Anibal Gomez pays $7.2M to Ramon Escobar for five properties in East Harlem

Anibal Gomez through the entity Harlem Place, LLC paid $7.2 million to Ramon Escobar through the entity Et Homes, LLC for the five-unit residential walkup building (C4) at 149 East 121st Street in East Harlem, Manhattan, four-unit 1-4 family building (C3) at 22 East 126th Street in East Harlem, Manhattan, and three-unit 1-4 family building (C0) at 28 East 127th Street in East Harlem, Manhattan.
The deal closed on May 9, 2023 and was recorded on May 22, 2023. The five properties have 18,953 square feet of built space and 8,796 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 27,727 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $382 and the price per buildable square foot is $261 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 Ramon Escobar was Ramon Escobar. The signatory for Anibal Gomez was Anibal Gomez. Jose Espinal as signatory acquired a portfolio of buildings as part of a city and federal effort to transfer government-owned rentals to private ownership started in the 1990s. He won this five-building portfolio in 2007 from the federal government’s Department of Housing and Urban Development.  The contract was dated January 5, 2005. Anibal Gomez has an address at the same building as Ramon Escobar.

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 149 East 121st Street.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Anibal Gomez purchased three properties in three transactions for a total of $8.2 million and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Ramon Escobar had not purchased any other properties and had not sold any properties over the same time period. The former owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes Ramon Escobar, head officer and Jose Espinal, officer. The business entities are Et Management & Realty Corp and E.T. Homes Llc. Out of the five properties, two with a total of 18,953 square feet of built space generated revenue of $186,886 per year.

The property

The residential walkup building with 5 residential units in East Harlem has 18,953 square feet of built space and 8,796 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 27,727 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 19 feet and is 81 feet deep with a total lot size of 1,539 square feet. The zoning is R7D which allows for up to 4.2 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential with inclusionary housing. The property has a J-51 exemption that started in 2009 and expires in 2043. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $1.1 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 25 housing violations, $4,755 in OATH penalties, and three housing litigations 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 149 East 121st Street, PincusCo has identified the owners of five of the 22 commercial properties representing 488,995 square feet of the 624,767 square feet. The largest owner is Renaissance Realty Group, followed by Real Estate Equities Corp. and then L+M Development Partners.
On the tax block, there were two new building construction projects totaling 145,993 square feet. The largest is a 134,306 square-foot business (B) building submitted by Real Estate Equities Corporation and filed by Brandon Klein with plans filed December 24, 2020 and permitted September 16, 2021. The second largest is a 15-unit, 11,687 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Joseph Atarien with plans filed June 17, 2019 and permitted June 14, 2022.

The majority, or 81 percent of the 624,767 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with mixed-use buildings next occupying 7 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Ramon Escobar owned at least one commercial property with 31 residential units in New York City with 17,520 square feet and a city-determined market value of $803,000. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio consists of at least a single walkup property. It is located in Bronx.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Anibal Gomez owned at least three commercial properties with 11 residential units in New York City with 32,944 square feet and a city-determined market value of $5.3 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 66 percent of the 32,944 square feet of built space are office properties, with walkup properties next occupying 34 percent of the space. They are all located in Bronx.

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