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Massey Knakal's sophisticated training programs and rigorous certification board are peerless among realty services firms, ensuring that our agents are the most disciplined, skilled and talented in the industry. Creating the best work environment is something we strive for on a daily basis, and intelligence, integrity, professionalism and passion are the keys to maintaining it. Talented individuals are valued at Massey Knakal.

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A multifamily building at 213 Green Street, located between Manhattan Avenue and McGuinness Boulevard in Brooklyn’s Greenpoint neighborhood, was sold in an all-cash transaction valued at $1,750,000.

The four-story brick building contains approximately 5,500 square feet on a 25’ x 100’ lot and consists of eight units.  It has tremendous potential as an income producing investment and it holds additional air rights.  The sale price equates to approximately $318 per square foot.

The property is conveniently located just four blocks from the India Street entrance to the Greenpoint Avenue G train station and six blocks from the East Ferry River dock.

“There was considerable interest in this asset and we received multiple offers, ultimately settling on number over the asking price,” said Massey Knakal’s Mark L. Lively, who exclusively handled this transaction with Brendan T. Maddigan.  “When rehabilitated and repositioned, this will be a solid asset anchored in one of Brooklyn’s most desirable neighborhoods,” Maddigan added.

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Neighborhoods: Greenpoint/ Agents: Mark Lively

Massey Knakal Realty Services has been retained on an exclusive basis to sell a medical office building at 2700 Ocean Avenue. The property is located between Gravesend Neck Road and Avenue W in Brooklyn’s Sheepshead Bay neighborhood. The asking price is $5,750,000.

The two-story building, with fully-finished basement, contains approximately 12,500 square feet and sits on a 40’ x 125’ lot.  It consists of 35 large examination rooms making this an excellent opportunity for a medical practice looking to expand. The owners are willing to sell the business as well, a highly respected medical practice that has been servicing the community for 18 years.

This property is being marketed exclusively by Massey Knakal’s Alex Svetlakou.

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Neighborhoods: Sheepshead Bay

A multifamily building at 517 West 180th Street located between Amsterdam and Audubon Avenues in Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood, was sold in an all-cash transaction valued at $4,250,000.

The five-story walkup building contains approximately 20,000 square feet and sits on a 50’ x 100’ lot. It consists of 26 rent stabilized units, with a mix of five one-bedroom, 12 two-bedroom, five flex three-bedroom, three three-bedroom and one five-bedroom apartments. The building has been well-maintained and features a new gas boiler, a new sewer line from the basement into the street, and pointing. The sale price equates to approximately $213 per square foot.

The property is in close proximity to High Bridge Park, the Broadway and West 181st Street retail corridors and neighborhood attractions, such as Yeshiva University, the Palace Theatre and the Cloisters museum. Public transportation is easily accessible with the 1 train stop at St. Nicholas Avenue and West 181st Street, the A express train stop at Fort Washington Avenue and West 181st Street, and numerous bus routes in the surrounding area.

“This manageable size of this transaction drew tremendous interest from investors looking to make their entry into the booming Washington Heights market,” said Massey Knakal’s Robert Shapiro, who exclusively represented the seller in this transaction.

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Neighborhoods: Washington Heights/ Agents: Robert Shapiro

Massey Knakal Realty Services has been retained on an exclusive basis to sell a multifamily building at 206 East 75th Street. The property is located between Second and Third Avenues on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The asking price is $4,500,000.

The five-story walk-up building sits on an approximately 20’ x 102.17’ lot and currently consists of five apartments, four of which have been completely gutted in advance of a substantial renovation.  The ground floor apartment is rent controlled and can be accessed by a separate entrance to the street. Approved plans call for the addition of a sixth floor, a full renovation of floors two-five and the common areas, as well as façade pointing.  Upon completion, the building will be transformed into a fully-modern apartment building consisting of approximately 6,600 square feet and six floor-through apartments.

This property presents an excellent opportunity for an investor to add value to an existing multifamily property or for an end-user to take the top five floors and create an approximately 5,500 square foot home in a prime Upper East Side location.

“There’s already been strong interest in this property due to its prime location, potential as a rental, single-family home, or boutique condo, and pricing at less than $825 per existing square foot," said Massey Knakal’s Guthrie Garvin, who is exclusively marketing this property with Hall Oster.

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Neighborhoods: Upper East Side

Massey Knakal's Brendan Gotch was recently featured in Real Estate Forum's Tomorrow's Leaders Retail spotlight.  The section featured professionals age 35 and under who can see where the market is headed while demonstrating the time-honored virtues of hard work, creativity and the ability to tailor solutions to the specific needs of clients.
 
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A mixed-use building at 135 West Kingsbridge Road located on the northeast corner of West Kingsbridge Road and Sedgwick Avenue in the Kingsbridge Heights neighborhood of the North Bronx, was sold in an all-cash transaction valued at $10,900,000.

