News

This fifty foot wide brick multifamily building is located near McCarren Park in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The units are laid out efficiently as box three bedrooms (except the first floor units which are two bedrooms) and have all been renovated recently. The properties mechanical systems, including the boiler and electric have been completely updated as well. This property affords an investor an outstanding opportunity to own a turn-key rental property in an excellent location.

Click here for listing details.

Neighborhoods: Greenpoint/ Agents: Mark Lively

Located between First Avenue and Sutton Place in the Grand Sutton building, this property is a self-contained maisonette co-op that can function as either a commercial or residential space. It has its own private entrance, giving the feel of a smaller townhouse within a larger building. It consists of three floors, and has its own private garden access. It is currently operating as a law office, but can be converted to residential easily. It will be delivered entirely vacant, making this property ideal for another office user looking to purchase private space in a turn-key scenario.

Click here for listing details.

Neighborhoods: Midtown East

Did I get your attention? I remember years ago, Carleton Sheets made similar claims on late night infomercials. Carleton’s still around, but the “No Money Down” jargon seems to have dropped off his materials.  Instead of “get rich quick schemes”, he might want to start promoting legitimate Federal loan programs which can require as little as $100 down.

HUD now offers a sales incentive program in certain high-foreclosure rate areas aimed at putting foreclosed homes back into the hands of owner-occupant buyers. (See http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/housing/salesincentives). In select states (notNew York), buyers need a down payment of only $100 to purchase a HUD-owned REO home. They have until October to do it.

The buyer must be an owner-occupant, utilizing financing insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). Standard FHA underwriting guidelines apply, and the sale must be for the full amount of the current list price.

Visit The Full Nelson at NYInc for the rest of the article

Massey Knakal Capital Services is pleased to announce the closing of a loan for a retail property located on 86th Street in Brooklyn’s Bensonhurst neighborhood. The $2,500,000 non-recourse loan was fixed for five years at 4.75% with a five-year extension option. The property is approximately 8,000 square feet and contains three retail units located on a prime retail thoroughfare in Brooklyn.

“This was a challenging loan because the property was partially owner-occupied. Typically owner-occupied properties require full-recourse financing. We were able to find a lender who believed in the real estate value and the retail market on 86th Street to complete the transaction on a non-recourse basis,” said Director Morris Betesh who exclusively handled this transaction.  

Massey Knakal Capital Services provides unparalleled market knowledge that delivers the most creative financing strategies to meet client needs. MKCS specializes in a variety of debt and equity based real estate financing including fixed rate loans, floating rate loans, construction loans, mezzanine loans and bridge loans.

Click here for press release

Neighborhoods: Bensonhurst

Massey Knakal Retail Leasing Services has secured a restaurant lease at 2756 Broadway, located between 105th and 106th Streets on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

The retail space contains approximately 1,550 square feet on the ground floor and 1,550 square feet of basement space. There is a 1,200 square foot private garden in the rear of the building. The space also benefits from 37 feet of frontage on the Upper West Side’s most desirable restaurant/retail location.  

“We received numerous offers by restaurant operators which resulted in Massey Knakal achieving a value well above the asking price,” said David Chkheidze, Director of Retail Leasing, who exclusively represented the landlord in this transaction.

Click here for press release

Neighborhoods: Upper West Side

An elevatored multifamily building at 105 Avenue P, located on the northeast corner of Avenue P and West 11th Street in Brooklyn’s Bensonhurst neighborhood, was sold in an all cash transaction valued at $5,500,000.

The six-story property is approximately 45,000 square feet and sits on a 100’ x 100’ lot.  There are 41 rent stabilized apartments and one rent controlled apartment. Of the 42 units, there are 24 one bedroom units and 18 two-bedroom units. The property is ideally located near Kings Highway, Bay Parkway and the Belt Parkway. The sale price equates to approximately $122 per square foot.

“After a short marketing period, we received several offers from qualified buyers at or above the asking price. This is a reflection of the strong demand for this type of product,” said Massey Knakal First Vice President of Sales Jeffrey A. Shalom who exclusively handled this transaction with Director of Sales Stephen Preuss.

Click here for press release

Neighborhoods: Bensonhurst/ Agents: Jeffrey Shalom, Stephen Preuss

The site offers a combined 12,083 +/- square foot land area comprised of two adjacent properties: a surface parking lot at 140-44 West 28th Street and a 7-story mixed use loft building at 146-148 West 28th Street, along with additional air rights which the owner has acquired from 141-43 and 145-47 West 27th Streets. Alternatively, 146-48 West 28th Street could be purchased separately with or without its additional air rights. The zoning for the site is M1-6 making it suitable for hotel. The area has benefited from a residential rezoning a block to the west and other nearby boutique hotels such as the Indigo.

