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A vacant lecture hall building owned by Yeshiva University at 237-241 East 34th Street, between Second and Third Avenues in Manhattan’s Murray Hill neighborhood, has been sold in an all-cash transaction valued at $15,500,000.

The property is 50’ wide and contains approximately 17,875 square feet. The unique layout consists of a lecture hall/performing arts theater with two floors of offices and storage rooms through-out. The property is zoned C1-9A/TA (R10A) with an FAR of 10.0, yielding approximately 49,380 buildable square feet. The property is ideally located within the bustling neighborhood of Murray Hill. The sale price equates to approximately $314 per buildable square foot.

“The unique layout of the building and 50’ wide envelope attracted a multitude of high quality users and developers,” said Massey Knakal Partner and Vice Chairman John F. Ciraulo, who exclusively represented the seller with Director of Sales Kobi Leifer and Director of Sales Michael Azarian.  The buyer, which was an undisclosed developer, was represented by Steven Forkosh of Platinum Realty Group LLC.

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Neighborhoods: Murray Hill/ Agents: John Ciraulo

Massey Knakal Realty Services has been retained on an exclusive basis to arrange for the sale of a development site located at 113-117 West 24th St, aka 112-118 West 25th St in Chelsea, Manhattan. The asking price is $85,000,000.

The subject property is a block through development site and consists of a fee position in an existing three-story parking garage at 113 West 24th St. The zoning for the site is M1-6, positioning the property as an ideal hotel or commercial development. The base zoning allows for a 10.0 FAR density as-of-right, which equates to approximately 156,240 buildable square feet. Additionally, ownership has purchased approximately 112,574 square feet of transferable development rights from adjacent parcels. As a result, the total-as-of-right development would yield approximately 268,999 buildable square feet. Furthermore a potential bonus of 2.0 FAR is permissible by building a public plaza, further increasing the potential development to approximately 300,278 buildable square feet. Ownership will consider dividing the site into two separate parcels if a developer chooses to pursue a smaller site.

“It is rare to have a development site of this size become available in this neighborhood and although we just brought this site to market, the demand has been very strong,” states Massey Knakal Chairman, Bob Knakal, who is marketing the property with Director of Sales Brock Emmetsberger.

For more information on this transaction, please contact Bob Knakal or Brock Emmetsberger at 212.696.2500.

Click here for listing details

Neighborhoods: Chelsea

A townhouse building at 74 Washington Place, located between Sixth Avenue and Washington Square Place in the heart of Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, was sold in an all-cash transaction valued at $9,300,000 to Good Property, a real estate firm specializing in property development, brokerage, investments, consulting and financing, was the buyer.

The five-story brownstone contains approximately 5,077 square feet and sits on a 22.33’ x 96.25’ lot.  It is currently configured into four fair market apartments, three one-bedroom units and one 2.5-bedroom duplex with garden.  There are also approximately 2,317 square feet of available air rights.  The sale price equates to approximately $2,112 per square foot.

Built in 1848 in the Transitional Style, this brownstone located only steps off Washington Square Park is a prime opportunity for a conversion to a single family residence, as larger single family homes in the Village are extremely rare.  Nearby finished homes such as 20 East 10th Street, 109 Waverly Place, and 40 West 10th Street have resold for upwards of $20,000,000, and there are currently a number of mega-single family townhomes on the market in the area for circa $30,000,000.

74 Washington was originally part of the Lurose Portfolio which includes 285 West 12th Street, 121 West 92nd Street, and 143-45 West 4th Street, which Massey Knakal sold a few months ago. Although the sellers originally were pursuing an off market portfolio offer, James Nelson and his team determined that to maximize proceeds it was best to widely market the buildings individually,  as they were different asset classes and locations.  

Within the last six months, Good Property has started four residential developments in New York City, including two single family townhomes and two mixed-use buildings, and has acquired a number of additional assets for future development. “Our experience with James and his team has been nothing short of stellar, and we are thrilled to have developed a strong and ever-growing relationship with Massey Knakal,” says Joshua Gurwitz, co-founder of Good Property.  

