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A 25' wide, 7-story, approximately 15,123 gross square foot loft building with an elevator. Built in 1893-94, the building was designed by George Keister in the Renaissance Revival style. The Von Hoffman Building at 29 West 26th Street is located between Broadway and Sixth Avenue in the NoMad neighborhood of Manhattan, was originally a hotel and boarding house and later converted into commercial lofts. The property is comprised of a restaurant on the ground floor and six floor-through units above. Two (2) of the above floors are fair market residential lofts and four (4) floors are currently "Interim Multiple Dwellings" (IMDs). The owner has begun work to obtain a revised residential Certificate of Occupancy for the building that would allow residential use in compliance with state and city housing laws relating to health, safety, and fire protection.

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Neighborhoods: Chelsea, Flatiron/ Agents: John Ciraulo

40 Bruckner Boulevard is a large scale development opportunity ideally situated directly adjacent to the Harlem River. Located between the Willis Avenue Bridge and the Third Avenue Bridge, this offering represents a unique and centrally located option for a major mixed-use development project. Coupled with the Bruckner by the Bridge affordable housing development at 80 Bruckner Boulevard, this immediate neighborhood is undergoing a transformation rarely seen in the Bronx.

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Neighborhoods: Mott Haven

A vacant warehouse at 26-60 Borough Place, located on the corner of Borough Place and 27th Avenue in Woodside, Queens, was sold in an all cash transaction valued at $2,250,000.

The single story warehouse is approximately 15,989 square feet and sits on a 171’ x 89’ lot.  There are two drive-in entrances and one loading dock. The warehouse, which was delivered vacant, is in turn-key condition. The property benefits from its close proximity to the Brooklyn Queens Expressway and the Grand Central Parkway. The sale price equates to approximately $141 per square foot.

“We were able to find the perfect user who will benefit from this property’s layout and convenient location,” said Massey Knakal Director of Sales Stephen Preuss who exclusively handled this transaction with Vice President of Sales Swain Weiner.

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Neighborhoods: Woodside/ Agents: Stephen Preuss

An office building at 211-31/33 Jamaica Avenue, located on the northeast corner of Jamaica Avenue and Hollis Court Boulevard in Queens Village, was sold in an all cash transaction valued at $850,000.

The two-story property is approximately 6,500 square feet and sits on a 40’ x 100’ lot.  Once a bank, the first floor office/retail space boasts 20 foot ceilings and a large safe that has been converted to office space. The second floor and finished basement are also being utilized as office space. The property is situated on a highly visible corner close to major transportation and neighborhood amenities. The sale price equates to approximately $130 per square foot.

“Being a former bank building complete with 20 foot ceilings and a vault, this was a very unique property on the market. The purchaser, a credit union, is excited about renovating the property and will be keeping the integrity of the building, highlighting the original architecture and details,” said Massey Knakal Director of Sales Brian Sarath who exclusively represented the seller in this transaction.

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Neighborhoods: Queens Village

A mixed-use property at 469 Myrtle Avenue, located between Washington Avenue and Hall Street in Brooklyn’s Clinton Hill neighborhood, was sold in an all cash transaction valued at $950,000.

 The three-story property is approximately 3,000 square feet and sits on a 20’ x 80’ lot.  The building contains one retail store and four free market apartments. The property is located in an R7-A zone and can accommodate an additional 2,520 square feet of development rights. The sale price equates to approximately $316 per square foot and a 4.87% Cap Rate.

"We've sold seven properties along Myrtle Avenue in the past 18 months and each buyer has come from within the Community Board. Local buyers and retail tenants remain committed to Myrtle Avenue,” said Massey Knakal First Vice President of Sales Stephen Palmese who exclusively handled this transaction.

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Neighborhoods: Clinton Hill/ Agents: Stephen Palmese

Over the last cycle, real estate fortunes were made by those who bought NYC land and vacant buildings in areas prime for future development. Neighborhoods like Harlem, West Chelsea, andWilliamsburgcome to mind. Today, major institutional players are making the same bet on the Hudson Yards by snapping up land.

However,Manhattan land can come at a hefty price tag which begs the questions: where can the average investor look to buy in NYC today? The answer might not be as glamorous as one might hope, but industrial buildings inQueens are a very good bet.

 Warehouses in northwest Queensare in high demand.  They have become a rare commodity due to nearby rezonings, which have eliminated most of the stock. Many of these properties have been converted to residential. As a result, there are dozens of user groups looking to buy with very little to chose from. An investor, who makes the right purchase, can capitalize on this huge demand.