Click here for listing details.

Neighborhoods: Chelsea

Massey Knakal Capital Services is pleased to announce the closing of a condominium conversion loan on Manhattan’s Upper West Side for total proceeds of $12.0 million.

A $12.0 million condominium conversion loan was closed in order to refinance an existing term loan and transform a pre-war multifamily building with approximately 50-units into luxury condominiums that will be sold on an individual basis.  The loan provides the necessary capital to convert the first 20 units from apartments to luxury condominiums.  After completion of the first 20 units, the innovative loan structure allows the borrower to recycle condominium sales proceeds to complete the renovation of the remainder of the condominium units.

“Massey Knakal created a mutually beneficial partnership between the developer and lender, by allowing the borrower to minimize its equity contribution with low transactional costs while providing the lender with a low-basis transaction with a leading sponsor,” said Director Scott Aiese. 

Director Scott Aiese represented his client to lenders from a banker’s perspective, after spending five years as a vice president of real estate at a major financial institution.

Massey Knakal Capital Services provides unparalleled market knowledge that delivers the most creative financing strategies to meet client needs. MKCS specializes in a variety of debt and equity based real estate financing including fixed rate loans, floating rate loans, constructions loans, mezzanine loans and bridge loans.

Neighborhoods: Upper West Side

Beautifully built out store available for lease.  Previous use was a pharmacy. Located in Carnegie East House on Second Avenue between East 95th and 96th Streets. All uses considered.

Click here for listing details.

Neighborhoods: Upper East Side/ Agents: Jill Lovatt

A mixed-use building at 51 Hester Street, located between Essex and Ludlow Streets on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, was sold in an all cash transaction valued at $2,200,000.

The seven-story elevatored building is approximately 5,462 square feet and sits on a 22’ x 46’ lot.  The building is fully occupied with a store on the ground floor and five one-bedroom apartments above. The building was gut renovated in 2007, complete with a new elevator, mechanics, a two-story addition and a roof terrace. The sale price equates to approximately $402 per square foot and a capitalization rate of 4.5%.

“We were able to identify a group who intends to run their business out of the store,” said Massey Knakal Director of Sales Michael DeCheser who exclusively handled this transaction. “Our multilingual marketing efforts produced a premium for the seller,” added DeCheser.

Click here for press release

Neighborhoods: Lower East Side/ Agents: Michael DeCheser

57 Grand Street is a 4-story, mixed use loft building with a ground floor store. Ceiling heights are 13’ on the GRFL, 11’ on the 2nd FL, 9’ on the 3rd FL, and 9.5’ on the 4FL. There is no CO. Located in SoHo.

Click here for listing details.

Neighborhoods: SoHo/ Agents: Robert Burton

Massey Knakal Realty Services is pleased to announce the release of their exclusive Year-End Property Sales Reports. These unique, industry-leading, reports provides a comprehensive study of the investment sales market by product type in the entire New York City area (Manhattan, Northern Manhattan/Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens).

“New York City’s property sales market’s recovery is generally trending positive but remains uneven,” stated Robert Knakal, Massey Knakal Chairman. “On an annual basis, 2011 volume numbers were up significantly from 2010 numbers both on a dollar volume and number of properties sold basis. It is clear, however, that the activity in the second half of the year showed signs of a slow down and we would have been ready to call the beginning of a double-dip had it not been for the fact that values appreciated. This is clearly a sign of a supply constrained market as opposed to weakening conditions. We expect supply to pick up significantly as we progress through 2012,” added Knakal.

In 2011, the total volume of buildings sold in the New York City commercial real estate market place was $25.6 billion, an increase of 80% from the $14.2 billion in 2010. The $25.6 billion is down 59% from the peak of the market in 2007, and down 15% from the 7 year average of $30 billion.

There were 1,751 transactions consisting of 2,122 buildings, an increase of 25% from 2010. The turnover rate was 1.29% of the total stock of properties. The average price per property in New York City in 2011 was $12 million, slightly off the average of $12.3 million in 2007. Manhattan accounted for 85% of total dollar volume with $21.7 billion, while Brooklyn accounted for 35% of total building sales.

Massey Knakal’s Pricing Index, which tracks price per square foot change in New York City across all property types posted a 6% increase in PPSF with all markets up from 2010. Northern Manhattan led the way with a 16% increase in price per square foot.

Click here for highlights from each report

It should be obvious that properties which are in great condition sell for more than those in need of repair, but by how much of a margin? Is it cheaper to buy an investment property and do the work yourself?