“We identified Good Property as the ideal purchaser for this property after only being on the market for a week. They have a history of delivering spectacular luxury residential product and are known for their professionalism and an ability to move smoothly and efficiently through transactions. The seller was thrilled that they could move quickly and close in a short time frame,” said  Massey Knakal Partner James P. Nelson, who exclusively handled this transaction with Director of Sales Mitch Levine.

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Neighborhoods: Greenwich Village

Robert Knakal, along with his personal brokerage team at Massey Knakal Realty Services, is pleased to announce the release of their exclusive 2012 Multifamily Market Report. This unique report provides the most comprehensive historical overview of the New York City multifamily property sales market. The report differentiates between walk-up buildings and elevator buildings, as they are considered two separate asset classes in New York City. For the Manhattan market (south of 96th Street on the Eastside and south of 110th Street on the Westside), the statistics date back over the last 29 years, back to 1984. For the other submarkets, including Northern Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx, the statistics go back 12 years to 2001.
 
“We have assembled an insightful overview of the apartment building market in New York City which includes historical volume metrics illustrating how many properties have sold, the aggregate sales prices of all sales as well as how many apartment units were in the properties that traded. Additionally, we also look at the four value metrics including cap rate, gross rent multiple, price per square foot and price per unit,” stated Mr. Knakal, Massey Knakal’s Chairman.
 
Unsurprisingly, the report shows that the Manhattan submarket leads the city in all valuation categories, as well as many of the volume categories in 2012. The Northern Manhattan submarket has seen the largest increase in the number of multifamily properties sold over 2011 levels, and has been outperforming almost all other submarkets thus far. It is on pace for 131 trades, which would result in an 81% increase over the 72 that were sold last year. Northern Manhattan’s total multifamily property sales dollar volume is on pace for a 101% increase over last year, and is second only to Brooklyn in terms of year over year increase.
 
The Bronx submarket has been the weakest performing submarket in the city. While the number of buildings sold is on pace for 157 properties, a healthy 56% increase from last year’s 101 sold, the dollar volume is on pace for just $255 million in sales, less than the $376 million in 2011. This is the only submarket where dollar volume of sales is on pace to decline this year. In Brooklyn, the multifamily building sales market is the second best in terms of numbers of apartment buildings sold, and has a market leading increase in the dollar volume of sales in 2012 versus 2011.

The Queens submarket has seen the number of buildings sold increase, however, the dollar volume of sales has remained flat, indicating that smaller properties are selling and the market continues to remain supply constrained. Annualizing this year’s activity, it is anticipated that 117 apartment buildings will be sold, reflecting a 49% increase over last year’s 79 properties sold. Dollar volume of sales is on pace for $303 million in sales, up just 1% from 2011’s $301 million.
 
“The information contained in the report gets very granular and provides multifamily property investors with the most comprehensive insight into the market over time that exists in the industry,” stated Jonathan Hageman, sales team manager for Mr. Knakal’s brokerage team. For a copy of the report, you can email Mr. Hageman at jhageman@masseyknakal.com or call him at 212-660-7773.
 
During Mr. Knakal’s career he has sold multifamily buildings containing over 30,000 apartment units.

Massey Knakal Retail Leasing Services has been retained on an exclusive basis to secure a retail lease for 500 Prospect Place, located between Classon and Grand Avenues in Brooklyn’s Prospect Heights neighborhood.
 
This boutique retail space contains approximately 1,160 gross square feet of ground floor space, with ceilings approximately ten feet high. This unique space features a gated backyard with approximately 500 square feet which will be valuable to the right type of business.  The space includes approximately 13 feet of frontage with glass windows from floor to ceiling.  

A new retailer will benefit from the demand needed to fill this area with a café, restaurant, bar, salon/barbershop, and the like, but all uses will be considered. Located in the Prospect Heights neighborhood, this site provides a great retail opportunity within a residential area.   