The six-story walk-up building contains approximately 79,000 square feet on a 179’ x 103’ lot and consists of 58 residential units and ten stores. The residential units include 31 one-bedroom, 12 two-bedroom, and 15 three-bedroom units.  The building has been very well-maintained, and the sale price equates to approximately $138 per square foot.

The property is located across from the James J. Peters VA Medical Center, within walking distance of Lehman College, and just west of the soon to be redeveloped Kingsbridge Armory.  Transportation options include the 4 train at Kingsbridge Road and Jerome Avenue, B and D trains along Grand Concourse, and various bus lines servicing the area.

“The buyer owns apartment buildings in Manhattan and Queens but this was his first Bronx apartment building purchase, demonstrating the increased attractiveness of the Bronx for investors,” said Massey Knakal’s David Simone, who exclusively handled this transaction with Karl Brumback.  “The investors were impressed with the seller’s renovations and the existing retail stores,” Simone added.  

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Neighborhoods: Kingsbridge/ Agents: Karl Brumback

Massey Knakal will join over 300 real estate professionals on June 10th for the Real Estate Weekly Young Leaders' Forum, an annual summit highlighting the emerging players in real estate and finance.  Real Estate Weekly turns the spotlight on young industry leaders for a conference of hard hitting panels with innovative thought leaders, who just happen to be under 40.  

Stephen Palmese will be a speaker at the "What I Know About Today's Market: The Biggest Projects and Portfolios of 2014" session.

Morris Betesh will be a spearker at the "What I Know About Money: Equity, Debt Capital Sources & Intermediaries" session.

Paul J. Massey, Jr. will take part in What I Wish I Knew Then: A Keynote Roundtable.

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Agents: Paul Massey Jr., Stephen Palmese

A townhouse at 70 Bank Street, located between Bleecker and West 4th Streets in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village Historic District, was sold in an all-cash transaction valued at $13,800,000.

This rare, five-story Greek Revival townhouse was built in 1839, is approximately 7,000 square feet and sits on a 25’ x 90’ lot.  The sale price equates to approximately $1,971 per square foot.

There is an opportunity for a private rooftop deck with panoramic views of Greenwich Village. Additionally, the basement could be excavated for additional head height, expanding the livable footprint. 70 Bank Street is located in Greenwich Village, one of the most highly coveted Manhattan neighborhoods, and offers the chance to create an expansive 25’ wide, 7,000 square foot home, while being on one of the best blocks in the Village.
 
“Townhouses of this size and scale are exceedingly rare in the Village,” said Massey Knakal’s James Nelson, who exclusively represented the seller in this transaction with Sales Team Manager, Caroline Hannigan.  “The buyer plans to convert the property back to single-family home, a unique opportunity on one of the best blocks in the Village,” added Hannigan.   

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Neighborhoods: Greenwich Village

Massey Knakal Realty Services has been retained on an exclusive basis to sell the iconic “Roslyn Clock Tower” building, a mixed-use property at 2-8 Main Street. The property is located on the corner of Main Street and Old Northern Boulevard in Roslyn, NY. The asking price is $4,900,000.

The two-story building contains approximately 10,000 square feet and sits on a 100’ x 50’ lot.  It consists of five retail units on the ground floor and 12 office units on the second floor.  Overlooking the much admired Village of Roslyn, this prestigious property will be sold inclusive of a beautiful home site that will have views of the water.  The home site is currently used for parking and consists of a single-story garage that contains approximately 1,734 square feet on an L-shaped lot, with eight indoor and ten outdoor spaces.  The property is an ideal opportunity for an owner-user or investor.

This property is being marketed exclusively by Massey Knakal’s Stephen R. Preuss, John Ciraulo, and Benjamin Efraimov.

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Neighborhoods: Nassau County/ Agents: John Ciraulo, Stephen Preuss

The Massey Knakal team attended RECon, the global retail real estate convention in Las Vegas, Nevada this year. With over 1 million square feet of exhibit space, 100+ retailers and 35,000 industry professionals, there was a lot of ground to cover and lot of people to meet.

Gia LaMarca, Massey Knakal’s SVP of Recruiting and HR says the recruiting opportunties at ICSC are endless. “The talent that I’ve been meeting with both at the convention and industry events has been impressive.”

In addition to visiting booths and networking, ICSC offered many informative sessions including:
*   A marketing session hosted by Coca-Cola’s Chief Economist, Carlos Herrera- Cuellar
*   An opening session with Twitter’s Co-Founder, Biz Stone
*   Opening breakfast hosted by CREW with keynote speaker Jean Chatzky, Award-Winning Journalist & Best Selling Author
*   An afternoon session with Brian Corrigan, SVP Capital Markets - Debt & Equity Finance at CBRE
*   Lunch & keynote presentation on The Future of Retail with Mike Duke, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Board, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
*   Plus, over a dozen free education sessions

Even though there are promising business opportunities at the convention, there’s always more opportunties awaiting outside the doors of the Las Vegas Convention Center. “The concentration of NYC landlords at the pool is higher than any where I've ever seen so the opportunities are endless.  And it’s nice to connect with people who are not wearing suits. It is really about getting to know someone," said Massey Knakal’s Brendan Gotch.