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Neighborhoods: Woodside

Massey Knakal Realty Services has been retained on an exclusive basis to arrange for the sale of a newly constructed multifamily building containing 43 large apartments just south of the Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg and 5 blocks east of Pratt Institiute in Clinton Hill. The building is located on the popular Bedford Avenue commercial corridor, granting excellent access to public transportation and a variety of retail options. The building is approximately 65,000 square feet consisting of 4 private entrances. The units are designed as “Faculty/Dwelling Units” and benefit from their close proximity to NY’s many educational institutions. The property’s high occupancy and outstanding performance reflect both its quality and desirable location. This dynamic and will positioned area has benefitted greatly from quality tenants getting priced out of more mature neighboring areas like Fort Greene and nearby Williamsburg.

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Neighborhoods: Clinton Hill

Situated in Manhattan’s “Hell’s Kitchen”, this corner retail opportunity
benefits from recent neighborhood developments that have significantly
increased pedestrian foot traffic in the area. Neighbors include Two
Brothers Pizza, Subway, and Atomic Wings.

SIZE: 1000 Square Feet (Approximate) – Ground Floor
1000 Square Feet (Approximate) – Basement

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Neighborhoods: Hudson Yards, Penn Station

225 Pennsylvania Avenue is a 47,250 square foot development site situated on Pitkin Avenue between Pennsylvania Avenue and New Jersey Avenue.
This property resides in a residential zone (R5) and a commercial (C8-2) zone. Site is located one block south of the C train at Liberty Avenue Subway Station. Lease expiration February 2013.

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Neighborhoods: East New York

A corner retail property at 2404 Gerritsen Avenue, located on the borders of Brooklyn’s Gerritsen Beach, Sheepshead Bay and Marine Park neighborhoods, was sold in an a transaction valued at $900,000

This 6,100 square foot retail building is comprised of three vacant units and one occupied unit. The building benefits from its close proximity to public transportation and the Belt Parkway. Additionally, there is parking in the rear. The sale price equates to approximately $148 per square foot.

“The transaction was possible because the buyer saw redevelopment potential in the property and the seller was willing to provide 70% financing,” said Massey Knakal Director of Sales Brian Hanson who exclusively handled this transaction.

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Neighborhoods: Marine Park, Sheepshead Bay

The property is a prime block through development site on Nassau Street in the C5-5 LM district. When built, the upper floors can have direct views of City Hall park. The zoning allows residential and commercial component. With the WTC nearby and an amazing accessibility the property is an excellent investment and has many potential uses – from hotel/ condo to student housing, medical offices or vertical retail. For Sale or Long Term Lease.

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Neighborhoods: Financial District

A mixed-use building at 1800 Westchester Avenue (aka 1254-1256 Beach Avenue), located on the corner of Westchester and Beach Avenues in the Soundview neighborhood of the Bronx, was sold in an all cash transaction valued at $1,000,000.

The three-story property is approximately 6,750 square feet and sits on a 25’ x 92’ lot.  The building consists of four residential apartments and two ground floor commercial units.  The residential segment is made up of two two-bedroom units and two four-bedroom units. The commercial segment consists of two units, a salon and a restaurant/bar, each with long-term leases. The sale price equates to approximately $148 per square foot.

“This is the first sale of this property in 35 years. The building is fully occupied, is in fair condition, and traded at a capitalization rate of 8.6%,” said Massey Knakal Director of Sales Nicholas Burns who exclusively handled this transaction.

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Neighborhoods: Soundview

A commercial building at 3 East 44th Street, located on the north side of East 44th Street between Fifth and Madison Avenues in Manhattan’s Midtown East neighborhood, was sold in an all cash transaction valued at $4,575,000.

The six-story property is approximately 14,175 square feet and sits on a 27’ x 100.5’’ lot and encumbered by a long term master lease that has nine years remaining at a rent of $25,950/year.  There is a restaurant occupying the basement through the second floors while the remaining four floors are setup as office space and are served by a passenger elevator. The property is ideally located just two blocks from Grand Central Terminal and Bryant Park and directly across the street from The Cornell Club. The sale price equates to approximately a cap rate of just over ½% or $322 per square foot.

“Despite the long term lease and a lack of financing for a purchase, we were inundated with activity. Investors and developers saw this as an opportunity to purchase the building and future development site at a drastic discount to market due to the current master lease which is scheduled to expire in nine years.  In the meantime, most buyers were happy to have an investment in a prime location with minimal management requirements,” said Massey Knakal Director of Sales Clint Olsen who exclusively handled this transaction.