“The Prospect Heights neighborhood is emerging into a strong retail community. With a variety of national and local retailers, residents are able to support businesses in their community rather than taking their commerce elsewhere,” said First Vice President of Retail Leasing Gregory Bartlett, who is exclusively marketing this site.

For more information, contact Gregory Bartlett at 718.238.8999.

Click here for listing details

Neighborhoods: Prospect Heights

A Citibank leased building at 77 East Main Street, located on the corner of East Main Street and Montauk Highway in Bay Shore, Long Island, was sold in an all-cash transaction valued at $1,475,000.

 The corner building, which consists of two floors plus a mezzanine level, is approximately 8,500 square feet. The building boasts impressive grand architecture of the 1940s, and includes an elevator, a parking lot with 20+ spaces, and a drive-thru service window in the rear. Citibank leases the first floor, mezzanine level and basement through the year 2052. This Citibank location is one of their busiest branches on Long Island showing over $369,000,000 in deposits. The second floor, which is approximately 2,500 square feet is vacant, and would be suitable for a professional office space. The sale price equates to $173 per square foot and a 7% Capitalization Rate.

This property, located in the heart of Bay Shore Village, is conveniently located across the street from the main Bay Shore Post Office, and just blocks from the LIJ Southside Hospital.

“There is real demand for quality cash-flowing assets which was evident by the high amount of interest we received for this property,” said Massey Knakal First Vice President of Sales Stephen R. Preuss, who exclusively handled this transaction.

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Neighborhoods: Nassau County/ Agents: Stephen Preuss

Massey Knakal Retail Leasing Services has been retained on an exclusive basis to secure a retail lease for 224 Fourth Avenue, located on the corner of Fourth Avenue and Union Street in Brooklyn’s Gowanus/Park Slope neighborhood.
 
This restaurant retail space contains approximately 1,500 square feet on the ground floor and 1,100 square feet of basement space.  It benefits from 20 feet of frontage along Fourth Avenue and 55 feet of frontage along Union Street.  The site features a contiguous 20’ x 20’ room for additional storage space at the rear of the restaurant, in addition to the 1,100 square feet of basement storage space.  All uses will be considered.

The property’s location, firmly situated on a busy corner in Park Slope, makes this a highly sought after retail destination for any restaurant. 

“This corner retail space presents an ideal opportunity for a restaurant operator to benefit from both Park Slope and Gowanus commuters as the property is located directly in front of the entrance to the 4th Avenue R subway station,” said First Vice President of Retail Leasing Gregory Bartlett, who is exclusively marketing this space with Director of Sales Stephen Palmese.

The Union Street R train subway stop is just steps away from this prime Park Slope location.  Neighborhood tenants include Brooklyn Industries, Red White & Bubbly, Tomato-N-Basil Pizza, Bagel & Bread Co., and Zito’s.

For more information, contact Gregory Bartlett at 718.238.8999.

Click here for listing details

Neighborhoods: Gowanus, Park Slope/ Agents: Stephen Palmese

A loft building at 230 Seventh Avenue, located between West 23rd and 24th Streets in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood was sold in an all-cash transaction valued at $4,250,000.

Located on one of Chelsea’s main commercial thoroughfares, this four-story building is approximately 5,979 square feet and contains three loft units and a ground floor retail unit. The property benefits from high ceilings on all floors and a significant amount of unused air rights that can be used for additional development. The sale price equates to approximately $711 per square foot.

“We received over 25 offers during our marketing period, so there was certainly a high level of demand for this property,” said Massey Knakal Vice Chairman and Partner John F. Ciraulo, who exclusively handled this transaction with Director of Sales Brock Emmetsberger.

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Neighborhoods: Chelsea/ Agents: John Ciraulo

Massey Knakal Realty Services has been retained on an exclusive basis to sell a development site at 313-319 Bond Street. The property is located on the corner of Bond and President Streets in Brooklyn’s Gowanus neighborhood. The asking price is $11,500,000.

