Antares sees Manhattan as new territorial eye

Antares Investment Partners has recently hired multiple real estate professionals experienced in the Manhattan market, as it looks to expand its presence outside Fairfield County.
Founding partners Joe Beninati and Jim Cabrera built the company by acquiring residential and commercial properties in Greenwich, where strict zoning ordinances limiting new construction have contributed to a rapid escalation in property values.
Antares also has plans to create a $3 billion multiuse complex on Stamford”™s waterfront, betting that real estate prices there will continue to escalate as Manhattan companies seek alternatives to high prices there.
The company recently purchased the Stamford Harbor Park complex at 333 Ludlow St. for $136 million, where its operations and development personnel work, bringing its total commercial holdings to 1.5 million square feet across six properties. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Lubert-Adler Real Estate Funds of Philadelphia also participated in the deal.
About six months ago, Antares decided to expand its territory outside of Fairfield County to include anywhere within a 60-mile radius of Manhattan, including Westchester County, Long Island and possibly northern New Jersey.
That radius is clearly for guideline purposes only ”“ the company is already working on a 40-unit residential unit in Stonington, 140 miles from Manhattan.
To get better visibility in the Manhattan market, Antares recently hired John Wheeler and Michael Berman as president of corporate acquisitions and director of asset management, respectively. Wheeler previously was a managing director of Jones Lang LaSalle in New York City; Berman joins Antares from Equity Office Properties (EOP), which was acquired earlier this year by Blackstone Group. Former EOP leasing director Joe Artusa is also joining Antares.
“While Manhattan has been an extraordinary market over the past few years, part of the beneficiary of Manhattan charging up is what you have seen in the suburban markets like Long Island, Westchester and Fairfield County,” Berman said. “There are pockets within those markets (that) we will look at individually ”¦ for opportunities.”
The company has yet to act on the goal. Except for a mixed-used development and homes in Armonk, N.Y., the company”™s recent energies have focused on Stamford and Greenwich, including the $130 million purchase in January of 100 West Putnam Ave. in Greenwich.