ABJ Properties pays $6.4M to Related Companies for two walkups in Gowanus

ABJ Properties through the entity 566-568 Holdings LLC paid $6.4 million to the Related Companies through the entity Nysandy8 Brooklyn I LLC for the eight-unit residential walkup buildings (C1) at 566 and 568 Baltic Street in Gowanus, Brooklyn.
The deal closed on August 14, 2023 and was recorded on August 29, 2023. The two properties have 10,800 square feet of built space and 5,398 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 16,194 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $590 and the price per buildable square foot is $393 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.)
The signatory for Related Companies was Matthew Becker. The signatory for ABJ Properties was Benjamin Soleimani. The contract date was June 23, 2023. Related Companies bought the two buildings for $7 million from Silvershore Properties, a partnership that is no longer in business.

Because multiple properties have been transacted, some of the following sections will follow the property with the largest assessed value, which in this case, is the property on 566 Baltic Street.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer ABJ Properties purchased seven properties in six transactions for a total of $28.8 million and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Related Companies purchased nine properties in three transactions for a total of $138 million and sold 18 properties in 16 transactions for a total of $1.3 billion over the same time period. The former owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes Dennis Ovalle, head officer and Natasha Davis, agent. The business entities are Simply Better Apartment Homes and Nysandy8 Brooklyn 1 Llc.

The property

The residential walkup building with 8 residential units in Gowanus has 10,800 square feet of built space and 5,398 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 16,194 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 27 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 2,699 square feet. The zoning is M1-4/R6A which allows for up to 2 times floor area ratio (FAR) for manufacturing and up to 3 times FAR for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $2.3 million.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the properties for the past 24 months. In addition, according to city public data, the properties have received three DOB violations in the last year.

Development

There are no active new building construction projects or major alteration projects with initial costs more than $1 million on this tax lot.

The block

On the tax block of 566 Baltic Street, PincusCo has identified the owners of 13 of the 15 commercial properties representing 222,831 square feet of the 229,449 square feet. The largest owner is Watermark Capital Group, followed by Storage Deluxe and then Related Companies.
On the tax block, there were four new building construction projects totaling 314,348 square feet. The largest is a 176-unit, 128,744 square-foot hotel/dormitory/shelter (R-1) building submitted by Miriam Chan and filed by Miriam Chan with plans filed November 20, 2014 and it has not been permitted yet. The second largest is a 92-unit, 68,808 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by 159 Third Residence Llc and filed by 159 Third Residence Llc with plans filed February 11, 2022 and permitted May 4, 2022.

The majority, or 59 percent of the 229,449 square feet of built space are industrial buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 27 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Related Companies owned at least 178 commercial properties with 9,571 residential units in New York City with 21,405,438 square feet and a city-determined market value of $6 billion. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $4.7 billion in debt, with top three lenders as Wells Fargo, Carlyle Group, and Deutsche Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 45 percent of the 21,405,438 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with office properties next occupying 30 percent of the space. The bulk, or 61 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Bronx next at 23 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that ABJ Properties owned at least 83 commercial properties with 980 residential units in New York City with 930,708 square feet and a city-determined market value of $134.5 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 87 percent of the 930,708 square feet of built space are walkup properties, with elevator properties next occupying 9 percent of the space. The bulk, or 47 percent of the built space, is in Bronx, with Manhattan next at 37 percent of the space.

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