To consider this question, I wanted to compare two recent Brooklyn Height sales. One was a vacant turnkey property at50 Orange Street which my office recently sold.  The five-story, 12,583 SF elevatored building sold for $7,100,000 or $546/SF.

The property had been owned by The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. for over 20 years. The property had been maintained according to the incredibly high standards of care and attention that Watchtower is particularly well-known for. The Witnesses' award-winning restoration and maintenance of their properties is well-documented.

Visit The Full Nelson at NYInc for the rest of the article

Neighborhoods: Brooklyn Heights/ Agents: Stephen Palmese

Massey Knakal Realty Services is pleased to announce the sale of four senior notes for two properties in Harlem and two properties in Brooklyn. At the time of sale, the PAR Value for the collateralized notes was $5,700,000.

The collateral included a building located at 173 East 117th Street between Lexington and Third Avenues. The four-story walk-up building is approximately 3,868 gross square feet and consists of seven residential units. It is located just one block from the 116th Street subway station and the major 125th Street retail corridor.

The second Harlem property is a residential building located at 217 West 115th Street, between Frederick Douglass and Adam Clayton Powell Boulevards. The five-story walk-up building is approximately 6,565 gross square feet and consists of 10 residential apartments.  It is ideally located just four blocks from Central Park, as well as the 110th Street and 116th Street subway stations.

Massey Knakal Chairman Robert Knakal exclusively handled the note sales for 173 East 117th Street and 217 West 115th Street with Director of Sales Lev Kimyagarov.

One of the collateral buildings in Brooklyn is located at 1300-1304 Flatbush Avenue, on the corner of a five-point intersection splitting Flatbush and Bedford Avenues. This three-story commercial building is approximately 3,780 gross square feet and consists of three retail units. The sale of this note was handled exclusively by Mr. Knakal and Director of Sales Edward Gevinski.

The fourth collateral site is located at 283-285 Graham Avenue on the southwest corner of Powers Street and Graham Avenue. The site consists of one two-story building and one three-story building which combined total approximately 6,825 square feet. Together, there are three retail and three residential units. There is also a 1,000 square foot garage that is used as an artists studio. The sale of this note was handled exclusively by Mr. Knakal and Vice President of Sales Mark Lively.

Click here for press release

Neighborhoods: Harlem, Bushwick, Flatbush/ Agents: Mark Lively

A contemporary, 4-story single family townhouse originally built around the turn of the 20th century. The property was initially gut-renovated in 2004 and underwent a second, more refined, renovation between 2007-2008. The property is in excellent condition and receives great natural light due to its high ceilings and ample supply of windows. In 2010, the property was calendared for inclusion in the proposed West End Avenue Historic District. The property represents an ideal opportunity to purchase a smartly designed private home in the heart of the Upper West Side.

Click here for listing details.

Neighborhoods: Upper West Side

A mixed-use building at 347 East 54th Street, located between First and Second Avenues in Manhattan’s Midtown East neighborhood, was sold in an all cash transaction valued at $2,700,000.

The four-story property is approximately 4,800 square feet and sits on a 20’ x 100.5’ lot.  The building consists of a restaurant on the ground floor with five residential units above. Aside from the second floor, which is a floor-through unit, each floor has two studio apartments, all of which are in need of major renovation. The sale price equates to approximately $562.50 per square foot.

“We had a consistently high level of activity throughout the marketing process for this property due to the vacancy and significant air rights which offered immediate long and short term upside. We received over 40 offers and ultimately sold the property for more than the asking price to a local investor,” said Massey Knakal Vice President of Sales Tom Gammino who exclusively handled this transaction with First Vice President of Sales Clint Olsen.

Click here for press release

Neighborhoods: Midtown East

A warehouse at 413-421 Troutman Street, located between Saint Nicholas and Wyckoff Avenues in Brooklyn’s North Bushwick neighborhood, was sold in an all cash transaction valued at $2,375,000.

The property, which includes a one-story warehouse and shed space totaling approximately 17,500 SF, sits on a 200’ x 100’ lot. This former refrigerated truck manufacturing facility is ideally located next to the Jefferson Street L train station and close to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.
“This property, which will be subdivided into three lots, was purchased as a joint venture between a local investor and a fourth generation Argentinean framing company,” said Massey Knakal First Vice President of Sales Michael Amirkhanian who exclusively represented the seller in this transaction with Senior Vice President of Sales Paul Smadbeck.

