luxury apartment building located at 235 West 48th Street between Broadway and 8th Avenue in the heart of Times Square.

Freddie Mac, through Walker & Dunlop LLC, has provided a 10-year, $151 million first mortgage on the property at a 5.34% interest rate. Stonehenge acquired the property in December 1996 for $76.7 million with approximately $16.6 million in equity. The property was first refinanced in 2003 for $120 million. The current refinancing represents a 100% increase over the building’s original purchase price.

The Ritz Plaza is comprised of 479 luxury residential units, a 158-space parking garage, 25,000 square feet of office space, and 3,120 square feet of prime retail frontage. The property is a full-service luxury rental apartment building featuring a 24-hour concierge, a state-of-the-art health club that includes a 40-foot swimming pool, tenant community room, rooftop sundeck and an on-site full-service valet. In addition, almost 90% of the units have balconies offering spectacular views of Manhattan and the Hudson River. The Ritz Plaza continues to be recognized as one of the premier luxury rental buildings in Times Square.

Ralph Herzka and Abe Hirsch from Meridian Capital provided brokerage services for the refinancing.

July 17th, 2009 – Stonehenge Partners whose principals are Ofer Yardeni and Joel Seiden has closed on the refinancing of 108 West 15th Street, also known as Stonehenge Gardens. Stonehenge Gardens is a six-story 44,000 square foot mixed-use building located on 15th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues.

Stonehenge acquired the property in June 1997 for $5,835,000 with approximately $2,400,000 in equity. The property was first refinanced in 2002 for approximately $6,000,000 and was again refinanced in 2004 for $11,600,000.

New York Community Bank has now provided a 5-year, $15,325,000 first mortgage on the property at a 5.625% interest rate. This current refinancing represents a 260% increase over the building’s original purchase price.

108 West 15th Street is comprised of 55 residential units, currently operating at 98% occupancy. In addition, the property offers 8,500 square feet of retail space fronting 14th Street. Stonehenge recently executed a lease with 7-Eleven for 2,500 square feet of this space. Good Stuff Diner also occupies a portion of the building’s grade level space, while a 2,000 square foot portion remains vacant. Stonehenge is actively marketing the vacant space to complementary retailers and restaurants.

Ralph Herzka and Abe Hirsch from Meridian Capital provided brokerage services for the refinancing.

July 13th, 2009 – Stonehenge Partners, whose principals are Ofer Yardeni and Joel Seiden, has closed on the refinancing of 1274 Fifth Avenue also known as Stonehenge Park. The property is a six-story 55,000 square foot apartment building located on Central Park at the corner of 109th Street and Fifth Avenue.

1274 Fifth Avenue is comprised of 55 residential units, currently operating at 98% occupancy. The property occupies a valuable market niche as one of the few Fifth Avenue rental buildings on the Upper East Side.

Signature Bank has provided a 5-year, $9.5 million first mortgage on the property at a 5.5% interest rate.

Paul Greenbaum from GCP Capital provided brokerage services for the refinancing.

July 9th, 2009 – Stonehenge Partners, which owns 17 apartment buildings, attached retail, and one office, is hardly seeing a blip on its radar. We recently met with the firm’s Jonathan Fishman, Andrew Hoffman, and Michael Stern in its Seventh Ave. office, and they tell us that both rental and retail products are strong, with over 1k monthly prospects touring the building and 70 monthly lease signings.

Manhattan is 70% renters versus owners, which allows a firm like theirs to better adapt to market dips. They say contrary to employment numbers, many signers are young professionals who are just moving to NYC to start a new position. Its office asset, 1619 Broadway’s Brill Building, also boasts 100% occupancy, thanks to a healthy entertainment industry. (We read that The King of Pop frequented retailer Colony Music when he visited NYC.)

The firm buys existing buildings and repositions them, renovating corridors, lobbies, facades and improving amenity spaces (including relocating Stonehenge to the NYC skyline, above). It's well capitalized to do so because its most recent fund, Stonehenge Fund III, raised $500M, half of which was deployed last year. Its ‘08 acquisitions ranged in size from $10M to $125M, and the firm continues to seek value-add and mismanaged assets for long-term investment. Unlike many residential owners, it also maintains its own properties, with a staff of 60 dealing with the building hands-on.

One initiative to keep Stonehenge’s portfolio bustling is lifestyle components and events; Michael arranges tenant get-togethers, ballroom dancing, concerts, and other activities. August 17, it will be holding a Woodstock 40th anniversary celebration at 235 W. 48th’s Ritz Plaza. It's also working with City Arts for a “trees for peace” project, where children from 96th and 97th streets’ Stonehenge Village paint motifs on planters for a Manhattan art installation tour. As you see above, last month it held a beautification in front of its 10 Downing St. building, planting 5k flowers with SoHo Partnership, which hires homeless people to help clean the street.

July 1st, 2009 –

New York, New York: July 1, 2009 – Stonehenge Partners Inc. (“Stonehenge”) is pleased to announce the signing of a new retail lease at 103 West 14th Street.

7-Eleven, a leading national convenience store, signed a lease for 2,500 square feet. The lease signing marks the opening of the franchise’s sixth Manhattan location. Other locations include the Upper East Side, Midtown and the Financial District.

103 West 14th Street is a prime retail space in a Stonehenge-owned 55-unit, 44,000 square foot apartment building. 7-Eleven will be located adjacent to Good Stuff Diner, a popular 14th street eatery.

Prior to the signing of this lease, the space housed a 4,500 square foot DVD rental store called The Entertainment Outlet. 7-Eleven leased 2,500 square feet of the available space. Stonehenge is actively marketing the remaining 2,000 square feet to complementary retailers and restaurants.

RKF Executive Vice President Ariel Schuster and Managing Director Jonathan Kreiger represented Stonehenge in the lease signing.

June 9th, 2009 – Stonehenge Partners, Inc. (“Stonehenge”), a New York based real estate company, in conjunction with the SoHo Partnership, will team to unveil a redesigned greener public space at 10 Downing Street in the West Village on June 25 from 4 P.M. to 6 P.M.

Renovations to the public space will include the installation of 15 newly designed black iron tree guards, the re-soiling of 15 tree pits and the planting of 500 impatiens summer flowers to revitalize the walk way along Sixth Avenue. Members of the nonprofit organization, SoHo Partnership, will join the Stonehenge family in putting the finishing touches on the project.

“The 10 Downing beautification project is Stonehenge’s initiative to participate in New York City’s transformation into greener, more pedestrian-friendly public spaces,” said Ofer Yardeni, Managing Partner at Stonehenge Partners. “We have a long-standing commitment of reinvesting in the communities where our buildings are located as well as improving the livelihood for the residential and commercial tenants in our portfolio. We believe our collaboration with the SoHo Partnership serves as a model for Stonehenge’s commitment to the neighborhood.”

The transformation of 10 Downing Street began in September 2005 when Stonehenge acquired the building. The building’s ground floor was comprised of a travel agency, dry cleaner, doctor’s offices and apartments. Today, it has been converted and leased to two established restaurateurs, Scuderia and 10 Downing Food & Wine, and trendy retailer, NYC Motorcycle Federation. Additionally, two remaining retail spaces are garnering attention from established and well-known shopping and retail establishments.

The 10 Downing beautification project was inspired by Mayor Bloomberg’s pledge for a greener NYC. Stonehenge believes 10 Downing Street will serve as a destination of choice for New Yorkers, while increasing pedestrian traffic along the tree-lined street and attracting new commercial business to the trendy, high-profile address.

City officials, members of Community Board 2 and the Parks Department will be in attendance to inaugurate the public space. The press is encouraged to attend from 4 P.M. to 5 P.M. and dine al fresco at Scuderia and the 10 Downing Food & Wine restaurant which will offer exclusive food tastings and distribute 1,000 bottles of Evian water to passersby. Attendees are also invited to sip freshly brewed coffee courtesy of NYC Motorcycle Federation and enjoy the sounds of a professional clarinetist.

January 16th, 2009 – Stonehenge Partners is pleased to announce that Andrew Hoffman has joined the company as Chief Operating Officer.

Andrew will be responsible for all aspects of the company's operations including leasing, property management, compliance and related operational matters.

Mr. Hoffman has over 25 years experience in New York City real estate management, including 16 years as the President of Clarendon Management Corp., the owner-operated management company managing more than 2,500 residential rental units, including the 1,000-unit London Terrace Gardens.

Mr. Hoffman currently serves as Chairman of The Community Housing Improvement Program (CHIP), an industry owner-advocate organization. He sits on the boards of the Associated Owners and Builders (ABO), the Rent Stabilization Association (RSA) and Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations (RABOLR), the industry group responsible for labor relations with New York City trade unions. In 2006, Mr. Hoffman co-chaired the RABOLR residential negotiating committee which was responsible for the union agreement for over 25,000 Local 32BJ Doormen and Porters in all New York City apartment buildings.

In June of 2006, Mr. Hoffman left Clarendon Management to accept a unique assignment developing Hard Rock Park, the world's first rock n’roll theme park located in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. As the company's Chief Development Officer, he was responsible for bringing the massive $400 million project, involving over 500 construction employees and a large number of sub-contractors, to a successful conclusion on time and on budget.

Mr. Hoffman attended Boston University where he concentrated in business and construction. He lives in New York City with his wife and 3 children.

June 1st, 2008 – Ofer Yardeni and Joel Seiden are excited to announce that Steven Vissichelli has been promoted to Chief Executive Officer. Steve will continue to oversee the company as well as maintain his involvement in many of Stonehenge’s strategic investment initiatives. He will also sustain his relationship and status with the company’s institutional partners. Steve joined Stonehenge in 2002 as Chief Financial Officer and in 2004 also assumed responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the company. During this time, the company grew from a five buildingportfolio valued at approximately $500 million to today, a twenty one building portfolio valued at approximately $2 billion.

2008 has been another year of growth at Stonehenge with a continued effort to acquire new properties, create value, and enhance efficiency. To support this momentum, Ofer and Joel are also pleased to announce the addition of three senior professionals to fill the positions of Chief Operating Officer, General Counsel and Vice President of Asset Management.

Ofer Shaul joined Stonehenge on June 16th of 2008, assuming the position of Chief Operating Officer. He will be responsible for all aspects of the company’s operations including leasing, property management, compliance and related operational matters. Ofer Shaul comes to Stonehenge with over 10 years of real estate experience. He previously held the position of Chief Operating Officer for Stellar Management, one of the largest residential owners in New York City.

Richard Cohen joined Stonehenge in March of 2008 as General Counsel. Richard manages and supervises the company’s legal activities. He brings over 30 years of extensive real estate and banking experience to the position having previously acted as managing director and assistant general counsel at The Witkoff Group, one of the largest development companies in New York City. Prior to his time spent at The Witkoff Group, Richard was a member of the legal firm Stomber, Witkoff & Cohen LLP.

Steven Sikora joined Stonehenge in February of 2008 as Vice President of Asset Management. He is responsible for overseeing the company’s properties. Steve brings over 23 years of real estate experience to Stonehenge. Prior to joining Stonehenge, Steve spent 10 years as Vice President of Property Management at The Witkoff Group.

We are certain that this expansion of the Stonehenge management group will positively impact the continuing growth and evolution of the Stonehenge Family.

April 9th, 2008 – New York, New York: April 9, 2008 - Stonehenge Partners, Inc. (“Stonehenge”) is pleased to announce the signing of a new lease with New York’s famed Italian eatery, Da Silvano, located at 10 Downing Street.

Da Silvano leased 2,500 square feet of space at an annual rent of approximately $150 per square foot. Da Silvano will continue to operate its current location across the street from 10 Downing. Da Silvano has been a staple on the West Village restaurant scene since 1975, with its charming al fresco dining, which attracts many celebrity “A-listers” and New Yorkers alike.