This vacant site, located on the Gowanus Canal and just steps from the heart of gentrified Carroll Gardens, is approximately 31,500 square feet on a 120’ x 300’ irregular lot.  It contains approximately 63,000 buildable square feet.  This site was previously included in the MX Waterfront North proposed rezoning with a residential FAR of 2.5-3.3 with inclusionary housing bonuses.  It is currently zoned M2-1 with an FAR of 2.0

For more information on this listing, contact Massey Knakal Senior Vice President of Sales Ken Freeman at 718.238.8999.

Click here for listing details

Neighborhoods: Gowanus

Featured Closing: $8.0M Loan, New Jersey

11/21/2012 8:43:49 AM/ Massey Knakal/ Closings

Massey Knakal Capital Services is pleased to announce the closing of an $8.0 million loan collateralized by a 62,000 square foot grocery anchored shopping center in Suburban New Jersey. The non-recourse loan closed at 4.2% for 10 years.  The sponsor is a public real estate investment trust.
               
“A&P was the anchor, a company that was in bankruptcy when the loan was first discussed.  The owner did not believe a lender would risk lending on a property where 70% of the income came from the principal tenant that was openly insolvent and did not report sales figures. Even when A&P emerged from bankruptcy, the company did not release any financial information on the health of the company,” said Director Scott Aiese, who exclusively handled this transaction. “We overcame this challenge by performing downside underwriting and got lenders to focus on the strength of this location, regardless of what happened to A&P,” added Aiese.

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Massey Knakal Realty Services has been retained on an exclusive basis to sell South Shore Plaza, a shopping center at 1746 Sunrise Highway, in Bay Shore, Long Island. The asking price is $3,200,000.

The one-story, ten-unit shopping center is approximately 15,000 square feet and sits on a two acre lot.  It is currently partitioned into seven stores and includes 90+ parking spaces.  The complex has been fully-leased for many years, and now has one vacancy upcoming which is the desirable corner end-cap unit.

This property is located directly across the street from the Westfield South Shore Mall on Sunrise Highway in the heart of Bay Shore in the Town of Islip.  It is a great opportunity for an investor to acquire a rarely available retail shopping center with longstanding tenants and cash flow with upside potential.

For more information on this listing, contact Massey Knakal First Vice President of Sales Stephen R. Preuss at 718.275.3400.

Click here for listing details

Neighborhoods: Nassau County/ Agents: Stephen Preuss

The East Side / Village Portfolio, consisting of 11 prime multifamily walkup apartment buildings located on the Upper East Side and the East and West Village, with an additional 40-unit property located in downtown Brooklyn, was sold in an all-cash transaction valued at $73,000,000.  The Manhattan buildings are located at 104 East 7th Street, 438-440 East 13th Street, 234-238 East 33rd Street, 101 MacDougal Street, 410 East 64th Street, 319-321 East 78th Street, 223 East 82nd Street, 310 East 83rd Street, 325 East 83rd Street, and 504 East 88th Street.  The Brooklyn property is located at 354-356 State Street.

In total, the portfolio contains 299 residential units and two stores totaling approximately 142,000 gross square feet.  Roughly 72% of the units are rent regulated with average monthly rents considerably below market.   The sale price equates to approximately $514 per square foot.

 “It is extremely rare for a portfolio of this size and quality to become available for sale in such prime Manhattan locations, and the market reacted accordingly during the marketing process with strong fundamentals and historically low interest rates fueling tremendous demand for these assets,” said Massey Knakal Senior Vice President of Sales Paul B. Smadbeck, who exclusively handled this transaction with Vice President Thomas Gammino, Jr., Partner James Nelson, and Vice Chairman and Partner John F. Ciraulo.

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Neighborhoods: Greenwich Village, Upper East Side, East Village/ Agents: John Ciraulo

Massey Knakal Retail Leasing Services has been retained on an exclusive basis to secure a lease for the retail space at 225 East 57th Street, located between Second and Third Avenues in Manhattan’s Midtown East neighborhood.
 