Click here for press release

Neighborhoods: Bushwick

In the late 1990s,West Chelsea properties values were less than a tenth of what they are today. The game changer for the area was the arrival of the art galleries which were pushed out of SoHo. Following them were trendy restaurants, luxury residential, and most recently the Highline. Now the area is becoming too expensive for many galleries.  Many are moving to the north, the Lower Eastside, and now Bushwick, Brooklyn.

According to Crain’s, in the last year alone, three cafés, two bars, one organic grocer and several other retail businesses have opened in Bushwick.  More galleries have also arrived. In December, the 950 Hart Gallery opened joining Factory Fresh at1053 Flushing Ave., English Kills at114 Forrest St., and more than a dozen others that have opened in recent years.

Crain’s goes on to say “the main reason they're moving in is simple: Bushwick is relatively convenient to get to, and it's cheap. While the average one-bedroom apartment in Williamsburg rented for about $2,400 per month in 2010, the average one-bedroom in Bushwick went for about $1,300. And while that sum is up 63% from an average of $800 four years ago, it still represents a New York bargain.”

Visit The Full Nelson at NYInc for the rest of the article

Neighborhoods: Bushwick

A multifamily building at 50 Orange Street, located on the southeast corner of Orange and Hicks Streets in Brooklyn Heights, was sold in an all cash transaction valued at $7,100,000. The property has been owned by The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. for over 20 years.

The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. is a non-stock, not-for-profit legal entity used by Jehovah's Witnesses from their headquarters in Brooklyn Heights. The corporation is a major publisher of religious publications, including books, tracts, magazines, and Bibles.

Located in the heart of Brooklyn Heights 50 Orange Street is a five-story elevatored apartment building containing a total of 20 residential units. Of the 20 units, 10 are studios and 10 are one-bedroom units. The building is approximately 15,355 gross square feet including the cellar and was delivered vacant, which is rare for this size building and location.

This property has been maintained according to the incredibly high standards of care and attention that Watchtower is particularly well-known for. The Witnesses' award-winning restoration and maintenance of their properties is well-documented.

In 2006, a renovation of the property was completed including the installation of a new elevator and central heating and air-conditioning system. The property also features views of the Manhattan skyline, harbor, and bridges from the upper floors.

 “This property presented the buyers with a great opportunity to purchase and operate a property which was absolutely turn-key,” said Massey Knakal Chairman Robert Knakal who exclusively handled this transaction with Director of Sales Stephen Palmese.

Additionally, Massey Knakal is marketing two other properties on behalf of the Watchtower.

183 Columbia Heights is a seven-story elevatored apartment building which will also be delivered vacant. It is located between Clark and Pierrepoint Streets just steps from the Brooklyn waterfront promenade. The gorgeous residential building has been immaculately maintained and features 10’ ceilings, storage space, a bike room and laundry room. Additionally, the property features stunning unobstructed views of the Manhattan skyline, harbor, and bridges from the upper floors. The building is approximately 15,158 gross square feet including the cellar and consists of 13 fair market apartments. The asking price is $7,100,000.

Just a few buildings away is a beautiful five-story townhouse located at 161 Columbia Heights, which consists of seven fair market units, one rent stabilized unit and two rent controlled units. The building is approximately 7,513 gross square feet including the cellar. The property is an excellent candidate for an owner user who wishes to live in a portion of the building while receiving income from the remaining apartments. The asking price is $3,450,000.

Click here for press release

Neighborhoods: Brooklyn Heights/ Agents: Stephen Palmese

Two adjacent walk-up apartment buildings at 73 and 75 East 3rd Street, located between First and Second Avenues in Manhattan’s East Village, was sold in an all cash transaction valued at $15,500,000.

Combined, the two six-story buildings are approximately 22,092 total above grade square feet and have 50 feet  of frontage along East 3rd  Street. In total, there are 49 one-bedroom apartments, of which, 4 are rent controlled and the remaining 45 units are all free market.  All 45 free market units have been renovated to include new hardwood floors, marble tiles in the bathrooms, granite countertops and new appliances including dishwashers in the kitchens and washer/dryer in the units. Most of the units also benefit from exposed brick.

“The purchaser was a foreign national from Italy who had sold a property and used the proceeds in a tax deferred 1031 exchange. New York City commercial real estate continues to be perceived by foreign investors as providing the best opportunity for capital appreciation and multifamily investments are the preferred sector today. It has historically been viewed as a safe haven for both foreign and local investor’s,” said Massey Knakal Vice Chairman and Partner John Ciraulo who exclusively represented the seller in this transaction along with Director of Sales Craig Waggner.

The buyer was represented by Tim Crowley of Flank Brokerage, LLC.

Click here for press release

Neighborhoods: East Village/ Agents: John Ciraulo