When Stonehenge acquired 10 Downing Street in September of 2005, the ground floor was comprised of professional, residential and a small amount of retail space. As part of Stonehenge’s master repositioning plan for the ground floor, the property now has approximately 10,000 square feet of prime retail space.

This is the second lease signing for 10 Downing Street. In April of 2007, Stonehenge signed its first lease with the existing owners of the hip 5 Ninth restaurant located in the Meatpacking District.

Chris Owles from Sinvin Realty was the broker that represented Stonehenge on this lease signing.

April 8th, 2008 – 04/08/2008 Ten Downing Street is about to get some fine dining.

Two restaurants are set to open at the West Village building that shares the famous address of the British prime minister. The eateries won't serve British fare though: each will offer cuisine that has southern European roots.

Celebrity haunt Da Silvano will open a new restaurant there, across the street from its bustling business at 260 Sixth Avenue, between Houston and Bleecker streets.

Italian restaurateur Silvano Marchetto signed a 15-year lease last week for 2,500 square feet at 10 Downing Street, said the building's owner, Ofer Yardeni, a managing partner at Stonehenge Partners. The rent for the space on the building's south end is $150 per square foot.

The new restaurant is slated to open in four or five months, Yardeni said.

An owner of the new restaurant and a long-time manager at Da Silvano, Alexandro Bandini, said the new restaurant will also serve Italian food, but will have a new name. Da Silvano will remain open, he said.

The new venture's partners — Bandini, Da Silvano owner Silvano Marchetto and his daughter, and a silent partner — will issue a press release in 10 days about what's to come.

On the building's north side, another restaurant will take the name 10 Downing Restaurant and will serve a Mediterranean-inspired seasonal American menu. Two managing partners from the 5 Ninth restaurant and bar will open 10 Downing in about a month, said Vincent Seufert, one of the restaurant's owners. The restaurant will have 36 outdoor seats.

Katy Sparks, who has a culinary consulting business and once ran Quilty's restaurant in Soho, is consulting on the project. Jason Neroni of Porchetta and 71 Clinton Fresh Foods will be the executive chef.

10 Downing Restaurant has a 15-year lease for 2,700 square feet — including 2,500 square feet for the dining room and restrooms and 200 square feet on the lower level for storage — at $150 per square foot, said Christopher Owles, principal at Sinvin Realty, who negotiated the deals on behalf of Stonehenge.

5 Ninth, a contemporary American restaurant at 5 Ninth Avenue between Gansevoort and Little West 12th Street, will also remain open.

Including the two street-level restaurants, the 110,000-square-foot building will have 11,000 square feet of retail, Owles said. A total of three boutique retail tenants will likely be situated between the two restaurants.

Stonehenge has an offer from a fashion/retailer for about 800 square feet. Retail rents will range from $150 to $175 a foot, Owles said.

On the five stories above, 120 market-rate and rent-regulated rental residences are being upgraded. Studios rent for about $3,000 per month and one-bedrooms for at least $4,000.

"We enhanced the property," Yardeni said. "There was $300,000 income in that space and now we'll have close to $2 million."

Stonehenge bought the building in 2005 for $50 million. Today, Yardeni said, it's worth more than $100 million.

Nearly all of the existing ground floor space had been leased to a mix of professional tenants, residential tenants (many of which were rent-regulated), a dry cleaner and a STA Travel agency office. Stonehenge added 8,000 square feet of the 11,000 square feet of retail.

Author: Lauren Elkies

Copyright © 2007 – The Real Deal, Inc. , 158 West 29th Street New York, NY 10001, 212-260-1332

February 21st, 2008 – As the second month of 2008 comes to an end, members of the real estate community are beginning to accept the fact that the market has seen a price correction. Purchasers of residential rental property in New York City have had to adopt a whole new terminology, with phrases like "all-cash purchaser," "seller financing," "full and limited recourse," "higher debt service coverage," "lower loan to values," and "personal guarantees."

Despite the new rules now in place, investors are actively pursuing ownership of residential rental developments across New York City. With steady and even rising rents, demand is booming for the city's rental apartment buildings, which represent a safe haven for investors weary of uncertainty elsewhere in the real estate market.

As reported in the press earlier this month, a joint venture of Vantage Properties and an international real estate investment fund purchased the Haros Queens portfolio. The joint venture paid about $300 million for 47 buildings spread across 11 neighborhoods in Queens, as well as one town on Long Island. The portfolio encompasses 1,948 residential rental apartments, 20 retail stores, and 96 parking spaces.

"We continue to see strong fundamentals in the New York rental market," the president of Vantage Properties, Neil Rubler, said: "While operating expenses, particularly energy costs, have inflated significantly in the past 24 months, demand for rental units remains strong, with vacancy rates running south of 3% in most neighborhoods." Mr. Rubler added: "On the investment sales side, continued support for the asset class among both balance sheet lenders and financing agencies, like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, make both acquisition financing and refinancing far easier than in other asset classes. This said, leverage levels are generally in the 65% range versus the 80% and plus range that had been commonplace at this time last year, and spreads are up by several hundred basis points, offsetting lower benchmark pricing, which include Swaps or Treasuries. The net effect is that a buyer's overall cost of capital has significantly increased, and deals are generally being underwritten at levels of between 5% to 15% off of the highs achieved in the second quarter of 2007. Sellers generally have taken a wait-and-see attitude, and many aren't yet willing to accept enough of a price adjustment to make most deals work. This said, New York rental multifamily property remains far more liquid than other real estate categories, and we continue to have a very full pipeline of pending transactions."

The co-founder and managing director of Stonehenge Partners, Ofer Yardeni, is very bullish on New York, and especially its residential rental market. Late last year, his firm closed its Stonehenge Opportunity Fund II, and in the last three months it has closed on more than $400 million in property acquisitions. Last month, Stonehenge acquired both 360 E. 65th St. and 347–351 E. 58th St. for $126 million and $10 million, respectively. Last week, Stonehenge closed on the acquisition of 8 Gramercy Park South and 141 E. 33rd St. for $82 million.

"All of these properties were acquired for prices that represented discounts to replacement costs, with rents in place that were significantly below market," Mr. Yardeni said. "Many of these properties were also acquired for all cash, which gave sellers confidence that Stonehenge would be able to close."

The president of Beck Street Capital, Kevin Comer, said: "We were very close to becoming the winner for the Gramercy Park and East 33rd Street package, with a total of 171 units, that was a mixture of regulated and free market units. Ultimately, like almost every time we've been the bridesmaid, we should have paid the extra 10% and got the ring instead."

The chairman of the real estate practice at Herrick Feinstein, Carl Schwartz, said: "Sellers living in the very recent past continue to believe that a 3 cap rate is a fair price for residential apartments. Yet smart buyers who seek financing from the debt market are looking to buy these assets at a cap rate of 6 or 6.5. The result is that no trades are taking place." "I don't believe it is likely that a New York seller who has a mortgage maturing in the next year is going to feel pressure to sell," Mr. Schwartz added. "My sense is that very few stable residential properties are highly leveraged. Rents are up dramatically over the past five years. New York City residential rental properties are every lender's darling and a favored asset class. Therefore, as a result of rent increases, the value of the asset has risen since the last refinance. Even if an owner can only get a loan to value of 65% to refinance what was a 75% loan to value, there is probably plenty of equity in the project. Investors seeking a 65% loan to value shouldn't have a tough time. Therefore, residential rentals will hold their value for the immediate future. Not because they are not impacted by the debt market, but because owners will be reluctant to adjust their expectations and they won't need to face the new reality."

"Today, we have a situation where there is still a significant amount of capital available and very strong real estate market fundamentals," Mr. Yardeni said. "We believe that the market will recover from the current credit crunch by the end of 2008. We also believe 2008 will be the year of the bargain. Properties will trade for discounts as highly levered buyers are forced to the sidelines. All-cash buyers will be at the forefront in the marketplace, with property values strengthening towards the end of 2008 and into 2009."

The chairman of Massey Knakal Realty Services, Robert Knakal, said: "Without a doubt, the segment of the market capturing the greatest amount of buying demand is rental apartments. Even with the challenges the capital market is presenting, apartment buildings are still, by far, the easiest to obtain financing for. More equity is required, but the debt is available and is available from more sources than for any other product type."

Mr. Knakal added: "Rent regulation has created an exciting opportunity for purchasers who will outwardly object to regulations but inwardly know that those same regulations provide tremendous benefits to them. The artificially low rents provide built-in upside potential which can be unlocked with expertise and a lot of hard work. Going-in cap rates might be minuscule at 2% to 4%, but over time, junk bond yields are realized with better than U.S. government-quality credit. Even if the country went into a depression, a two-room apartment in Manhattan will still be able to achieve the regulated rent of $538.87 per month. Owners can also take advantage of a 30% return on capital invested to renovate regulated units."

"Rent regulation provides an amazing amount of inertia to the tenant base, which will simply not move. This constrains supply and makes unregulated apartments attain rents above what a completely free market system would dictate. It's no wonder that we are still receiving about 30 to 40 offers on each apartment building we are marketing," he added.

The president of Citi Habitats, Gary Malin, noted: "New York remains a renter-centric city, with 75% of its overall housing stock comprised of rental properties. Vacancy rates for Manhattan averaged at or below 1% for the past few years and were .97% for 2007 and .76% in 2006, primarily due to the lack of rental inventory and high demand."

"Clearly, when and if Manhattan faces an economic downturn, rental buildings will still prove to be a safe harbor for investors, as New York City is a major economic center and will continue to draw interest from rents at every financial level that desire or need to live in Manhattan. Additional demand would also be drawn from renters previously priced out of the market, families moving back to increasing housing options, and those downsizing and returning to the city," he added.

An associate at Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group, Eli Weiss, said: "In a nutshell, New York City multifamily investment is keenly sought after by investors today because of a simple but powerful force: supply and demand. As a historical rental market, demand for multifamily units in New York will grow commensurately with its population, which is currently 8.2 million people, and projected to grow to 9.4 million by 2025. In the face of this obvious long-term demand stands an array of factors that will greatly impede new multifamily development: the ever rising cost of construction, the scarcity of land, the pending shortage of tax-exempt bonds, and the new 421a legislation, to name just a few."

"If the total cost to develop a ground-up, multifamily unit in the Bronx is roughly $300,000 per unit, why then shouldn't investors snap up existing rental stock for half the price and take no construction risk, even if it implies a very low cap rate? As long as you have patient money, cap rate is not the be all and end all metric in an environment in which vacancy rates are at historical lows and long-term rent growth is in the cards. However, with the recent increase in the cost of capital and the steep decrease in leverage offered by lenders, investors must now be prepared to put up more cash to win deals as sellers understand the long-term value of their assets and have not yet altered their expectations to match the adjustment in the credit markets," he added.

Perhaps the biggest difficulty in purchasing rental units is the source of financing. The chairman of the Lightstone Group, David Lichtenstein, said: "It's simple. Fannie and Freddie Mac are the last lenders still standing. If they pull out, whatever happened to the collateralized mortgage-backed securities market will happen and only multiply."

He added, "If Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac's widen out spreads, today's cap rates may seem a bit pricey in retrospect. Nothing is without risk."

The senior executive vice president and chief credit officer at Emigrant Savings Bank, Patricia Goldstein, said: "When you talk about multifamily, you should differentiate between market-rate buildings, rent-controlled and -stabilized units. The problem with the stabilized units is that, when purchased, cash flow did not cover debt service, and there was not a clear understanding of growth in cash flow."

"Banks looking at these deals today want better cash flow, debt service coverage, and therefore are offering lower loans and higher spreads due to capital market issues," she added. "Another issue is new construction, where many developers are projecting $75 to $80 rents in less desirable locations. Not all locations are the same, particularly as we come into a possible recession and financial service types are losing their jobs. Although apartments are always good in New York, new properties are affected by the slowdown in the economy."

