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N.J. firm sells Market Street apartments for $10M

May 5, 2023 |By Jacob Owens

The Saville Market Street Wilmington Delaware College of Art and Design DCAD Yada Properties Alistair Economakis — Yada Properties recently sold The Saville on Market Street to a New York real estate investor. | DBT PHOTO BY JACOB OWENS

Yada Properties recently sold The Saville on Market Street to a New York real estate investor. | DBT PHOTO BY JACOB OWENS WILMINGTON – Just two years after acquiring former Delaware College of Art and Design (DCAD) dorms and converting them into market-rate apartments, a New Jersey-based real estate investment and

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[caption id="attachment_231121" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] The Saville Market Street Wilmington Delaware College of Art and Design DCAD Yada Properties Alistair Economakis

Yada Properties recently sold The Saville on Market Street to a New York real estate investor. | DBT PHOTO BY JACOB OWENS[/caption] WILMINGTON – Just two years after acquiring former Delaware College of Art and Design (DCAD) dorms and converting them into market-rate apartments, a New Jersey-based real estate investment and management firm has sold the complex for $10.5 million. The Saville, a 42-unit complex, reopened in August after significant renovations to the more than century-old building located at 521 N. King St. by owner Yada Properties. It acquired the building from the college for $3.3 million, marking a more than 200% return on investment from sale-to-sale and obtaining a per unit valuation of $250,000. According to land records, the buyer of the complex is Alistair Economakis, a New York City real estate tycoon with a colorful history. He purchased an East Village apartment complex, evicted the residents, and turned it into his family’s mansion in a decade-long affair. The renovated Saville features one- and two-bedroom units, with monthly rents ranging from $1,605 to $2,345, according to online listings. A tenant-only gym and lounge were part of the renovated space. Yada Properties Principal Robert Eisenberg did not respond to a Delaware Business Times inquiry about the Saville sale. In 2021, Eisenberg told DBT that he was impressed with the historic nature of the Saville, its unique high ceilings in units and the impressive amount of common space for an older building. “The Saville is a really beautiful and historic building, and we’re really excited to be able to bring it back to the marketplace and make it available to the general public again,” he said. Yada has been making increasing investments in the Wilmington area after previously buying and managing multi-family properties in Southern New Jersey, Eisenberg said. The firm is trying to keep its holdings in a tight geographic region, but they believe Wilmington’s market has strong leasing patterns and potential for the future. Eisenberg had said that Yada prefers to invest for the long term, but this project apparently turned to a flip. The firm still owns three other apartment complexes in and around Wilmington that it bought for more than $9 million in 2020. In 2006, DCAD acquired the neighboring Saville, which was home to the James T. Mullins and Sons department store in the 19th and 20th century. Under the college’s ownership, it housed students and the Tatiana Copeland Student Center. The college acquired the 707 Residence Hall located at 707 N. King St. five years later. Two years ago, DCAD President Jean Dahlgren said the college sold the dorm building to raise capital for improvements to its classroom building and 707 Residence Hall, and to focus program development. Both the Saville and DCAD’s main building have been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1985.