$16.5M rehab construction loan from Be Aviv for 166-unit conversion in Garment District

Mendel Fleischman through the entity 35 Garden LLC as borrower signed a rehab construction loan with lender Be Aviv through the entity Badf West 35th Street Lender LLC valued at $16.5 million for the 166-unit conversion of the loft building at 254 West 35th Street in the Garment District, Manhattan.
The deal closed on June 3, 2026 and was recorded on June 11, 2026. The property has 106,642 square feet of built space and 4,443 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 111,090 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per built square foot is $154 and the price per buildable square foot is $148 per the PincusCo analysis. (The price per square foot analysis is the transaction price divided by square feet as reported in public records and assumes no air rights have been sold.)
Joyland Management bought the property on February 2, 2026, for $26.2 million, and on the same day Joyland as landlord signed a lease with Mendel Fleischman as tenant. The signatory for Mendel Fleischman was Mendel Fleischman, who owns a company called Garden Group Projects.

An individual named Jack Poll submitted the major alteration application to create 166 units in the building, with 42 being affordable. The plan was filed with the New York City Department of Buildings on January 7, 2026 under job number M01340670. It calls for a conversion of the 16-story building. The project is described in the filing as: application filed to convert existing sixteen (16) story building to residential use as per plans.

The city posted a letter on the Department of Buildings providing notice of a restrictive declaration filed by Fleischman’s 35 Garden LLC.

Prior sales, articles and revenue

Commercial Observer reported on February 05, 2026 that Joyland Management paid $26.2 million to Cayre Equities for 254 West 35th Street, Manhattan, NY.

Crain’s New York Business reported on February 06, 2026 that Joyland Management paid $26.2 million to Cayre Equities for 254 W. 35th Street, Manhattan, NY.

The property

The industrial building in Garment District has 106,642 square feet of built space and 4,443 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 111,090 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 75 feet and is 98 feet deep with a total lot size of 7,406 square feet. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $16.4 million. Be Aviv on June 3, 2026 bought a loan with an original principal of price not available from prior lender signed by prior lender signatory, secured by 254 West 35th Street, when owned by Mendel Fleischman .

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property for the past 24 months. In addition, according to city public data, the property has received 23 DOB violations and $630 in OATH penalties in the last year.

The neighborhood

In Garment District, The majority, or 69 percent of the 52.3 million square feet of commercial built space are office buildings, with hotel buildings next occupying 13 percent of the space. In sales, Garment District has the 9th highest sale turnover among other neighborhoods in the city with $1.5 billion in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Garment District is the 6th most active neighborhood among other neighborhoods. It had 11.7 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 22 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of 22 of the 27 commercial properties representing 2,032,264 square feet of the 2,262,329 square feet. The largest owner is Circle Realty Group , followed by Jenel Real Estate and then Kaufman Management Company.
On the tax block, there were three new building construction projects totaling 496,429 square feet. The largest is a 481-unit, 311,864 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Vornado Realty Trust and filed by David Bellman with plans filed March 17, 2026 and it has not been permitted yet. The second largest is a 300-unit, 157,517 square-foot hotel/dormitory/shelter (R-1) building submitted by Chetrit Group and filed by Meyer Chetrit with plans filed April 5, 2016 and permitted August 21, 2017.

The majority, or 75 percent of the 2.3 million square feet of built space are office buildings, with hotel buildings next occupying 16 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Mendel Fleischman owned at least 14 commercial properties with 74 residential units in New York City with 67,682 square feet and a PincusCo-determined asset value of $81.5 million. The portfolio has $89.9 million in debt, with top three lenders as Greystone & Co. , S3 Capital, and Broadview Capital respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 32 percent of the 67,682 square feet of built space are walkup properties, with N9 properties next occupying 17 percent of the space. The bulk, or 92 percent of the built space, is in Brooklyn, with Manhattan next at 7 percent of the space.

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