A senior broker at Besen Associates, Adelaide Polsinelli, said: "What the banks give with one hand, they take away with the other. Rates are ridiculously low, yet financing is practically impossible to get. I just had a deal fall apart because the buyer, a longtime customer of the particular bank, could not get enough financing. The buyer was a regular trader with a great track record, and the bank was an active player in this asset type. The gross income was approximately $1 million and the deal price was $13 million. The buildings were in a prime location in Little Italy. The bank would only commit to a first mortgage of $3.5 million. Six months ago, that same bank was offering $8 million."

An executive vice president at Anglo Irish Bank, Paul Brophy, said: "In today's market, the financing of residential apartment buildings remains one of the few asset classes where lenders feel good about the outlook for the sector. Given the slowdown in the for-sale housing market and the conversion of apartment buildings to hotels and condominiums, supply of apartment product has remained controlled, and if anything there is possibly a shortage of supply in certain urban markets."

All I can say is that I hope that Mr. Yardeni is on the mark when he says: "We are very positive about the real estate market in Manhattan and believe that the best is yet to come for the city."

Mr. Stoler, a contributing editor of The New York Sun, is a television and radio broadcaster and a senior principal at a real estate investment fund. He can be reached at mstoler@newyorkrealestate.

February 11th, 2008 – Stonehenge Fund III has closed on the acquisition of 8 Gramercy Park South and 141 East 33rd Street.

8 Gramercy Park South is a 6-story, 60,000 square foot mixed-use apartment building located on the southeast corner of 20th Street and Park Avenue South, just steps away from Gramercy Park. The Property is comprised of 55 spacious apartments, 3 professional spaces and 2 retail spaces (which are currently leased to restaurants Sushi Samba and L’Express). In addition, the Property Is one of only a few rental buildings that offer its residents an opportunity to rent keys to Gramercy Park.

141 East 33rd Street is a 16-story, 120,000 square foot mixed-use apartment building located on the northeast corner of 33rd Street and Lexington Avenue, in the heart of the Murray Hill submarket. The Property is comprised of 120 spacious apartments, 1 retail space and 1 professional space. The 6,000 square foot retail space is currently vacant and is being marketed to prospective tenants.

Ofer Yardeni and Joel Seiden are the two principals of Stonehenge Partners Inc.(“Stonehenge”), a New York City based private equity firm that acquires and operates commercial, retail and residential properties throughout the tri-state area. Stonehenge currently owns and manages a portfolio valued at over $2 billion which includes over 2,500 rental units and 700,000 square feet of commercial space in Manhattan.

This is Stonehenge’s second acquisition in its recently closed Stonehenge Fund III. Stonehenge also acquired 360 East 65th Street (“Stonehenge 65”), a 200,000 square foot mixed-use building, in January of 2008.

Stonehenge Fund III is a $500 million equity fund which is seeking to acquire office, retail and residential properties, and target high-yield debt opportunities in the tri-state area.

February 5th, 2008 – Stonehenge buys UES First Avenue building for $126 million February 05, 2008 01:56PM 1199 First Avenue Stonehenge Partners has purchased 1199 First Avenue, which houses Lenscrafters' Manhattan flagship, for $126 million. The 21-story, 195,000-square foot building is at the southwest corner of 65th Street. Stonehenge will rename the building Stonehenge 65th and renovate its lobby and hallways to "bring it back to its glory days," said Ofer Yardeni, a Stonehenge managing partner. Built in 1962, the building has 159 residential units and 13,500 square feet of retail space. Optique by Lenscrafters signed a 10-year lease for 1,775 square feet of ground-floor retail space in 2004. Other retailers include Duane Reade, Ricky's and Maya Restaurant. The seller was Broadway Management Co. TRD

January 15th, 2008 – NEW YORK, NY: January 15, 2008 –

Stonehenge Fund III has closed on the acquisition of 360 East 65th Street. The Property is a 21-story, 200,000 square foot mixed-use apartment building located on the southwest corner of 65th Street and First Avenue. The Property is comprised of 158 oversized apartments, 5 retail spaces with 150 feet of frontage along First Avenue, and a 69 car parking garage.

The 158 residential units in the building are comprised of 2 studios, 50 one-bedrooms, 83 twobedrooms, 22-three bedrooms and 1 four bedroom. The average apartment size is over 1,000 square feet, making it ideal for families and renters that are looking to create an additional bedroom.

Ofer Yardeni and Joel Seiden are the two principals of Stonehenge Partners Inc (“Stonehenge”), a New York City based private equity firm that acquires and operates multifamily property throughout the tri-state area. Stonehenge, together with its investors, currently owns and manages a portfolio valued at approximately $2 billion and includes over 2,300 rental units and 700,000 square feet of commercial space in Manhattan.

This is Stonehenge’s first acquisition in its recently closed Stonehenge Fund III. Stonehenge FundIII is a $500 million equity fund which is seeking to acquire office, retail and residential properties, and target high-yield debt opportunities in the tri-state area.

January 1st, 2008 – NEW YORK CITY, NY: January 10, 2008 -

CDP/PSP Stonehenge Partners II, LLC has closed on the acquisition of 347-351 East 58th Street. The Properties consist of 3 contiguous 5-story walk-up buildings with 60 feet of frontage and consisting of 30 residential units. The 30 residential units in the buildings are comprised of 3 studios, 24 one bedrooms and 3 two bedroom duplex garden apartments.

The Property is located on the north side of 58th Street between First and Second Avenue, just blocks from the heart of Midtown Manhattan. The building is also just a few blocks away from the nearest subway station which serves the 4,5, 6, N, R & W subway lines.

CDP/PSP Stonehenge Partners II, LLC is a joint venture between Cadim, Stonehenge Partners, Inc., and other investors.

Ofer Yardeni and Joel Seiden are the two principals of Stonehenge Partners Inc., which is a New York City based private equity firm that acquires and operates multifamily and commercial property throughout the tri-state area. Stonehenge, together with its investors, currently owns and manages over 2,300 rental units in Manhattan with its portfolio valued at approximately $2 billion.

Cadim, a division of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and a member of the Caisse’s Real Estate Group, is a prominent global real estate investment manager. Cadim invests in a diversified range of products, using its own funds or by means of financing operations through a network of affiliates and renowned partners in the United States, Europe and Asia. Cadim is an opportunistic investor whose success relies on its capacity to achieve large-scale operations and to take advantage of key growth opportunities. As of December 31, 2006, total assets under management totaled $36.3 billion.

Miriam Halpert & Jonathan Miller of Grubb & Ellis represented both the buyer and seller on the transaction.

November 7th, 2007 – New York, New York: November 7, 2007 –

A joint venture between a client of INVESCO Real Estate and Stonehenge Partners, Inc. has closed on the acquisition of 1619 Broadway, also known as the Brill Building (the “Property”). The Brill Building is an 11-story, 177,000 square foot mixed-use office and retail tower located on the northwest corner of West 49th Street and Broadway in the heart of the Times Square submarket of Manhattan.

The Property is currently 100% leased with a majority of the net rentable area occupied by two long-tenured tenants, Sound One Corporation and Broadway Video.

The Property has a long and distinguished history as an iconic building within the music and entertainment industries and ownership will explore the concept of restoring the building to its original glory days as the preeminent music and entertainment industry building in Manhattan.

Headquartered in Dallas, the INVESCO Real Estate group of INVESCO Institutional (N.A.), Inc. provides real estate investment advisory services to U.S. institutional clients and currently manages over $31.5 billion in direct real estate assets and publicly traded real estate securities.

Stonehenge Partners Inc., whose principals are Ofer Yardeni and Joel Seiden, is a New York City based private equity firm that acquires and operates property throughout the tri-state area. Stonehenge, together with its investors, currently owns and manages a portfolio that is valued in excess of $2 billion and includes over 2,000 rental units in Manhattan as well as over 700,000 square feet of commercial space.

Stonehenge recently closed on its new $500 million equity fund which is seeking to acquire office, retail and residential properties, and target high-yield debt opportunities in the tri-state area.

November 5th, 2007 – New York, New York: November 5, 2007 –

Stonehenge Partners, Inc. (“Stonehenge”) has signed a long-term lease with Bistro New York International Inc. (“Bistro New York”) on the ground floor space at The Olivia. The leasing of this 6,450 square foot prime retail space is the “final piece to the puzzle” and Stonehenge is pleased to announce that the entire commercial and retail space (300,000 square feet) at the Olivia is now 100% leased.

The Olivia is a 33-story, 600,000 square foot mixed use building containing 333 luxury residential units and approximately 300,000 square feet of prime retail, commercial and garage space. The property is a “block-through” building stretching from West 34th Street to West 33rd Street located between Eighth and Ninth Avenues.

Bistro New York was established in New York City in March of 1993 with the purpose to develop and operate a chain of specialty coffee shops throughout Manhattan. In addition, the company plans to develop and distribute a new line of coffee related products under the Bistro label. Today, Bistro New York has 25 locations throughout the country including 15 stores in New York City.

David LaPierre and his brokerage team from CBRE represented Stonehenge and Alan Schmerzler and his brokerage team from Cushman & Wakefield represented Bistro New York on this lease signing.

October 17th, 2007 – New York, New York., October 17, 2007 –

Stonehenge Partners, Inc. today announced that ithas closed on a new $500 million real estate equity fund, Stonehenge Fund III. Stonehenge Partners will use this fund to acquire office, retail and residential properties as well as targeting high-yield debt opportunities in the Tri-State area.

“Stonehenge is very excited about having this equity capital available in the current environment. Stonehenge believes that given New York’s economic strength, supply/demand imbalance and the scarcity of prime developable land, long-term value appreciation is expected. Stonehenge remains focused on investments in a market in which real estate fundamentals remain very strong,” said Ofer Yardeni, one of the two managing partners at Stonehenge.

“We are pleased our partners have expressed their confidence with this $500 million commitment. We will continue to invest in high quality value added investments and joint ventures with partners who share the same vision. The ability to act and close quickly will provide a valuable niche during these challenging credit times. We remain strongly committed to the value of New York as a vibrant business and media capital,” commented Joel Seiden, managing partner at Stonehenge.

Stonehenge’s successful track record can be attributed to its ability to reposition assets by implementing its proactive management approach and creatively exploring ways of maximizing value.

Among the more notable properties that Stonehenge Partners owns and operates include The Olivia, The Ritz Plaza, Stonehenge Village, 20 Park Avenue and 41 Park Avenue.

Stonehenge Partners was founded in the early 1990s by Ofer Yardeni and Joel Seiden. Over the last decade, Stonehenge has closed on transactions in excess of $2 billion comprising over 3 million square feet. Stonehenge currently employs over 50 professionals who cover the full spectrum of real estate expertise. The company is headquartered at the Ritz Plaza which is located at 235 West 48th Street.

July 9th, 2007 – New York, NY- July 9, 2007 - Adding to its portfolio of over 2,000 rental units in Manhattan, Stonehenge Partners Inc., led by principals Ofer Yardeni and Joel Seiden has acquired a 93-unit, seven-story rental building located between First and Second Avenues on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The 90,000-square foot property at 330 East 63rd Street occupies a 17,500-square-foot footprint. Eastern Consolidated Director Aliza Avital represented the seller, 63rd East Side Realty LLC, and Ms. Avital together with Alan P. Miller, Senior Director, procured the buyer. “It’s rare for the seller, a local real estate family, to sell one of their buildings,” noted Ms. Avital. “But the market is at an all-time high, so not surprisingly it made sense to maximize their investment at this time.” According to Mr. Miller, “Stonehenge is thrilled with this new acquisition and intends to upgrade and renovate the property, and gradually raise rental rates. The majority of the apartments, 37 studios, 42 one-bedrooms, and 14-two bedrooms, are rent-stabilized.” Average apartment sizes at 330 East 63rd Street are over 750 square feet. The building is situated equidistant to the 59th and 68th Street subway line on Lexington Avenue. Andrew W. Albstein, Esq. and Doran Golubtchik Esq. of Goldberg Weprin & Ustin LLP acted for the seller, while Larry M. Loeb, Esq. and Michael Fein, Esq. of Kramer Levin Naftalis Frankel LLP Founded in 1981, Eastern Consolidated has emerged as one of the country’s preeminent full-service real estate investment services firms, combining an unrivaled expertise in the greater New York marketplace with a worldwide roster of institutional and private investor clients. Over the years, it has been responsible for the acquisition, disposition and finance of all types of properties, including office and apartment buildings, lofts, factories, hotels, shopping centers, commercial and residential development sites, taxpayers, parking garages and lots, retail condominiums and air rights transfers.

