Firm makes history with $223M buy.

Greenwich, CT-based Antares Investment Partner made history this week when the company announced what is believed to be the largest real estate acquisition in Connecticut history.

Antares Investment Partners paid $223 million to buy two prominent residential Greenwich properties from an affiliate of Mill Management Group.

The company said that two complexes--the 266-unit Putnam Green I-III located at the juncture of Post Road and Western Junior Highway in Greenwich and the 130-unit Weaver's Hill located off of Weaver Street in the Glenville section of Greenwich--will be converted into luxury condominiums, priced affordably by Greenwich market standards.

"As a local, Greenwich-based company, we have been told for years that many of the current tenants wish to acquire their homes, and we will do all that we can to ensure that they will have an opportunity to do so at an insider's price," said Antares managing partner, Joseph Beninati.

"In fact, whether at insider prices or market prices, Antares' plan is designed so that our customers can buy for less than or equal to the market rents they might pay for new construction in Greenwich, Connecticut."

Doug Stevens, founder & CEO of the brokerage firm Greenwich Fine Properties, commented, "Greenwich real estate, be it commercial or residential, has become among the most sought after in the world. Over the last 20 years, our research shows that Greenwich residential real estate has appreciated, on average, approximately 10% per year. This staggering statistic is at the core of why we believe our customers will be making a sound investment by acquiring one of Antares' fully renovated condominiums."

Greenwich Fine Properties will exclusively represent Antares on this project.

According to Beninati, the developments will offer all of the amenities of newly constructed apartments and will be priced to attract a buyer demographic of young professionals and empty nesters that to date have been priced out of the new construction market in Greenwich. They are also expected to attract Westchester residents, who are increasingly realizing that Greenwich offers significantly lower property taxes than New York.

The company has notified tenants of both complexes of its conversion plans and announced the commencement of a nine-month rent freeze to give occupants time to weigh their purchase options.

"Through this history-making transaction, Antares will invest more than $125 million to restore these properties to their rightful place as two of the finest residential locations in Greenwich," Mr. Beninati said.

Daniel McNulty, president, and Mark DeLillo, managing director, of Rockwood Realty Associates, LLC, represented the seller in the disposition of the two complexes. Also of Rockwood Realty Associates, John O'Rourke, managing director, and Andre Dobrowsky, vice president, represented Antares in the acquisition financing.

Antares manages a multi-asset and multi-project real estate portfolio valued at approximately $4.5 billion and was founded by Beninati and James P. Cabrera in 1996. The company develops, designs, entitles, builds, owns, sells and manages a broad range of ultra-luxury assets primarily located in Fairfield and Westchester Counties.

In Stamford, Antares is leading a major revitalization of Stamford's South End with a waterfront land assemblage that totals over 83 acres, and which is being designed as one of the largest mixed-use developments in the United States.