The retail unit is approximately 7,500 square feet and offers approximately 55 feet of frontage on 57th Street.  The ceilings are approximately 9 feet high.  

The site is ideally located steps from the newest Whole Foods in Manhattan.  Other notable neighborhood retailers include Bloomingdales, Home Depot, Dylan’s Candy Bar, Duane Reade, Chase, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Verizon.

“With the recent opening of Whole Foods, we believe the space presents an incredible opportunity to further transform the block with a new scope of tenants,” said First Vice President of Retail Leasing Jill Lovatt, who is exclusively marketing this site.

For more information, contact Jill Lovatt at 212.696.2500.

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Neighborhoods: Midtown East/ Agents: Jill Lovatt

A development site at 55-57 Pearl Street, located on the corner of Water Street in Brooklyn's DUMBO neighborhood, was sold in an all-cash transaction valued at $4,250,000.

The development site sits on a 50' x 90' lot.  It contains approximately 24,300 buildable square feet, plus approximately 3,500 square feet of air rights from an adjacent property, for a total of 27,800 buildable square feet, with the sale price equating to approximately $150 per square feet.

"Massey Knakal has exclusively represented a total of approximately $107,000,000 in properties in DUMBO this year," said Massey Knakal Director of Sales Stephen Palmese, who exclusively handled this transaction.

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Neighborhoods: DUMBO/ Agents: Stephen Palmese

Massey Knakal Realty Services has been retained on an exclusive basis to sell a mixed-use building at 452 West 145th Street. The property is located between Amsterdam and Convent Avenues in the Hamilton Heights Historic District of Harlem. The asking price is $1,195,000, a 6.5% cap.

The four-story walk-up apartment building is approximately 3,328 square feet and sits on a 16’ x 99.92’ lot. There is approximately 3,086 square feet of additional air rights which could potentially be used to build out the back of the building. The residential units are rent stabilized, with excellent tenancy.  Most of the apartments are renovated.

Situated along a commercial corridor in Harlem, this property is conveniently located near City College and one block from the B, C, and D trains.  This is an excellent opportunity for an investor who is looking for strong-in place cash flow or a user looking to take occupancy of the commercial space upon expiration.  “With rents in the area and this neighborhood in particular trending upwards, we expect an investor and / or user to do very well with this acquisition,” said First Vice President of Sales Josh Lipton.

For more information on this listing, contact Massey Knakal Director of Sales Mitch Levine, First Vice President of Sales Josh Lipton or Partner James Nelson at 212.696.2500.

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Neighborhoods: Hamilton Heights

Massey Knakal Realty Services has secured the long-term lease of 1080 Amsterdam Avenue (aka 501 West 113th Street) for a term of 99 years. The property is ideally located on the northwest corner of Amsterdam Avenue and West 113th Street along the southern boundary of Columbia University’s campus in the heart of Morningside Heights.

This 20-story pre-war apartment building was constructed in 1932 and contains 98 units (96 residential and 2 commercial). The units are spacious and feature classic layouts including sunken living rooms, ample closet space and large windows with views of Columbia University’s campus, Midtown Manhattan and the Hudson River. The 82,250-square-foot, 20-story pre-war elevator building is located just south of Columbia University’s campus, at the northwest corner of Amsterdam Avenue and West 113th Street on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. The building has most recently been used to house hospital or employee staff by the owner, St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital Center (“SLRHC”).

The property was leased to a partnership of SL Green/Stonehenge which will undertake a strategic renovation to convert the property into an attractive and desirable Upper West Side luxury residential address.  The redevelopment is expected to be completed within 24 months from its commencement.

“We would like to congratulate Continuum Health Partners on a successful transaction and the selection of great long term partners in SL Green & Stonehenge Partners,” said Chief Executive Officer Paul J. Massey Jr.