July 5th, 2007 –

June 21st, 2007 – NEW YORK CITY, NY: June 21, 2007 -

CDP/PSP Stonehenge Partners II, LLC has closed on the acquisition of 330 East 63rd Street. The Property was constructed in 1947 and consists of approximately 90,000 square feet comprised of 93 residential units. The 93 residential units in the building are comprised of 37 studios, 42 one-bedrooms and 14 two-bedrooms. The average apartment size is over 750 square feet, making it ideal for families and renters that are looking to create an additional bedroom.

The Property is located on south side of 63rd Street between First and Second Avenue and in the heart of the Upper East Side. The building is just a few blocks away from the nearest subway station which serves the 4,5, 6, N, R & W subway lines. The building is also located just 2 blocks away from the coveted Sports Club LA, which is considered to be the best private health club on the Upper East Side.

CDP/PSP Stonehenge Partners II, LLC is a joint venture between Cadim, Stonehenge Partners, Inc., and other investors.

Ofer Yardeni and Joel Seiden are the two principals of Stonehenge Partners Inc., which is a New York City based private equity firm that acquires and operates multifamily property throughout the tri-state area. Stonehenge, together with its investors, currently owns and manages over 2,000 rental units in Manhattan with its portfolio valued at approximately $2 billion. Stonehenge‘s portfolio includes The Ritz Plaza and The Olivia, two luxury high-rise buildings located in the Time Square and Penn Station submarkets. The Ritz Plaza is a 43-story, 479 luxury residential apartment building totaling over 510,000 square feet with retail, office, and garage space. The Olivia is a 33-story, 600,000 square foot mixed use building containing 333 luxury residential units and approximately 300,000 square feet of prime retail, commercial and garage space.

Cadim, a division of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and a member of the Caisse’s Real Estate Group, is a prominent global real estate investment manager. Cadim invests in a diversified range of products, using its own funds or by means of financing operations through a network of affiliates and renowned partners in the United States, Europe and Asia. Cadim is an opportunistic investor whose success relies on its capacity to achieve large-scale operations and to take advantage of key growth opportunities. As of December 31, 2006, total assets under management totaled $36.3 billion.

Aliza Avital of Eastern Consolidated represented both the buyer and seller on the transaction.

January 17th, 2007 – NEW YORK CITY, NY: January 17th, 2007 -

CDP – Stonehenge Partners LLC has closed on the sale of 209 West 102nd Street. The property was acquired in June 2004 for$1,650,000 and in just 2 years was sold for $5,375,000. The property is located on the north side of 102nd Street between Broadway and Amsterdam. This five-story walk-up building was built in 1925 and it contains 22 residential units which comprise 14,000 square feet.

CDP – Stonehenge Partners LLC is a joint venture between Stonehenge Partners, Inc. and Cadim.

Ofer Yardeni and Joel Seiden are the two principals of Stonehenge Partners Inc., which is a New York City based private equity firm that acquires and operates multifamily property throughout the tri-state area. Stonehenge, together with its investors, currently owns and manages over 2,000 rental units in Manhattan with its portfolio valued at approximately $2 billion. Stonehenge‘s portfolio includes The Ritz Plaza and The Olivia, two luxury high-rise buildings located in the Time Square and Penn Station submarkets. The Ritz Plaza is a 43-story, 479 luxury residential apartment building totaling over 510,000 square feet with retail, office, and garage space. The Olivia is a 33-story, 600,000 square foot mixed use building containing 333 luxury residential units and approximately 300,000 square feet of prime retail, commercial and garage space.

Cadim, a division of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and a member of the Caisse’s Real Estate Group, is a prominent global real estate investment manager. Cadim invests in a diversified range of products, using its own funds or by means of financing operations through a network of affiliates and renowned partners in the United States, Europe and Asia. Cadim is an opportunistic investor whose success relies on its capacity to achieve large-scale operations and to take advantage of key growth opportunities. As of December 31, 2006, total assets under management totaled $36.3 billion.

January 11th, 2007 – NEW YORK CITY, NY. - January 11, 2007 –

The principals of Stonehenge Partners, Inc., Ofer Yardeni and Joel Seiden, have closed on the sale of 145 Spring Street to Nior LLC. The building was acquired in April of 2003 for $7,035,000 and sold for $13,250,000 less than 4 years later. The property is a magnificent 8-story elevator loft building with prime retail on grade is located in the heart of SoHo. The property is situated on the North side of Spring Street between West Broadway and Wooster Street, which is the center of many of the world’s most recognized fashion houses, art galleries, retailers and restaurants.

Larry Loeb of Kramer, Levin, Naftalis & Frankel represented Stonehenge on this transaction.

November 10th, 2006 – November 10, 2006 -

Stonehenge Partners Inc., (“Stonehenge”) is pleased to announce that it has signed an agreement to create the CDP/PSP Stonehenge Partners II, LLC (the “Fund”). The Fund is a joint venture between Cadim, Stonehenge Partners, Inc., and other investors. This is the second fund that Cadim and Stonehenge has created together in the last three years and the two firms have been partners together for over thirteen years. Through this partnership, a commitment has been made to acquire multi-family real estate in the tri-state area, focusing mainly in the Manhattan borough of New York City. The purpose of this agreement will be to purchase “value-added” assets to further enhance the $2 billion dollar portfolio that is currently owned by Stonehenge and Cadim. The principals of Stonehenge, Ofer Yardeni and Joel Seiden, will be responsible for all acquisitions, dispositions, and day-to-day operations of the joint-venture partnership.

Stonehenge is a New York City based private equity firm that acquires and operates multifamily property throughout the tri-state area. Stonehenge, together with its investors, currently owns and manages over 2,000 rental units in Manhattan with its portfolio valued at approximately $2 billion. Stonehenge‘s portfolio includes The Ritz Plaza and The Olivia, two luxury high-rise buildings located in the Time Square and Penn Station submarkets. The Ritz Plaza is a 43-story, 479 luxury residential apartment building totaling over 510,000 square feet with retail, office, and garage space. The Olivia is a 33-story, 600,000 square foot mixed use building containing 333 luxury residential units and approximately 300,000 square feet of prime retail, commercial and garage space.

Cadim, a division of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and a member of the Caisse’s Real Estate Group, is a prominent global real estate investment manager. Cadim invests in a diversified range of products, using its own funds or by means of financing operations through a network of affiliates and renowned partners in the United States, Europe and Asia. Cadim is an opportunistic investor whose success relies on its capacity to achieve large-scale operations and to take advantage of key growth opportunities. As of December 31, 2006, total assets under management totaled $36.3 billion.

March 27th, 2006 –

Michael Stoler interviews Ofer Yardeni. View here.

February 1st, 2006 – Stonehenge Partners - by Peter Haas The Mann Report

“I want to be a part of it: New York, New York!” That's Frank Sinatra, singing on one of his hit recordings. It could also be the philosophy of the real estate investment firm, Stonehenge Partners Inc., and its principals, Ofer Yardeni and Joel Seiden. They have been an important part of the city scene for over a dozen years.

“We created Stonehenge early in the 1990s to take advantage of real estate conditions at the time,” Joel Seiden recalls. “Prices were falling; many people were losing faith in the city's viability. But we felt otherwise. We believed it was only a matter of time before prices rose again. And we backed that belief with our investments.”

They still are. In 2005 alone, the firm invested more than $600 million in New York properties. Among them is the “Platinum Portfolio,” consisting of four Manhattan apartment buildings: 20 Park Avenue and 41 Park Avenue, in Murray Hill; 167 East 82nd Street, on the Upper East Side; and 10 Downing Street, off lower Sixth Avenue in the West Village. Together, the buildings total approximately 375,000 square feet, comprising 371 residential units, 20 professional spaces, and two retail stores. “Some 70 percent of the units are rent-stabilized,” comments Ofer Yardeni, “so our plans are to keep the properties as rentals for the long term. To maintain them in top condition, we have earmarked another $12 million for renovations.”

The firm acquired two additional properties during 2005. One was a complex on the upper West Side, taking up half a block between 96th and 97th Streets, between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues. Containing two 14-story elevator buildings consisting of 520,000 square feet plus a two-story commercial building, the property has been given a new name: Stonehenge Village. It joins the firm's family of West Side properties, such as Stonehenge Towers, Stonehenge House, Stonehenge Gardens and Stonehenge Park. “Many of our properties carry our firm's name,” notes Ofer. “We like to create a brand name with our properties, and we feel the word Stonehenge suggests strength and permanence.”

The year's second acquisition was the 35-story Pennmark Towers, on West 33rd Street, at Eighth Avenue. A 600,000-square-foot mixed-use property with 333 apartments, it has a new identity: The Olivia, named for Ofer's seven-year-old daughter. “We paid close to $250 million for it,” he comments. “To pay that much, you have to really believe in the area.” That belief paid off when, later in the summer, the Empire State Development Corporation selected a development team to transform the neighboring General Post Office into a $930 million transit hub. “It promises to revitalize the area, and our properties will benefit,” Ofer believes. “With the redevelopment, there will be more restaurants, more theaters, more hotels. It will be a busier and more attractive neighborhood. Tenants coming to the area will be upper scale, and that will impact the entire area. There will be more demand. Even though The Olivia is fully leased now, we look at it as a long-term investment, as a property that will continue to increase in value.”

Adding value is an integral part of Stonehenge's business strategy. “Our plans are to buy and manage high quality multi-family Manhattan real estate, where we can make capital improvements, renovate apartments and stores, and secure better rents,” explains Joel. “We acquire great properties for the longer term with low leverage, and our investment returns have been exceptional over a 10-year consistent period.”

Other current Stonehenge properties include the Ritz Plaza, on West 48th Street (where the firm itself is headquartered); 321 West 33rd Street, down the block from The Olivia; buildings on Spring Street, Greene Street, and West 102nd and107th Streets; and now seven buildings and complexes bearing the Stonehenge name. In addition, the firm owns a building on Sansome Street in San Francisco.

The past year was also an active one for Stonehenge sales. “It was time to maximize the value of our portfolio, by divesting particular properties,” says Joel. One sale was a Greenwich Village corner, at Seventh Avenue and 11th Street; Stonehenge originally purchased it for $21 million one year ago and sold it for $30 million. In addition, Stonehenge West, at 86th Street, which was originally bought for $16.5 million, was just sold for $28 million, after only 12 months.

There's another Sinatra hit that could be a Stonehenge theme song “My Way.” “Yes,” laughs Ofer, “we manage our firm ‘our way' – and ‘our way' is a team approach. For one thing, Joel and I have been an investment team since the 1990s. For another, since our start-up, we have been fortunate to have had the consistent backing of an enduring financial partner, Cadim/ Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec, a Canadian retirement fund.”