The opening night concluded with the U.S. MAXI Awards Ceremony and Reception at Encore at Wynn hosted by Howie Mandel, Comedian/Television Host/Actor. Additionally, there were dozens of parties held at restaurants, lounges, pools and clubs.

"Exchanging ideas and brainstorming with industry professionals is essential,” said Massey Knakal’s Betty Castro, Director of Operations, Brooklyn and Queens.  “We often face the same challenges and opportunities and its helpful to hear from your peers about their experiences,” she added.

We look forward to RECon 2015!

Photo: Brendan Gotch and Gia LaMarca at the Massey Knakal booth

Corporates: Betty Castro

Massey Knakal is in Las Vegas for ICSC RECon 2014 and we talked to some of our Agents and Managing Directors to get their thoughts on the conference.  Don't forget to stop by and see us at C160 F Street!

Brendan Gotch, Director of Retail Leasing

What did you find the most impactful last year?  "The honest truth is that the parties are so much more than parties – my few hours at the Massey Knakal party at the Mandalay Bay were three of the best hours for business of my entire year. "

How much business is done at the convention and how much is done at the pool?   "Business at the convention?!  I thought that was just for the free Jersey Mike’s food… all the real business is pool business.  And party business.  And dinner business. "


Garrett Thelander, Executive Managing Director - Capital Services

What are you looking forward to at this year’s convention? "I am looking forward to the networking opportunities and connecting with potential new clients."

Do you have an ICSC / Las Vegas survival tip? "You have to go in assuming it's a complete zoo, and just deal with that reality. And avoid cab lines where possible!"


Todd Korren, Executive Managing Director, Manhattan
 
Do you have an ICSC/Las Vegas survival tip?   "Drink lots of water, have fun but don’t go to an extreme, pace yourself, get some sleep."

How is this convention important/helpful for our office’s operations?    "Massey Knakal Realty Services is Manhattan’s #3 retail leasing firm by total number of transactions as ranked by The Real Deal in 2013 and this accomplishment is a direct result of our instituting this business model as the backbone of our retail division.  It is important that we communicate this success to our clients and other brokerage firms alike so that we continue to attract the best owners and brokers to work with our company."

Massey Knakal's David Simon, Executive Managing Director, New Jersey will speak at the RealShare New Jersey Breakfast on May 29th.  He will moderate the panel "Opportunities In Investment & Finance", which will discuss New Jersey's current economic climate, funding sources, and opportunities and challenges.

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Massey Knakal Capital Services is pleased to announce the closing of a $25.0 million non-recourse land loan collateralized by two properties at 23 and 31 Park Row in Manhattan’s Financial District.  The loan was exclusively arranged by Scott Aiese.

"We executed on our client’s objectives to obtain low cost, flexible debt capital that would allow the partnership to prepay the loan whenever the properties were ready for vertical development, while providing the partnership with three years of term to more carefully design its final development plan,” said Scott Aiese.

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Neighborhoods: Financial District

MK University is a sophisticated and extensive training program. It consists of three components- Initial Success 1, Initial Success 2 and Continuing Success.  Each tier of training is structured and laid out to meet the experience level of the attendees. 

“MK University offers new agents and employees an unparalleled advantage in their development as real estate professionals.  The program is suited to efficiently develop each hire into a confident and proficient member of the Massey Knakal team,” said Cory Rosenthal, Senior Vice President, Brokerage & Corporate Operations. “We pride ourselves on our collaborative and interactive training,” added Rosenthal.

Topics of MK University range from basic territory catalog training to a variety of other programs such as detailed lectures from industry experts and public speaking training. Throughout all three levels, the Training Department and Managing Directors are extremely hands on in order to aid the development of employees as industry and Massey Knakal professionals.

Here’s what some of the graduates have said about the program:


“Massey Knakal’s Initial Success program was very thorough in making sure that every salesperson will have the most comprehensive set of tools to succeed in the field.” – Jessica Ke, Director – Capital Services focusing on Chelsea

"With intimate lectures and thoughtful discussions taught by some of the leading individuals in the industry, including Paul Massey and Bob Knakal, training at MK is a truly comprehensive and thorough education." – Ryan Reszelbach, Director of Retail Leasing focusing on Alphabet City, Chinatown, and Lower East Side

“The knowledge I gained puts me in a great position to build meaningful relationships with property owners.” – Bill Eisenhut, Director of Sales focusing on Westchester County

“We are required to walk the neighborhood and get to know the tenants and owners before conducting business. Due to this training, I became an expert of Central Brooklyn within 2-3 months.” – Karen Massey, Director of Retail Leasing focusing on various neighborhoods in Central Brooklyn

Congratulations to the recent graduates of the Initial Success program!