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Neighborhoods: Midtown East

Massey Knakal is pleased to present 6425 Broadway, a 13-story, 48,100sf elevator apartment building, situated in North Riverdale. Built in 1974, this property contains 57 Free Market units and overlooks the sprawling 1,000+ acre Van Cortlandt Park. The unit mix is comprised of 10 studios, 36 one-bedrooms, and 11 two-bedrooms (inclusive of Super’s unit). Features include: parking structure with 15 indoor and 21 outdoor spaces, balconies on the rear units, and wall-through AC units in every apartment. This is an outstanding opportunity to acquire a well-maintained, well tenanted building in North Riverdale.

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Neighborhoods: Riverdale/ Agents: John Ciraulo, Karl Brumback

As I’ve pointed out in previous posts, I like to show the drastic difference in property values throughout NYC. Sometimes these variations can happen only a few blocks apart. Without question, 10-15 miles in any direction makes an enormous difference. I doubt you would ever see this drastic of an effect in any otherUScity.

In the case of Long Island City (LIC), land values are only about 6% of what a prime downtownManhattan development site sells for. These neighborhoods are only 12 miles apart or a 23 minute drive (in little or no traffic, which I question why Mapquest even bothers citing).  

Our office recently sold a vacant lot at29-37 41st Avenue, located on the northeast corner of41st AvenueandQueensPlazain LIC. It sold for $8,300,000 or about $40/BSF.

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Four story, 20’ x 50’ building delivered vacant for net lease.  1,000 sf per floor; 4000 sf total, including full storage basement.  20' of frontage.

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Neighborhoods: Midtown West/ Agents: Benjamin Fox

The assemblage consists of a seven story, approx. 86,500 Sq. Ft., 216 rooms hotel building with ground floor retail and amenity space plus garage buildings totaling approx. 10,450 Sq. Ft. situated on seven contiguous lots totaling approx. 77,125 Sq. Ft. This assemblage is located on the entire blockfront on the south side of Queens Boulevard between 51st Avenue and Hillyer Street in Elmhurst, Queens. The assemblage encompasses almost an entire city block and enjoys tremendous exposure with approx. 560 Ft. of frontage on Queens Boulevard, 546 Ft. of frontage on 51st Avenue and 175 Ft. of frontage on Hillyer Street.

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Neighborhoods: Elmhurst

Massey Knakal is pleased to announce the second annual Massey Knakal Multifamily Summit will be held on November 16th, 2011. The conference is the greater New York City area's largest thought-leadership conference devoted to multifamily investors, owners, developers, lenders and property managers.

Last year, over 620 attended the Massey Knakal Multifamily Summit, including over 400 building owners, investors and developers. Building upon last year’s success, the focus of this year’s event is the creation of new properties in a high-asset-price / low-cap-rate environment.  This includes conversions and development of both affordable and market rate apartments.  As always, acquisitions/dispositions, financing and management will be addressed with special emphasis on innovative means to increase revenue and decrease costs.  Additionally, evolving concerns regarding state and local regulations and policies will be covered.

Featured speakers include Bruce Beal of Related Companies, Robert Cohen of R. A. Cohen & Associates, Lawrence Gluck of Stellar Management, Kenneth Horn of Alchemy Properties, and Richard Mack of AREA Property Partners.

The conference will be held in New York City on November 16th, 2011 at the McGraw Hill Conference Center at 1221 Avenue of the Americas. It is a full day event with highly respected speakers, networking opportunities and cocktail reception.

For the full list of speakers, attending firms, as well as the full agenda, visit http://mkmultifamilysummit.com

123 Lafayette Street is a beautiful 6 story elevatored commercial building located in the southern part of SoHo near the heart of Chinatown. It is one of Manhattan’s most vibrant neighborhoods. The building is overbuilt and has no basement. Each floor has an individual HVAC for the tenants. The
building is perfect for medical offices and other commercial uses and could be a candidate for residential conversion.

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Neighborhoods: SoHo, Chinatown/ Agents: Robert Burton

Chairman and Founding Partner Robert A. Knakal was profiled in Rod Santomassimo’s new book Brokers Who Dominate.

Brokers Who Dominate features strategies and tactics, marketing approaches, prospecting platforms, and support structures of some of the most successful commercial real estate brokers in North America. This book uncovers the stories behind these brokers who are leaders in their respective markets.

Twenty-three brokers are profiled from across the U.S. and Bob Knakal was one of the five sales brokers named a “Dominator” in the industry. 

“I am honored and humbled to be included in such a prestigious group of real estate professionals, particularly a personal hero to me, Steve Siegel who is one of the all-time legends in our business,” Mr. Knakal said, who continued, “I have already read a few of the profiles and have learned quite a bit. It’s a great book for commercial real estate brokers who want to get better.”

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