“The most important team, however, is our own Stonehenge staff,” remarks Joel. “We have some 35 men and women with us today. Each is a specialist, each bringing his or her own wisdom and talents to the firm. They come to us with their ideas, we brainstorm together, we discuss our options, and they make the decisions. Together, we form a mechanism for growth.” Adds Ofer: “Joel and I are much like musical conductors, orchestrating the team. We are fortunate: we are able to attract terrific professionals, people certainly better at their specialties than we could be!”

Among the Stonehenge team members are Steve Vissichelli, chief financial officer; Garry Swords, executive vice president, operations; Alan Klein and Jon Fishman, in charge of the firm's acquisitions; James Bush, director of building operations; Marc Kaplan, director of building affairs; Michael Stern, creative director; and Eric Roth, investor and management consultant.

“We are all on board with the same philosophy, all behind the same Stonehenge brand,” notes Ofer. “First, the firm is not a trader; we're not in and out. We buy only high-quality, high-value properties; we add additional value to them through our own design and management teams; and we hold onto them for the long range. New York is an exciting city,” he adds. “Part of its liveliness is its variety of architecture, changing from one block to another. The neighborhoods we're in offer a mixture of high-end condos, lower-end buildings and brownstones. They are part of New York's diversity, and we want to keep that.”

Ofer Yardeni and Joel Seiden bring diverse talents to their partnership. Joel's early focus was on commercial and residential real estate in the New York/New Jersey area. He was with Gebroe-Hammer, a prominent New Jersey brokerage, becoming senior vice president. During his career, he has been involved with over $2 billion of real estate acquisitions. Ofer, a native of Israel, emigrated to the United States in 1986 “to study history and philosophy, and to be a university professor, ” he recalls. To support himself, he joined L.B. Kaye, handling the firm's investments; became a broker; then founded Yardeni Investments, focusing on multifamily and commercial investment sales. Ofer and Joel formed Stonehenge Partners, Inc., and its management company, Stonehenge Management LLC, in 1994.

“Today's investment environment requires creative vision with capital and the ability to execute post-closing. We have a war chest of capital, both human and financial, for the new year. We are fortunate and grateful guys, and this will be a wonderful year,” agree Joel and Ofer.

January 5th, 2006 – New York - January 5, 2006

The multifamily residential property acquisition fund of CDP – Stonehenge Partners LLC (“CDP-Stonehenge”) has closed on the sale of 120 West 86th Street also known as “Stonehenge West”. CDP-Stonehenge purchased this property for $16,500,000 in November of 2004 and sold the property for $28,000,000 to the Goldman family, just 12 months later. The Goldman family will continue to operate this property as a rental.

This magnificent twelve story elevator building was built in 1912 and contains 47 residential units comprising 50,000 square feet. The property is located on the south side of 86th Street between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues in the heart of the Upper West Side, just one block from Central Park. This building is situated on one of the few “two-way” streets in Manhattan and has excellent transportation accessibility with a major subway station located on the corner at 86th Street and Broadway that makes both local and express stops along the entire West Side.

CDP – Stonehenge Partners LLC is a joint venture between CDP Capital – Real Estate Advisory and Stonehenge Partners, Inc. CDP Capital – Real Estate Advisory conducts merchant banking operations and offers advisory as well as structured finance services to institutional and private investors globally. Ofer Yardeni and Joel Seiden are the two principals of Stonehenge Partners Inc., which is a New York City based private equity firm that acquires and operates multifamily property throughout the tri-state area.

September 27th, 2005 – New York, New York - September 27, 2005

Ofer Yardeni and Joel Seiden, the principals of Stonehenge Partners, Inc. have closed on the acquisition of the “Platinum Portfolio”. The Portfolio consists of four rental properties located at 20 Park Avenue, 41 Park Avenue, 10 Downing Street and 167 East 82nd Street. The properties are located in three of Manhattan’s most desirable residential communities: Murray Hill, West Village and Upper East Side. The Portfolio totals approximately 375,000 square feet and is comprised of 371 residential units, 20 professional spaces and 2 retail stores. Over $180 million of capital was raised for this transaction. A consortium of investors, including CDP Capital – Real Estate Advisory, participated in the transaction.

The closing of this acquisition continues the growth pattern for Stonehenge Partners, Inc. which recently acquired Stonehenge Village, a 520,000 square foot complex on 96th and 97th Streets between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenue in May. Stonehenge also acquired the Olivia, a 600,000 square foot mixed-use property located on 34th Street, in April of this year.

Neil Tucker of Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP and Steven Levin of Davies, Ward, Phillips & Vineberg LLP represented Stonehenge and its partners on this transaction.

September 12th, 2005 – Mann About Town by Peter Haas

The West Side? Why would anyone invest in the West Side? The area is full of ancient apartment houses with rent-controlled tenants and small shops. Ninth and Tenth Avenues are lined with run-down mom-and-pop stores, grungy parking lots, and gas stations. Nearer the Hudson River, the area is filled with huge warehouses and monolithic office buildings. The West Side is never going anywhere!

This was the common perception — once. More recently, however, Stonehenge Partners felt that the West Side was going to increase in value. The company backed its belief by investing strongly in the area. It began to amass a portfolio of buildings — approximately a dozen and a half — and, just this past summer, added two new properties. One is a complex, taking up half a block between 96th and 97th Streets on Amsterdam Avenue, that contains two 14-story elevator buildings plus a two-story, 520,000 square-foot commercial building. The property has been given a new name: Stonehenge Village, joining the company’s family of West Side properties such as Stonehenge Towers, Stonehenge House, Stonehenge Gardens, Stonehenge Park, and Stonehenge West. “Many of our properties carry the name, ‘Stonehenge,’” explains Ofer J. Yardeni, one of the company’s two managing partners. “We feel it suggests strength and permanence. We like to create a brand name with our properties.”

Still another acquisition, early this summer, was the 35-story Pennmark Towers, at West 34th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues, near Penn Station. The building, renamed The Olivia, has 333 apartments. “We paid close to $250 million for it,” says Ofer. “To pay that much, you have to really believe in the area,” he commented at the time.” The company’s vision proved to be crystal clear: in mid-July, the Empire State Development Corporation announced that it had selected a development team to transform the nearby General Post Office into a $930 million transit hub that “proponents say will be a catalyst for development and an opportunity for civic redemption,” reported The New York Times.

“Yes, my properties will benefit from it,” comments Ofer. “More people are going to be in the area. There will be more restaurants, more theaters, more hotels. The area will look prettier, happier. It happens that The Olivia is fully leased, so how will I develop? Tenants moving to the area are upper scale; which affects the entire neighborhood. There will be more demand. I look at myself as a long-term owner, and the property value will increase again.”

Stonehenge’s purchases are part of well-thought-out business and acquisition strategies, which the company makes public. Plans call, in part, for buying and managing multifamily Manhattan real estate, where Stonehenge can make capital improvements, renovate apartments and stores, and secure better rents. “I am not looking to buy a building with existing tenants to demolish it and to build a high rise,” says Ofer. “If you would walk with me between 23rd Street and 42nd Street, you will see that there is an abundance of land. There are brownstones in the area; they offer character, and I would like to keep them, preserve them. You cannot just build a tall city. New York City is a mixture of high-end condominiums, lower-end buildings, brownstones, and more. I want to keep this diversity.”

Stonehenge’s future is focused on New York. “I love the city,” Ofer says. “What’s more, my being here is by choice.” Born in Israel, he served for three years in the Israeli army, then came to New York in 1986 to study history and philosophy, with the goal of becoming a university professor. A $600 stake from his father, a steel worker, went fast; to make money, Ofer went to work for L.B. Kaye, helping to manage Kaye’s investments. He became a broker, then founded Yardeni Investments, focusing on multifamily and commercial investment sales. In 1994, Joel Seiden, who had founded his own firm acquiring and managing real estate in New York and New Jersey, suggested that he and Ofer join forces to create Stonehenge. Says Joel Seiden today: “I felt that Ofer would make a great partner. I saw that he was energetic and intelligent, a man with a hard-work ethic and solid attention to detail. These are still among his qualities today. We’ve been partners now for 15 years. It’s been a joyful experience — and it still is!”

How does a stranger to New York become a significant player in its real estate market? “Compared with other parts of the world, it is quite easy,” says Ofer. “If you go to buy in Germany, France, or England, no matter how much real estate you own, you will always be known as a foreigner. If you buy one building in Manhattan, people here greet you as a local player. The community welcomes you. The banks are wonderful to work with; they don’t look at you in terms of race or culture; they like to see if you have a vision as a businessman, and then they will lend you the money. Most of the people in the world would like to come to New York,” he adds “No one you meet elsewhere says “I want to come to the U.S. and invest in Iowa or Michigan or Georgia.’ Everybody says to you, ‘I want to invest in New York.’ I live here – and this is where I look to invest.”

Stonehenge sees opportunities across the continent as well. “I like San Francisco,” Ofer says. “It reminds me very much of Manhattan — sophisticated, educated, surrounded by water, very difficult to penetrate — and it’s a good balance to New York.” Stonehenge has already bought one property there, and hopes to acquire more. “Between New York and San Francisco, I think I can accomplish my desire,” he says.

The field of real estate gave Ofer one unexpected benefit: he met his wife, Shari, when they both worked at L.B. Kaye. She had just graduated from the University of Maryland, and came to the firm on a summer job. A year and half later, they married. “I was $40,000 in debt when I got married,” says Ofer today. “But I had friends. My father told me once that if you have friends, you can never be poor. People invited me to the Hamptons, I went. Someone invited me to lunch, I went to lunch. I felt like Forrest Gump! And I felt very rich. I have had very good luck and I have had great friends.” The couple now has three children: Max, 13; Josh, 10; and Olivia, 6. It’s no coincidence that Pennmark’s name became the same as their daughter’s. “We wanted a nicer, sweeter, softer name for the building,” says Ofer. “Hopefully, our Olivia will not become impossible when she learns that a building has been named after her!”

Ofer feels fortunate to have discovered the field of real estate. “If I were reborn, I would do the same work,” he says. “I enjoy the journey, the process. You can talk about luck, but that is a combination of many things. Yes, everyone understands that you have to be in the right place at the right time, but you have to take action into your hands. If it doesn’t happen exactly as you want, that’s okay. Continue. Things will come out. This is how I try to live my life.”

August 17th, 2005 – NYPost.com by Lois Weiss

There is nothing like great Park Avenue real estate, and that's the reason Stonehenge Partners signed up the "Platinum Portfolio" for less than $200 million, according to our sources.

The partners, Ofer Yardeni and Joel Seiden, who declined comment, will soon add 330 units in four boutique apartment houses at 20 Park Ave. and 41 Park Ave., 167 E. 82nd St., and 10 Downing St. at Sixth Ave., to their growing portfolio of nearly 2,000 city apartments.

Since 70 percent of the units are rent-stabilized, this purchase is being made as a long-term hold and not a conversion.

Darcy Stacom and Bill Shanahan's team at CB Richard Ellis marketed the Portfolio, which saw interest from several investors. They declined comment.

This has been a busy two weeks for Stonehenge, which yesterday sold the beautiful corner of Greenwich, Seventh Ave. and 11th St. — where Too Boots Pizza has a retail spot — to the Dermot Company for $30 million.

Stonehenge bought the building, which has the addresses of 205, 207, 209 W. 11th St., for $20.05 million just last year from Time Equities' Francis Greenburger.

This year's deal was brokered by Robert Knakal of Massey Knakal, who repped the sellers while independent broker Eric Roth brought in Dermot.

June 2nd, 2005 –

NEW YORK - Chances are you haven't heard of Moshe Dan Azogui. His name may be more familiar to the thousands of people who live near Lincoln Center in Manhattan, particularly those who take an interest in the building plans for the area. The meteoric surge of residential real-estate prices in New York City has given rise to an extraordinary construction boom. Land owners in the area around Lincoln Center on the West Side are seeking to take advantage of the sizzling-hot market to build big high-rise apartment buildings, and the neighborhood committee fears that this will adversely impact the quality of life in the area. The committee recently published an advertisement that included a map of the various building plans, and Azogui was listed as the owner of several properties.

