JPMorgan Buys Manhattan Tower for $244M
The institutional investor secured $128 million in acquisition financing.
Barings has sold the 418-unit Riverbank in Manhattan, N.Y., for $243.5 million. J.P. Morgan purchased the Class A asset, Commercial Observer reported. JLL brokered the deal and also arranged $128.3 million in acquisition financing.
The 44-story tower debuted as a condominium property under the ownership of Macklowe Properties in 1987, Yardi Matrix data shows. Just four years later, Barings—Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co.’s investment management firm—picked up the building in a bankruptcy sale.
The community now encompasses studio and one- to three-bedroom floorplans ranging from 386 to 1,126 square feet, as well as about 18,000 square feet of retail space. Riverbank recently underwent renovations, overhauling its lighting setup across its amenity package, among other upgrades.
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Common-area features consist of a 5,000-square-foot lounge including a coworking space, a media room and game tables. Amenities also comprise a swimming pool, gym, sauna and an outdoor terrace.
Riverbank is within Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood, at 560 W. 43rd St. The Lincoln Tunnel is within walking distance, while Hudson Yards—where Related Cos. and Oxford Properties Group are planning a $12 billion mixed-use project including some 4,000 housing units—is more than 1 mile away.
JLL Senior Managing Directors Jeffrey Julien, Rob Hinckley and Andrew Scandalios, as well as Managing Director Steven Rutman and Vice President Devon Warren, brokered the sale. JLL Senior Managing Director Kelly Gaines, together with Managing Directors Geoff Goldstein and Michael Shmuely, provided debt advisory to the buyer.
Manhattan multifamily investment has room to improve
New York City’s average advertised asking rents grew 3.1 percent year-over-year in June, above the 0.9 percent national average growth, according to a Yardi Matrix report. Yet, Manhattan investors were wary, trading only three assets of 50 units or more during the first half of 2025.
The multifamily transaction value clocked in at $190.5 million across the borough during the first six months, the data provider shows. That figure represented a 79.4 percent decrease year-over-year.
During 2024’s first half, Manhattan multifamily investment stood at $929 million, according to the same source. By year’s end, the volume had gone up to $1.9 billion, which marked a 46.2 percent increase compared to 2023. Nevertheless, that figure was still below the $3 billion annual average recorded since 2015.
