Artifact pays $5.5M for corner parcels in Harlem, adjacent to prior purchase

Artifact through the entity 1848-1850 Amsterdam Avenue LLC paid $5.5 million to Diana C. Nicholson through the entity Amsterdam Market Holdings, LLC for four parcels composing the corner at Amsterdam Avenue and West 151st Street. The properties include the four-unit mixed-use building at 1842 Amsterdam Avenue, the two-unit mixed-use building at 1840 Amsterdam Avenue, and the two-unit mixed-use building at 1846 Amsterdam Avenue in Harlem, Manhattan.
The deal closed on May 9, 2022 and was recorded on May 27, 2022. The four properties have 10,500 square feet of built space and 19,391 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 29,892 square feet according to PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $528 and the price per buildable square foot is $185 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.) Artifact bought 1848-1850 Amsterdam, which abuts these properties to the north, in 2018 in two separate transactions totaling $8.6 million.

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 1842 Amsterdam Avenue.

Prior sales and revenue

The former owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes Nadya Zurikyan, head officer and Diana Nicholson, officer.

The property

The 1842 Amsterdam Avenue parcel has frontage of 36 feet and is 75 feet deep with a total lot size of 2,700 square feet. The lot is irregular. 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 $509,000.
The 1846 Amsterdam Avenue parcel has frontage of 18 feet and is 75 feet deep with a total lot size of 1,400 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 $1.4 million.
The 1840 Amsterdam Avenue parcel has frontage of 20 feet and is 75 feet deep with a total lot size of 1,500 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 $1.4 million.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the properties since September of 2020. In addition, according to city public data, the properties have received $2,285 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 $5 million on this tax lot.

The neighborhood

In Harlem, the bulk, or 42 percent of the 99.7 million square feet of commercial built space are residential elevator buildings, with residential walkup buildings next occupying 24 percent of the space. In sales, Harlem has 2.2 times the average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $607.8 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 20th highest in Manhattan. For development, Harlem has 2.8 times the average amount of major developments relative to other neighborhoods and is the 5th highest in Manhattan. It had 2.6 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 3 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On the tax block of 1842 Amsterdam Avenue, PincusCo has identified the owners of 10 of the 26 commercial properties representing 161,921 square feet of the 372,999 square feet. The largest owner is LAL Property Management, followed by Artifact and then Shamsy Baradarian. There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 45 percent of the 551,574 square feet of built space are residential walkup buildings, with residential elevator buildings next occupying 24 percent of the space.

Surrounding

Within a 400-foot radius of 1842 Amsterdam Avenue, Pincusco identified six commercial real estate items of interests occurred over the past 24 months.
Of those six items, one was in new building development. It was a new building permit application filed on January 4, 2022 for a 38,108-square-foot R-2 building with 47 residential units at 1861 Amsterdam Avenue.
Of those six items, one was for major renovation including a certificate of occupancy change. It was an initial temporary certificate of occupancy issued on November 6, 2020 for the $400,000 renovation of 9,815-square-foot office (B) building with no residential units at 1850 Amsterdam Avenue.
One of those six items was a sale which City Skyline Realty bought the 31,500-square-foot, 29-unit rental (D1) on 512 West 151st Street for $6.1 million from John D. Balian on February 16, 2022.
Of those six items, three were loans above $5 million totaling $26.3 million. The most recent of the three was Artifact which borrowed $10 million from Dime Community Bank secured by the 11,500-square-foot, one-unit industrial (I5) on 1861 Amsterdam Avenue on December 16, 2020.

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