Azogui's project is supposed to be constructed in a "dead" zone - on West 59th Street between Amsterdam and West End Avenues. The design is for a 35-story building with 210 housing units. Unlike the major projects being planned near Lincoln Center by institutions like Fordham University and by other entrepreneurs, which the neighborhood committee is particularly alarmed about, Azogui's tower is expected to benefit the area and its long-time residents. Just a few years ago, no one would have ventured to build in that location, and today it is still considered a bold investment.

But Azogui is an experienced player in New York's lively real-estate market, in which the average price of an apartment recently rose to $1.2 million. He is the CEO and partner in Brack Capital Real Estate, a subsidiary of an Israeli company controlled by Shimon Weintraub and Roni Yitzhaki. Brack Capital has been operating in New York for over a decade and has been involved in a long line of projects valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars. But its investments are not out of the ordinary. Around New York, many Israelis - most of them anonymous - are active in real estate. By a rough estimate based on interviews with people who are active in the market, Israelis are currently involved in about $10 billion worth of real-estate investments in the city.

Expanding business

Moshe Dan Azogui maintains a low profile; he has never been interviewed in the media. This time, after repeated requests, he agreed to talk, but not to be photographed. Dressed in an elegant dark suit, Azogui, 39, sits in midtown Manhattan in the "Lipstick Building," designed by Philip Johnson, one of the 20th century's preeminent architects. Azogui works out of a small office with a modest conference room. At this late morning hour, he and his secretary, Sarit (also Israeli), are the only people in the office. This is where he runs Brack Capital, which in recent years has made about $3 billion in investments, mostly in the city, in residential and office buildings and in shopping areas. The company is presently involved in investments totaling about $1 billion.

Originally from Ashdod, Azogui earned his B.A. at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, in Be'er Sheva, and his MBA from Tel Aviv University. While working on his master's, he spent a brief period of time in New York and started doing business there after joining Capital in 1994. At first, Azogui was based in Israel. But in 1996, with business expanding, it became clear to him that he couldn't manage things by remote-control, so he moved to New York.

In its first years, Brack concentrated mostly on office buildings and its investments were carried out together with local partners. It gradually expanded its activity to development, including property acquisition and finding architects to design buildings. Today, Brack also has a company dedicated to converting buildings from one use to another, such as from an office complex to a residential one. In 1999, Brack started to concentrate on residential properties. It sold most of its office buildings (the company owned 15 buildings with a combined 1.2 million meters of office space) to its investment partner in these properties, Witcoff. In retrospect, this turned out to be a wise decision. The market for office space grew very slowly while the residential market began gaining momentum.

Brack brings the money for its financial activities from Israel - Azogui is not willing to discuss the current scope of investment - and it also joins forces with local investors, takes bank loans and receives assistance from the large investment houses in New York.

Business is booming. Azogui says that in addition to the usual migration to the city, several other phenomena are bolstering the demand for housing there. In wake of the steep drop in crime in the past decade, families that lived in the suburbs have concluded that it is possible and even worthwhile to raise kids in the big city. At the same time, people whose children are grown and have left the house have decided to trade in the big house in the suburbs for a small apartment in the city. Moreover, the low interest rates on mortgage loans have made real-estate investments less expensive.

"You have to understand that, given the huge demand for apartments, the rate of construction in New York has been very low," says Azogui, pulling out a report by the New York real estate industry that says that approximately 5,000 apartments were built in the city in 1994, compared to approximately 4,000 in 2003. "There were days when more construction was going on in Ashdod alone than in Manhattan," he says.

One of Brack Capital's flagship buildings is at 90 West Street downtown. An historic building constructed in the early 20th century, this structure is situated south of where the Twin Towers stood and was heavily damaged in the September 11, 2001 terror attacks. The insurance company that owned the building considered demolishing it. In January 2003, Brack Capital decided to buy the 23-story (33,000-meter) building for $13 million, a sum that, looking back, appears very low, and to convert it from offices to residential units - an objective that required an additional investment of tens of millions of dollars.

Brack made a good bet. More and more people are interested in living in the city's financial district, which was once home to office buildings alone. The company took on a complicated renovation and preservation project, enlisting experts to help restore the historic buildings.

At about the same time, Brack also acquired another historic building on West 72nd Street, for $70 million. The somewhat rundown property was located on highly desirable block between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue, not far from the famous Dakota Building where John Lennon lived and was killed. The renovations are currently at their height and work on the 17-story, 160-unit building is due to be completed by the end of 2005. Prices for the apartments have not yet been set. Luxury apartments in the area now sell for about $22,000 per square meter.

All in all, Brack Capital has 10 large properties in the United States. In addition to its New York endeavors, it also has three projects in the Miami area. In the past, it also built an office building in Hackensack, New Jersey. The building houses the office of Daniel Strauss, whose consortium was once in the running for the Discount Bank tender. Small world.

Brack has grown quickly in recent years, but only once has it been given any significant media coverage. That was in 2001, after it signed a contract to purchase three buildings near the UN that were used by the international organization, from the City of New York, for approximately $150 million. The UN exerted serious pressure on City Hall; it didn't want buildings used by many of its legations to come under private ownership. The deal was canceled.

"We were told that the fact that we are connected to Israel had nothing to do with the decision," Azogui says.

Teshuva's reach

The most prominent Israeli developer in New York is Yitzhak Teshuva. And his most prominent and controversial deal is the purchase of the Plaza Hotel for $675 million in midtown Manhattan. He plans to renovate the structure at a cost of approximately $350 million and to convert part of it into a residential complex. The plan has aroused much criticism in the city, and has kept Teshuva in the headlines for weeks.

Now that Teshuva has reached an agreement with the hotel employees and with the City of New York to preserve the building and reduce the area slated for residential use, he can start on the renovation project, which is expected to last two years. Teshuva hopes to sell the new apartments in the Plaza for $38,500 per meter - a fortune even for luxury apartments in this prestigious part of the city.

Teshuva's company, Elad, is also working on seven other projects, having completed six other undertakings in the past five years, for a total of 1,500 residential units. Elad is currently working with architect Costas Kondylis, who has gained fame for his playfully designed buildings for Donald Trump. Among the projects Elad and Condilis are planning is a building at Eighth Avenue and 25th Street, in the up-and-coming Hell's Kitchen neighborhood. The 43-story building contains 210 apartments. Work was begun recently and should take a year and a half to complete.

Elad operates independently in New York. In contrast, in its projects, the Africa Israel Investments group, controlled by Lev Leviev, decided to hook up with Shaya Boymelgreen, a religious Jew who first came to New York from Israel in 1969 to study in a yeshiva. This partnership is supposed to produce approximately 2,300 apartments, with an overall investment of approximately $1.3 billion. Many of Africa Israel and Boymelgreen's projects are located downtown near Wall Street, an area of office buildings, mostly housing financial companies.

Israel's Ofer family is also a big player on the New York scene - via Eyal Ofer, the son of Sami. The family is involved in a series of projects in the city. The largest of these is a residential and commercial complex due to be built with a joint investment with Goldman Sachs, at the site where the Mayflower Hotel stood until recently, on Central Park West near Columbus Circle - in one of Manhattan's most highly sought-after locations.

Ofer and Goldman Sachs bought the hotel and the adjacent lot for the whopping sum of $401 million. Some 250-300 luxury apartments are to be built on the site - in two towers atop a four-story shopping center. The apartment prices have not been announced yet, but one can safely predict that they'll be sky-high.

Real-estate prices in New York have been rising at a dizzying rate. A survey by the city's largest brokerage firm, Prudential Douglas Elliman, found that in the first quarter of 2005, residential real-estate prices were 26 percent higher than in the same quarter of the previous year - and this is coming on the heels of an increase of tens of percent in the preceding years. In 1993, the average price of a reasonable apartment in the city was similar to the price of a nice apartment in a good location in Tel Aviv. Today, according to data from Prudential Douglas Elliman, the average price of a studio apartment in New York is $411,000. A two-room apartment costs $684,000 on average; a three-room apartment goes for about $1.7 million; and a four-room apartment averages $4.3 million. A family searching for a spacious five-room apartment will have to part with about $7.8 million.

The prices are also rising in the former working-class neighborhoods and areas that until a few years ago were considered dangerous - such as Harlem, Hell's Kitchen and the Lower East Side. Outside of Manhattan, too, it is very difficult to find housing at a reasonable price. For two years now, economists have been warning that the New York real-estate market (and other urban markets in the U.S.) is developing a bubble that will surely burst, like the Internet bubble of the late `90s. But for now, with interest rates low and the stock market looking too risky to many, a lot of people prefer to invest in real estate - including in areas that are less in-demand.

Developing interest

Israeli-born Ofer Yardeni understands this very well. Yardeni, 50, is an unusual figure compared to most of the New York real-estate developers. Unlike others, who prefer to keep much of their plans to themselves, Yardeni puts it all - almost - on the table. He speaks freely about investments, strategy and tactics. He and his American partner, Joel Seiden, are the owners of 13 buildings comprising approximately 1,500 apartments, as well as several parking lots and stores. Their investments are estimated to be worth about $1 billion.

Yardeni recently sealed the biggest deal of his life: He and his partner bought a 50-story apartment building that includes a shopping center and a brand-new cinema complex for approximately $250 million. The building, called the Penmark, is located between Eighth and Ninth Avenues, and 33rd and 34th Streets, near Penn Station. Not exactly the most attractive location in New York, but Yardeni believes that this perception is about to change. There isn't much open space left in midtown Manhattan so developers have to move a bit further away, as Yardeni has done. The more peripheral areas have become increasingly sought-after.

Last weekend, Yardeni completed another big deal, which he refers to as the deal of his life, even though it's smaller than the one at Penmark: He acquired a huge building in northwestern Manhattan, on 97th Street between Amsterdam and Columbus, for $120 million. Built in 1968, the building has 418 apartments, some of which are rent-controlled. "These apartments are rented for $500-600 a month when the market price is $2,300-$2,500," says Yardeni, who plans to give the rent-control tenants financial compensation to get them to move out, and to renovate the apartments and the public areas. He estimates that in two or three years, the building will be worth $500-600 million.

This sort of deal is Yardeni's specialty (and that of a good number of other Israelis). In New York City, there are currently about two million tenants living in rent-controlled apartments. The buildings in which they live are generally in a fairly neglected state. Developers who are able to move the tenants out and renovate the buildings can make a fortune.

How do you get them out? By force?

Yardeni: "God forbid. There are all kinds of ways to get tenants out. In some cases, you offer $10,000-20,000 to get them to leave. You offer others money and an alternate place to live - an apartment in another building at a good price. Some of these tenants are living in a studio apartment, so you give them two rooms in another building at the same price. Some of these tenants are not living there legally, so a lawyer evicts them. It's a process that requires a lot of patience. But when you get the tenants out and renovate the building and the lobby and the hallways, and put in new elevators - these expenses are passed on to the new tenants. If you have shops in the building, you get rid of them, too, and bring in a big chain that pays a lot more for a large space.

"Most of the Israelis working here want to do a project and sell it and move on. They don't have a management company that will continue to maintain the property. My approach is to manage the property. It's a good way to make good money. If you build a condo building and sell it, like a lot of Israelis do, you pay 40-50 percent income tax. If I hold on to a building for 10 years, let's say, and manage it, I pay a 15 percent tax on capital gains.

"Most of the Israelis who come here also invest in a lot of other places. They don't care if they're investing in Prague, Slovenia or New York. They just chase after the return. I love New York. I feel a sense of belonging."

Do Israelis have a good reputation in the city?

