Forest City Residential Group (Forest City Realty Trust), no. 26 on NHMC’s top 50 apartment owners for 2017, would not confirm/deny rumors that the company is in talks with Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management in its recent earnings call.
Without hinting as to whether an agreement was reached or talks have ceased, the topic was declared off limits during its Feb. 9 earnings call.
Last year was significant for Forest City as it exited the mall business, rallied against activist investors and began an upward performance climb. Last September its Board announced the hiring of a NYC team to “explore strategic alternatives.” It went on to report, “That process is underway and will proceed in a timely manner.”
The Cleveland-based REIT has an attractive urban core portfolio, including Uptown Apartments in Oakland, Calif. Forest City has built its national mixed-use portfolio by teaming with cities to revitalize urban cores with deals that future-proof its holdings.
The 665-unit Uptown was developed as part of Mayor Jerry Brown’s 2005 residential revolution that transformed the city, and provided Forest City (and partner MacFarlane Partners) with a sweetheart package including a 66-year option to buy the land at 2005 prices.