Agents: Jessica Ke, William Eisenhut

Massey Knakal Realty Services has been retained on an exclusive basis to sell a development site at 88-18 Justice Avenue. The property is located on the corner of Justice and 55th Avenues in the Elmhurst neighborhood of Queens.  The asking price is $24,000,000.
 
The property consists of an approximately 44,748 square foot lot, featuring approximately 298 feet of frontage on Justice Avenue and 226 feet on 55th Avenue.  It is located in a C4-2 / R6A zoning district and benefits from approximately 271,148 square feet of development rights.   This site is ideally located one block off of Queens Boulevard, the most active retail corridor in Queens, and directly across the street from the Queens Place Mall.  It is in proximity to the Grand Central Parkway and the Long Island, Van Wyck, and Brooklyn Queens Expressways.  The site is also one block from the M and R subway lines at Grand Avenue and numerous bus lines service the area.
 
“For the first time, Queens is beginning to see a trickle-down effect of rising rents from primary neighborhoods, like Long Island City.  This is similar to Williamsburg’s effect on Bushwick.  As a result, secondary markets, like Elmhurst, which also have great transportation, are experiencing strong increases in residential rents,” said Massey Knakal’s Stephen P. Palmese who is exclusively marketing this property with Thomas A. Donovan.

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Neighborhoods: Elmhurst/ Agents: Stephen Palmese

In the latest installment of the Knakal News Network, Bob Knakal and Jon Hageman discuss the importance of reading the real estate business.

Click here to view

A development site at 247-249 East 117th Street, located between Second and Third Avenues in Manhattan’s East Harlem neighborhood, was sold in an all-cash transaction valued at $3,200,000.

The site holds approximately 23,528 buildable square feet on a 55’ x 75.67’ lot.  Its mixed-use potential allows developers to benefit from the neighborhood’s surging demand for both retail and residential space.  The sale price equates to approximately $136 per buildable square foot. 

New construction projects are already scattered throughout the neighborhood.  Future tenants will benefit from the site’s proximity to 116th Street and 125th Street, Harlem’s two largest retail corridors which include a variety of national and local tenants.  The newly developed East River Plaza is close by and offers the neighborhood rare access to national big box retailers Costco, Best Buy, and Marshalls.  Public transportation is accessible via the 6 train at Lexington Avenue and East 116th Street, numerous bus lines that service the area, and Metro-North’s 125th Street station.  The site is also near the FDR Drive and Robert F. Kennedy Bridge, providing direct access to the Bronx and Queens.

“This property was quickly snapped up within 60 days of marketing by an experienced developer,” said Massey Knakal’s Robert M. Shapiro, who exclusively handled this transaction with Lev Kimyagarov.

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Neighborhoods: Elmhurst/ Agents: Robert Shapiro

Massey Knakal Senior Vice President of Sales Guthrie Garvin is running for the NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate Alumni Board. Voting is open to all Schack Institute alumni until Friday, May 16th at 5pm.

“I received a great education and made some amazing friends at the Schack Institute.  Since getting my Masters I went on to becoming an adjunct professor at NYU as well.  If elected, I am 100% committed to being an active board member and serving as an ambassador for my fellow alum,” said Guthrie Garvin.

If you’re a graduate of the NYU Schack program, please take a moment to vote for our very own Guthrie Garvin.

Click here to vote

Massey Knakal Realty Services has been retained on an exclusive basis to sell a newly-built commercial building at 51-55 East 125th Street. The property is located on the northeast corner of Madison Avenue and East 125th Street in Harlem. The asking price is $15,000,000.

The three-story elevator building contains approximately 15,100 square feet on a 7,621 square foot corner lot, with a combined 142 feet of frontage on 125th Street and Madison Avenue. Its C4-4D/125 zoning allows for an additional approximately 39,771 square feet of buildable space with an inclusionary housing bonus. As the property will be delivered as vacant, new ownership will have the ability to position the asset as the premiere commercial building in the area. New ownership will also benefit from a legal billboard on the building, which is rare on 125th Street, one of the city’s busiest corridors.

The property is surrounded by a tremendous amount of new development and it is easily accessible by the 4, 5, 6 subway lines, Metro-North Railroad, and numerous bus lines.

“This represents a fantastic opportunity for an investor to own a prime retail corner on the rapidly developing East 125th Street,” said Massey Knakal’s Lev Kimyagarov, who is exclusively marketing this property.

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Neighborhoods: Harlem