"That's what's great about New York. As soon as you've bought a property, you're part of the local community. You bought a building - you're part of the game. I'm not sure that Americans who come to Israel would get the same kind of reception that Israelis get in New York. It's all open. It's all easy. Every week, I get five or 10 phone calls from Israelis looking to invest here - private individuals and institutions. My impression is that today it is the dream of many Israelis to invest in New York."

Yardeni came to the U.S. in 1968, with $600 in his pocket. He studied history at Tel Aviv University and decided to do a master's degree at New York University. He soon found work as a real-estate broker and joined forces with Seiden to form Stonehenge Partners. They have been partners ever since. They bought their first building in 1994. Located on 89th Street between Amsterdam and Broadway, it had 150 apartments and cost them $8.8 million. They still own it. It was around that time that they first formed an association with the largest Canadian pension fund, Caisse de Depot, which became a regular investor in Yardeni and Seiden's deals. One deal followed another and now the two oversee quite a significant empire.

Yardeni says that he owes the success of recent years to Rabbi Yehoshua Pinto of Ashdod. "He changed my life. He taught me to distinguish between good and bad. He made me happy. And I'm not a person who goes to synagogue. He gave me the strength to do what I do. I meet with him whenever possible. Look, it doesn't matter if the deal is for $10 million or $50 million or $100 million. But psychologically, it's not simple to do a big deal. Rabbi Pinto gave me the strength to think that I can do it. I met him four years ago, and I've been very attached to him ever since. Who would have believed that a guy who came here with $600 would be buying a $250 million building today? My Canadian partners, who are Catholics and Protestants, have also met him and were very impressed by him."

The prices in New York seem to be totally insane.

"I don't think so. What alternatives do you have? If you put money in the bank, you get 1 percent interest. A lot of people got burned on Wall Street a few years ago so they're afraid to invest in stocks. They prefer to invest their money in walls and land. Maybe the apartment prices will come down a bit, but in general I believe in the strength of the real-estate market here."

Big and little fish

Some of the Israeli developers active here still live in Israel, or split their time between Israel and New York. Others emigrated to the U.S. many years ago. Some remained in Israel for just a few years before making the move to New York. But in real estate here, anyone with any affiliation with Israel is considered Israeli. They all know each other. The bigger fish don't usually work together, the smaller ones sometimes do. Many have Israeli or Hebrew-speaking secretaries.

Simon Elias, 47, isn't exactly Israeli, but he has a close tie to Israel. He was born in Iraq and his family moved to India when he was young. In 1968, the family immigrated to Israel and settled in Tel Aviv. "I was 11," Elias recounts. "I went to the Hadasim school. Then my parents divorced. It was a tough experience. I went back to India with my father."

A few years later, he was sent to England for high school and university, and from there he came to New York. His father and sister now live in Israel.

About seven years ago, when he was already well-off, Elias decided to return to Israel. He bought two dunams (half an acre) of land on a quiet street in Herzliya and built an 800-square-meter dream house. When the construction was finished, the intifada erupted and Elias' wife wasn't keen on staying. The couple returned to America and now Elias comes to Israel in the summer for two or three months. He purchased the French Hospital in Jaffa and says he has a permit to build a complex comprising a 120-room hotel and 80 apartments on the site. But the Israeli real-estate market is problematic, he says, and for now the development plans are frozen.

Elias is the former owner of the Pennsylvania Hotel in Manhattan, which he sold in 1997 for approximately $160 million. After that, he joined forces with Izak Senbahar, also Jew of Iraqi origin, and they have been working actively together in New York. They have built three high-quality residential buildings and several hotels. One of these, the Alex Hotel was designed by renowned designer David Rockwell.

The pair's current project is a residential building designed by acclaimed architect Richard Meier. The building is in Greenwich Village, on Charles Street near the Hudson River. It is being built next to two other buildings designed by Meier, in which celebrities such as Calvin Klein (who bought a $25-million penthouse), Nicole Kidman and Martha Stewart have purchased apartments. Unfortunately, the buildings have been plagued by a long list of problems such as drips and leaks.

But Elias and Senbahar fell in love with Meier's work and decided to build a third building. Hoping to avoid the problems of the other two buildings, they decided to have Meier plan everything in the new structure from A to Z, and not just the outer shell as was the case with the first two.

The third building (which detracts from the southern view of the building housing Calvin Klein's penthouse) is in the final stages of construction and will be ready by the end of June. It contains 31 apartments spread out through 16 stories. The price per meter is $27,500. The penthouse has been sold for $20 million, or $44,500 per meter - the highest price per meter ever paid in south Manhattan.

So far, about half the apartments have been sold (one purchaser was actress Natalie Portman). But Elias admits that there are problems - especially the negative coverage that the other two buildings have received. "People think that we're connected to them. It hurts sales. But I believe that in time people will see. Meier gave his all to our building. It's a once-in-a-lifetime project. I don't think I'll ever do another thing like it. We're investing twice as much as we do in a regular building. And that means that we're putting a lot more than our private money into it."

Are you working with Israelis?

Elias: "I meet a lot of Israelis who are in the real-estate field. They have a lot of stamina. They don't scare easily. When there were problems in Israel four or five years ago, they decided to come here. I don't know them that well. But I definitely admire them for what they're doing here."

May 26th, 2005 – New York City, NY

Ofer Yardeni and Joel Seiden, the principals of Stonehenge Partners, Inc. are pleased to announce that they have closed on the acquisition of “Stonehenge Village”, a complex located at 120-160 West 97th Street, 135 West 96th Street, and 753 Amsterdam Avenue. The Property totals approximately 520,000 square feet and is comprised of 418 residential units, a 38,000 square foot garage, and a two-story commercial property located on the corner of 97th Street and Amsterdam Avenue. This asset encompasses almost the entire block of 97th Street between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues. Over $115 million of capital was raised for this transaction. A consortium of investors, including CDP Capital – Real Estate Advisory, participated in the transaction.

The closing of this acquisition continues the growth pattern for Stonehenge Partners, Inc. which recently acquired the Pennmark, a 600,000 square foot mixed-use property located on 34th Street, for $240 million earlier this year.

April 14th, 2005 – "I really think that people who weren't born in New York City appreciate it even more than those who come from this place," Ofer Yardeni, principal of Stonehenge Partners Inc., said. "And people who weren't born in this country appreciate New York even more. New York is where the world meets. New York is where the American Dream can be realized." He should know. Mr. Yardeni, the son of an Israeli steel worker, hails from Bat-Yam, a small community not far from Tel Aviv. After majoring in history at Tel Aviv University and serving three years in the Israeli Army, he came to America in 1986 to study history at New York University. Less than two decades later, Mr. Yardeni has become a star of the city's real-estate industry. His transactions have been in excess of $2 billion. His company owns 15 residential and commercial buildings in the city; his management company has a staff of 30; and he employs another 150 people at his various properties. Stonehenge, which owns and manages assets of more than $700 million, has given its investors returns in excess of 35% on original equity since 1994, when Mr. Yardeni founded the company with Joel Seiden. Earlier this month, his company acquired The Pennmark, a 33-story, 600,000-square-foot mixed-use building. It contains 333 luxury residential units, and 300,000 square feet of commercial space. Stonehenge paid $244 million, representing the second highest price paid for a residential building this year. "I am really a living proof of the American Dream," Mr. Yardeni said over lunch. "I've always felt comfortable in this city. Being foreign is not a handicap here, as it is in Europe - where, no matter how much you invest, you're always looked upon as a foreigner. But here in New York I am considered a local player. The greatness of the city is that it gives everybody a wonderful opportunity to succeed." When he came to America, of course, Mr. Yardeni had no clue that he would wind up in real estate. He was just one of the 350,000 foreign students who enroll in American colleges and universities each year. "I hadn't even remotely thought about real estate," Mr. Yardeni said. "In fact, I always thought that real-estate people were somewhat arrogant - when they go to basketball game and the crowd cheers, they feel they are being cheered, and not the ball players." He said this with a chuckle; humor, Mr. Yardeni said, often softens "complicated situations." Good humor, an ability to size up people and situations, and enormous self-confidence, are personal assets that have served Mr. Yardeni well. So has unending curiosity about architecture. In fact, he said, he fell in love with New York's architectural diversity in his student days when he would explore the city's neighborhoods on foot. That's also when he conceived of a career in real estate. His first job was as a broker with LB Kaye, where he quickly made a mark as a go-getter. He recalled how stunned he was when, one year, he received his annual income statement of $500,000. "My hard-working father Itzhak, in his entire life, had made less than the equivalent of $300, 000," Mr. Yardeni said. "And here I was, making this kind of money at such a young age. It was unbelievable. Only in America. Only in New York." As a real-estate broker in city known for its hyperkinetic customers, he learned how to deal with people. He learned to be tactful. He learned to be patient. He learned the value of educating himself about every aspect of the properties he was showing. He learned how to negotiate contracts. He learned how important it was to be candid in catering to clients. "I was never pushy, I would listen to people, and if I made a mistake, I would readily admit it" he said. "I discovered how much I enjoyed the company of total strangers with whom I had to deal in my work. I also discovered that people seemed to like me." And he discovered that he yearned to be on his own. So he formed Yardeni Investments, where he focused on multifamily and commercial investment sales for seven years. Through serendipity, he met Valero Wagner, a Montreal investor who also introduced him to sources who came through with Canadian funds. He also befriended the legendary Kamran Hakim who, Mr. Yardeni, "taught me more than what I could possibly ever absorb." Another mentor was Nathan Tanen, also a major figure in the real-estate business. "They showed me the way," Mr. Yardeni said. "I've found that in this city, people like to help newcomers and underdogs. But you must be sincere. You must be always ready to learn from others. I learn from the masters. I never let my ego stand in the way of acquiring knowledge." His rabbi, Yeoshiyahu Pinto of Israel, is another such master, one who has imbued him with much spirituality, Mr. Yardeni said. He also credited his partner, Mr. Seiden, for teaching him "how to look at the big picture." And what's the big picture in his own case? "That I'm a lucky man," Mr. Yardeni said. "But also that I'm entitled to my success because I work hard for it. Perhaps the difference between me and some others in this business is that I'm always willing to find ways to get things done." That, translated into real-estate parlance, means Mr. Yardeni concentrates on acquiring, managing, developing and financing multifamily real-estate assets, primarily in Manhattan. Stonehenge acquires buildings in desirable locations in close proximity to public transportation hubs, including properties that consist primarily of studio and one-bedroom units with rents approximately 50% below market rates, Mr. Yardeni said. "These buildings naturally generate the highest amount of tenant turnover and are in constant demand," he said. "We target properties with rents at approximately 50% of the market and purchase prices with values well below replacement costs." Mr. Yardeni said that Stonehenge largely attributes its success to its ability to maximize the value of its properties within the framework of these laws. He acknowledges that he's been fortunate to have had a handful of longtime investors - the so-called "patient capital" -- including Caisse de Depots et Placements Capital (CDP), the investment manager for the Quebec Pension Plan. Stonehenge and CDP Capital also own the Ritz Plaza, a 479-unit luxury high-rise with commercial elements, located in the heart of Time Square. For man of 45, all these are formidable accomplishments, especially in a city with relentless competition. Where does he go from here? Is Mr. Yardeni now tempted to expand his real-estate empire overseas? "No doubt I will continue what I'm doing now with great passion," he said. "I always said that when I'm big enough I would like to develop a building from the ground. "But going abroad? Real estate is a local business. What that means is that if you go into any city - say, in Europe - you have to have a good local partner. Besides, there's 400 million square feet of commercial property in Manhattan that beckons, and a large amount of residential space. There's plenty for me to do in New York." He paused. "And there's another reason for focusing on New York," Mr. Yardeni said. "My family is the single most important thing for me - my wife Shari, our three children Max, Josh and Olivia. I'd rather do business not far from my family." His children are 12, 10 and 6, respectively, so perhaps it's a bit early to expect them to decide on a career, and especially to inquire if they wanted to follow in their father's footsteps. But, the reporter asked, in addition to his emphasis on acquiring knowledge, and his personal honesty, straightforwardness, and philanthropy - he and his wife were recently honored by AmFAR for their contributions to AIDS funds - what did he teach his children? "Optimism," Mr. Yardeni said. "I tell my kids that in America you can be whatever you want to be. But you must put your mind to it."

