Artifact, Ashok Khubani pay $1.8M for mixed-use in Harlem

Developer Artifact and real estate investor Ashok Khubani through the entity 1861 Amsterdam Avenue LLC paid $1.8 million to Jose Caseres through the entity 1873 Amsterdam Realty Corp. for the two-unit mixed-use building (S2) at 1873 Amsterdam Avenue in Harlem, Manhattan.
The deal closed on March 25, 2024 and was recorded on April 1, 2024. The property has 1,872 square feet of built space and 5,928 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 7,800 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $961 and the price per buildable square foot is $230 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 Jose Caseres was Jose A. Caseres. The signatory for Artifact and Ashok Khubani was Javier Martinez. The contract date was December 5, 2023. Jose Caseres owns Citydrug & Surgical. http://citydrugny.com/ Ashok Chuch Kubani owns OnTel, and has partnered with Artifact in the past. OnTel Products

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Artifact purchased five properties in two transactions for a total of $19.1 million and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Jose Caseres had not purchased any other properties and had not sold any properties over the same time period.

The property

The mixed-use building with 2 residential units in Harlem has 1,872 square feet of built space and 5,928 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 7,800 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 19 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 1,950 square feet. The zoning is R7A which allows for up to 4 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $938,000.

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 $25 in OATH penalties 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 neighborhood

In Harlem, The bulk, or 43 percent of the 81 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 30 percent of the space. In sales, Harlem has 2.3 times the average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $654.8 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 14th highest in Manhattan. For development, Harlem has 2.7 times the average amount of major developments relative to other neighborhoods and is the 11th highest in Manhattan. It had 3 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 4 percent of the neighborhood’s built space. There was one pre-foreclosure suit filed among other mixed-use buildings in the past 12 months.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of eight of the 17 commercial properties representing 111,823 square feet of the 159,525 square feet. The largest owner is Ricardo Perez, followed by New York City Department Of Housing Preservation And Development and then Michael Daniel.
On the tax block, there were three new building construction projects totaling 72,142 square feet. The largest is a 47-unit, 38,108 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Artifact Real Estate Development Company and filed by Javier Martinez with plans filed January 4, 2022 and permitted June 3, 2022. The second largest is a 39-unit, 27,458 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by BRP Companies and filed by Meredith Marshall with plans filed April 4, 2017 and permitted January 29, 2018.

The majority, or 63 percent of the 159,525 square feet of built space are walkup buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 15 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Artifact owned at least 10 commercial properties with 31 residential units in New York City with 95,333 square feet and a city-determined market value of $14.9 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $43.1 million in debt, with top three lenders as Genesis Capital, Connectone Bank, and Bank Hapoalim respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 44 percent of the 95,333 square feet of built space are industrial properties, with elevator properties next occupying 18 percent of the space. They are all located in Manhattan.
The PincusCo database currently indicates that Ashok Khubani owned at least eight commercial properties with 13 residential units in New York City with 23,933 square feet and a city-determined market value of $11.2 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 41 percent of the 23,933 square feet of built space are A9 properties, with M1 properties next occupying 21 percent of the space. They are all located in Manhattan.

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