The Church of England appears set to take a $70 million loss in the US real estate market, losing its entire investment in New York City’s Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village apartment complex.

On Oct 14 the Wall Street Journal reported the partnership venture led by Tishman Speyer Properties that purchased the 56-building, 11,000-unit residential complex in lower Manhattan was in danger of default. As of the end of September, the Journal reported, the partnership had $33.7 million left of $400 million in interest reserves to service its debt. With a ‘burn rate’ of $16 million per month, real estate analysts predict the project will be in default by year’s end.

At the height of the Manhattan property market, the Church Commissioners of the Church of England invested $70 million as equity partners in the project, alongside the California Public Employees Retirement System which invested $500 million, and the Florida State Board of Administration which committed $250 million to the deal.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE) • * Economics, Politics • Economy • Housing/Real Estate Market • The Credit Freeze Crisis of Fall 2008/The Recession of 2007--

1. Pageantmaster wrote: I am not at all sure what we were doing investing in a high risk project like this.  Why was it high risk?  Because anything that relies for its value and return on winning court cases and overturning existing protected rents is very high risk.  You might as well punt it all on the races, you would at least have a good day out with the horses and a bit of fun having a flutter.  In fact the chances are you would lose less. Speculative property development sank us in the last recession.  We appear to learn nothing.  I also worry about that Al Gore investment we piled into.  We are useless with money. October 16, 5:00 am | [comment link]

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