“1080 Amsterdam offers a tremendous opportunity for SL Green and Stonehenge to tap into the strong fundamentals of one of the city’s most supply constrained neighborhood,” said Director of Sales Hall H. Oster who exclusively handled the transaction along with Paul J. Massey Jr. and First Vice President of Sales Robert Shapiro.

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Neighborhoods: Morningside Heights/ Agents: Paul Massey Jr., Robert Shapiro

Massey Knakal Retail Leasing Services has been retained on an exclusive basis to secure a retail lease for 74 North 8th Street, located between Wythe and Kent Avenues in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood.
 
This new construction contains approximately 1,750 square feet on the ground floor and 750 square feet of rear outdoor space.  It benefits from ceilings approximately 18 feet high and 25 feet of frontage on North 8th Street.  Additional features include outdoor patio space and central HVAC.  All uses will be considered.

Neighboring retailers include CVS, Verizon, UPS, Duane Reade as well as various bars, restaurants, galleries, cafes, and boutiques.

“Located just a few blocks from the Wythe Hotel, the property is ideal for an upscale bar, lounge or restaurant.  The space features a beautiful, large outdoor patio space that would add significant revenue in the Spring and Summer months as outdoor seating,” said Massey Knakal Director of Retail Leasing Andrew Clemens, who is exclusively marketing this space.

For more information, contact Director of Retail Leasing Andrew Clemens at 718.238.8999.

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Neighborhoods: Williamsburg

Massey Knakal Capital Services is pleased to announce the closing of a $13.2 million loan collateralized by a student housing building in Radford, Virginia. The CMBS loan closed at 4.43% for 10 years.  

“This transaction was difficult due to the significant value-add created by the borrowers in such a short time frame.  Not all lenders could grasp that aspect,” said Director Justin Boruchov, who exclusively handled this transaction.

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

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Massey Knakal Realty Services has been retained on an exclusive basis to sell a development site at 307-311 Union Avenue.  The property is located between South 1st Street and South 2nd Street in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood. The asking price is $2,600,000 or approximately $173 per buildable square foot.

The mixed-use development site contains two adjoining lots of approximately 15,000 buildable square feet on a 50’ x 100’ lot.  The property offers 50 feet of frontage on a gentrifying corridor that already has numerous popular bars and restaurants as well as several successful condo projects.  The lots are currently used for parking and may be delivered vacant at closing.

There are excellent transportation options nearby, with the Metropolitan Avenue G train station, the Lorimer Street L train station, and the Hewes Street J and M train station each just five blocks away from the site.

For more information on this listing, contact Massey Knakal Vice President of Sales Mark L. Lively or Director of Sales Brendan Maddigan at 718.238.8999.

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Neighborhoods: Williamsburg

Massey Knakal Realty Services has been retained on an exclusive basis to sell a multifamily building at 211 Madison Street. The property is located between Rutgers and Jefferson Streets on Manhattan’s Lower East Side.  The asking price is $3,600,000.

The five-story building sits on a 26.1 x 100’ lot and currently consists of 20 residential units totaling approximately 10,500 square feet and 2,000 square feet of usable below-grade space.  All of the residential units are rent regulated, and all of the one-bedroom apartments have tremendous upside potential as rents currently average $17 per square foot or $557 per month. The property is to be sold in “as is” condition.

The 2,000 square feet of vacant below-grade space is accessible by a pair of sidewalk staircases, offering great opportunity for potential conversion to the type of thriving step-down retail that can be seen across the neighborhood.  An additional 1,000 square feet of sub-cellar area also presents the prospect of extra revenue from a tenant or retail storage space.

Located just two blocks south of Seward Park and the East Broadway subway station, this property provides investors with the opportunity to realize substantial gains in both residential and retail components.

For more information on this listing, contact Massey Knakal Vice Chairman John Ciraulo, Director of Sales Brock Emmetsberger, or Director of Sales Michael DeCheser at 212.696.2500.

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Neighborhoods: Lower East Side/ Agents: John Ciraulo, Michael DeCheser

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