April 10th, 2005 – Haaretz - Israel News

Israeli real estate magnate Ofer Yardeni has become the latest Israeli to pick up a major property in downtown New York. Yardeni purchased the 50-story skyscraper Penmark for $250 million, along with his partner Joel Seiden of Stonehenge Parners.

The building, located between 33rd and 34th streets and between Seventh and Eighth avenues, has 60,000 square meters, half of it luxury residential rental units, and half commercial space. The building also houses a complex of 14 movie theaters.

Yardeni and Seiden manage several buildings totaling about 1,500 apartments. Their flagship building is the "Ritz Plaza," located adjacent to Times Square, which has 500 rental units.

The Penmark was built in 2001, named after neighboring Penn Station. However, the new owners intend to rename it the "Olivia."

In addition, the investors will refurbish part of the building, including the relatively new lobby, hoping to be able to further raise the rent.

Yardeni and Seiden raised part of the sum for the deal from Canadian Bank Caisse de Depot, as well as from a group of investors. Yardeni, who left Israel for the U.S. 15 years ago, said he decided to invest in the deal because the plans call for developing the area around the building on a widescale basis, in which projects of 1.3 million square meters will be raised.

Yardeni's New York dealings may also soon include IDB Holding Group chairman Nochi Danker. Though the latter is not tied to the current deal, Danker has recently begun exploring joint investment ventures with Yardeni. The two have known each other for years, and lately they have grown closer. According to market sources, Dankner's investment banker, Dan Tahori, is involved in growing ties between the two.

The work plan of real estate companies at IDB include going abroad. Subsidiary Gav-Yam, a subsidiary of IDB's Property & Building Group, recently raised some NIS 250 million in bonds to invest abroad among other things. Dankner has also begun in recent months to invest in European real estate, in part with Idan Ofer, controlling owner of the Israel Corporation.

April 5th, 2005 – New York, New York

Ofer Yardeni and Joel Seiden, the principals of Stonehenge Partners Inc., are pleased to announce that they have closed on the acquisition of the Pennmark. A consortium of investors, including CDP Capital – Real Estate Advisory, participated in the transaction. The Pennmark is a 600,000 square foot “block-thru” property located on West 34th and West 33rd street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues. Built in 2001, the property is a 33-story mixed-use building containing 333 luxury residential units and 300,000 square feet of commercial space. The building’s cash flow is extremely secure with consistent occupancy levels of 95% and is currently leased to strong credit tenants, including Loews Cineplex, Landmark Education, and Central Parking Garage.

With the City’s anticipated redevelopment of the “Hudson Yards”, Stonehenge is excited about adding another trophy asset to their already impressive portfolio throughout Manhattan. Stonehenge and CDP Capital also own the Ritz Plaza, a 500-unit luxury highrise located in the heart of Time Square.

Georgia Malone of Georgia Malone, Inc. represented the buyer as the broker on this transaction.

November 10th, 2004 – New York, New York The multifamily fund of CDP – Stonehenge Partners LLC is pleased to announce they have closed on the acquisition of 120 West 86th Street. The Stonehenge brand name will continue with the addition of this property as it will now be referred to as Stonehenge West. This magnificent twelve story building was built in 1912 and contains 47 residential units comprising 50,000 square feet. The property is located on the south side of 86th Street between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues in the heart of the Upper West Side, just one block from Central Park. This building is situated in the historic landmark district on one of the few “two-way” streets in Manhattan and has excellent transportation accessibility with a major subway station located on the corner at 86th Street and Broadway that makes both local and express stops along the entire West Side. CDP – Stonehenge Partners LLC fund is comprised of CDP Capital – Real Estate Advisory and Stonehenge Partners, Inc. CDP Capital - Real Estate Advisory conducts merchant banking operations and offers advisory as well as structured finance services to institutional and private investors globally. Ofer Yardeni and Joel Seiden are the two principals of Stonehenge Partners Inc., which is a New York City based private equity firm that acquires and operates multifamily property throughout the tri-state area.

June 14th, 2004 – New York, New York

Stonehenge Partners LLC has just closed on the acquisition of 209 West 102nd Street. CDP Capital – Real Estate Advisory is a member of CDP Capital Real Estate Group which conducts merchant banking operations and offers advisory as well as structured finance services to institutional and private investors internationally. It manages a global portfolio of real estate assets and publicly traded securities, and invests in real estate equity and finance products. Stonehenge Partners Inc. was formed by Ofer Yardeni and Joel Seiden in 1994 and currently owns and manages a portfolio of assets valued at approximately $350 million dollars.

The property is located on the north side of 102nd Street between Broadway and Amsterdam. Built in 1925, this five-story walk-up building contains 22 residential units and grosses approximately 14,000 square feet and the fund is excited about this acquisition because it fits perfectly into their business model of buying undervalued real estate in excellent locations with great opportunity to create value.

CDP - Stonehenge Partners LLC is happy to add 209 West 102nd Street as income-producing asset to their already impressive portfolio that contains over 1,100 units throughout the various submarkets of Manhattan. With the Upper West Side increasing popularity over the last several years, Ofer and Joel are very excited about their third acquisition in this submarket. In 1995, they purchased 210 West 89th Street and 6 West 107th Street.

Larry Loeb of Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel represented CDP – Stonehenge Partners LLC on this transaction.

May 21st, 2004 – New York, New York

Stonehenge Partners Inc., (“Stonehenge”) is pleased to announce that it has recently signed a joint-venture partnership agreement with CDP Capital – Real Estate Advisory (“CDP Capital – REA”). Through this partnership, a commitment has been made to acquire multi-family real estate in the tri-state area, focusing mainly in the Manhattan borough of New York City. The purpose of this agreement will be to purchase “value-added” assets to further enhance the $350 million dollar portfolio that is currently owned by Stonehenge and CDP Capital – REA’s affiliate company. Stonehenge will be responsible for all acquisitions, dispositions, and day-to-day operations of the joint-venture partnership.

Ofer Yardeni and Joel Seiden, the managing partners of Stonehenge, feel that by having prearranged capital, they can increase their competitiveness to acquire the most desirable multi-family properties. “We are proud that after ten years as partners with CDP Capital – REA and providing exceptional returns, they have expressed their confidence with the discretion to buy assets in our core area of real estate expertise in the tri-state area.” In addition, Richard Dansereau, Executive Vice-President of Investments at CDP Capital – REA, is pleased to expand the presence of CDP Capital – REA in the New York market and expects this relationship to continue its profitable history.

Ofer Yardeni and Joel Seiden formed Stonehenge Partners Inc. in 1994 and through their intensive management practices, Stonehenge has been able to increase the value of these properties and produce excellent returns on equity. Stonehenge is operating in a sector of rent-stabilized below market rentals, in which tenant demand greatly exceeds supply and considerable rent growth is achievable. The Manhattan based company internally provides asset management, development, acquisition, and finance capabilities.

CDP Capital – Real Estate Advisory, a member of CDP Capital Real Estate Group, conducts merchant banking operations and offers advisory as well as structured finance services to institutional and private investors internationally. It manages a global portfolio of real estate assets and publicly traded securities, and invests in real estate equity and finance products. CDP Capital – Real Estate Advisory Services heads a network of companies with offices in Canada, the United States, Europe, Asia and Brazil. Over one year, three years and five years, CDP Capital – REA has generated returns of 25.1%, 17.7% and 17.2%.

October 1st, 2003 – New York, New York

The principals of Stonehenge Partners, Inc., Ofer Yardeni and Joel Seiden, in a joint-venture with the Dallas Fire and Police Pension Fund have closed on two contiguous buildings located at 201-209 West 11th Street. The buildings are adjacent prewar properties on the corner of West 11th Street and Greenwich Avenue at the intersection of 7th Avenue South, in the heart of Manhattan’s desirable Greenwich Village historic district. Situated on a land area of 11,564 square feet, these two buildings total 53,388 gross square feet with 67 residential apartments and six (6) high traffic retail storefronts along 7th Avenue. Both buildings are in excellent condition, and have been well maintained over the years. Recent capital upgrades include new electrical systems, windows, mailboxes, elevator, roofs, as well as granite based lobbies and entrance foyers.

The principals of Stonehenge are happy to add 201-209 West 11th Street as income-producing assets to their already impressive portfolio that contains over 1,100 units throughout the various submarkets of Manhattan.

With Greenwich Village’s increasing popularity over the last several years, Ofer and Joel are very excited about their second acquisition in this submarket. In June of 1997, they purchased 108 West 15th Street, a 55-unit residential building with prime retail on grade.

September 24th, 2003 – New York, New York

The principals of Stonehenge Partners, Inc., Ofer Yardeni and Joel Seiden, closed on the acquisition of 1274 Fifth Avenue. This six-story elevator building is approximately 55,000 square feet and contains 54 residential units.

The property is situated on the most recognized avenue in the world, on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 109th Street, directly across from Central Park, which gives many of the unit’s spectacular views. The Property consists of two wings, providing great light and air to all units. The property is in excellent condition having been significantly renovated over the past few years. In addition, the building can be enlarged using approximately 35,210 square feet of air rights. Furthermore, of the 119 properties located on Fifth Avenue between 61st Street and 110th Street, there are only six remaining elevatored rental apartment buildings, which makes 1274 Fifth Avenue such a rare opportunity. All of the other multifamily buildings in this submarket have been converted to condominium or cooperative ownership.

The principals of Stonehenge are happy to add 1274 Fifth Avenue as an income producing asset to their already impressive portfolio that contains over 1,100 units throughout the various submarkets of Manhattan.

Larry Loeb of Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel represented Stonehenge on this transaction.

April 30th, 2003 – New York, New York

The principals of Stonehenge Partners, Inc., Ofer Yardeni and Joel Seiden, closed on the acquisition of 145 Spring Street. This magnificent 8-story elevator loft building with prime retail on grade is located in the heart of SoHo. The property is situated on the North side of Spring Street between West Broadway and Wooster Street, which is the center of many of the world’s most recognized fashion houses, art galleries, retailers and restaurants.

The property is a mixed use building with commercial space on the first two floors and residential space on the remaining floors. The basement and first floor are occupied by an established tenant, the Vitamin Shoppe, who was recently acquired by Bear Stearns, Inc. The second floor is a beautiful space designed for commercial use and the third through sixth floors are single floor two-bedroom, two-bathroom lofts that are in excellent condition. The seventh and eighth floors comprise an immaculate penthouse duplex that has a private garden on the roof. All of the apartments have finished hardwood floors and traditional decorative tin ceilings. Ceilings heights are 16 feet on the ground floors and 12 feet on the upper floors.

The principals of Stonehenge are happy to add 145 Spring Street as an income producing asset to their already impressive portfolio that contains over 1,000 units throughout the various submarkets of Manhattan. Furthermore, due to the size, layout, and location of these lofts within SoHo, Ofer and Joel are considering converting the building to a condominium ownership one day.

With SoHo’s increasing popularity over the last several years, Ofer and Joel are very excited about their second acquisition in this submarket. In May of 1999, they purchased 142-144 Greene Street, which is now occupied by the famous retailer, Helmut Lange as well as the Ford Modeling Agency.

Larry Loeb of Kramer, Levin, Naftalis & Frankel represented Stonehenge on this transaction and the broker was Erez Itzahki, of Itzahki Properties.